HELP!! 4-week old chicks with bloody stool

[Hockeychick]

Hello,

We have a total of 41 chicks, 4 weeks old and live in a large brooder in the house. 31 came from MM Hatchery and were vaccinated against Mareks and Coccidiosis. The other 10 are from MPC hatchery and are NOT vaccinated. We are not giving medicated feed as it nullifies the cocci vaccination, or at least that is what MM says.

I noticed a little blood last night on the pine shavings in the brooder. Just a little and everyone looks ok. i watched for a long time, but didn't see any more blood. Tonight when i get home I see several droppings with a good amount of blood mixed in, and in some spots it looks like blood with no poop. It sounds like it could be cocci, but just a handful of the chicks have been outside on 1 occasion for a few minutes, but they were on the grass. I don't know if that is enough exposure.

I separated the MPC chicks who weren't vaccinated. 5 EE's are in one cage with paper towels, and I have seen 4 of the 5 poop and there was blood with all 4. The fifth I should add is a very little EE, and I wonder if she is a bantam or simply a runt. She is the only one who seems lethargic, and she has not pooped. The other 5 are BR's and they are in their own cage. There is a little blood in their poop as well.

Out of these 10, only 1 or 2 BR's were part of the group to venture outside to the grass. Could this be coccidiosis, or something else? Please help!! I wonder if I should start them on Corid, but I don't have any. It will have to wait until tomorrow. Thank you in advance for your suggestions and help.

 

[Kittymomma]

It could be cocci and if it is I would suggest using Corid on the affected chicks. Another possibility is that you're mistaking cecal poo for bloody poo. It can look like blood and it's an easy mistake to make. Check out this link and see if you might be looking at cecal poo.

http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[Hockeychick]

Thanks Kittymomma. When I first saw the cecal poop I freaked thinking that it was blood. Unfortunately, the blood is pretty bright and red and looks like the cocci poop on that site.

Is corid something that has to be given to the chicks individually, or can it be put in either their food or water?

 

[LuvinMyPeeps]

Hi, you can put it in their water. You can buy it at Tractor Supply Company.

Here are the dosages, incase you need them. http://www.xtremegamebirds.com/Dosage%20Chart.html


Hope this helps.

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
It's great stuff and you should see improvement quickly. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Hockeychick]

I will definitely let you know how they are. I am still unsure as to whether or not this could be coccidia. The BRs went outside on 3/20, so I would imagine that they would have gotten sick earlier than this. I wouldn't even call them sick at this point. If not for the blood, you would never know there was an issue. The 10 chicks have been out of the brooder for about 2 hours now, and I do not see blood in the brooder. So whatever this is, it appears to only be affecting the unvaccinated chicks.

This is our first time with chicks. I just love having them, but I am so nervous for them right now. I really hope that they are ok.

 

[Hockeychick]

Good Morning! I have an update on the bloody stool: it is in all the cages and the brooder box. I initially thought it was only the chicks who were not vaccinated for coccidiosis, but it appears to be affecting all. Any ideas as to what this could be?

I am going to try to get one of the chicks to the vet so the poop can be cultured.

 

[Kittymomma]

It does sound like cocci then. The vac. and medicated feed are both good preventives, but aren't 100% effective. As I understand it there are multiple strains and they protect against the most common of them, but not all. I was thinking about your situation last night and got to wondering if you were seeing some shedding of the intestinal lining, but it doesn't sound like it now.

Hope it all turns out well!

 

[easttxchick]

I'd get Corid-add 1 tsp. per gallon of water every day for 5 days(change water and add Corid every day). Cocci spreads fast and can kill fast. That is certainly what this sounds like to me.

 

[Hockeychick]

I brought a poop sample to my vet and she is going to culture it and see what comes up, but she also thinks that it is cocci. So far, the chicks still are active and eating. My problem is finding Corid. Tractor supply only carrries Duramycin, and a local store has tetracycline, and I don't think that either will help. I found a farm that has a sulfa based antibiotic, so I will pick some up tomorrow. We started the non vaccinated chicks on medicated feed, but are unsure if we should do that yet with the vaccinated chicks.