HELP!!! Blood in poop!

[PunkinPeep]

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Hi PunkinPeep! When you say the medicated feed will do them no good after this – do you mean it just won't be useful to them or do you mean it will actually be bad for them?

My chicks are also about 4 weeks old and have been outside for 2 weeks, I am not 100% sure they are pooping blood… i might just be going crazy coming up with different ways they might die. This is my first time owning chickens and I think I am driving myself mad worrying about them. Blood or no blood, no one's died on me yet and running around like mad chickens.

Well, you if you click on the link in my signature, you can read my long-windedness on it. But the amprolium (the medicine contained in most medicated chick start products) works by limiting the absorption of certain vitamins, which are what the cocci protozoa live on. It's a very small amount, but nonetheless, what is there limits the absorption of vitamins. Lots of people raise their chickens on medicated feed until they're laying age and do not report bad results. It is my opinion, which i think is supported, that it is better for them, especially after they've built their resistance to cocci, to be on unmedicated feed.

For your chickens, just keep an eye out for anyone sitting around puffed up, or separating themselves from the flock for an untimely nap. If they're all running around like banchies, energetic, with good appetites, then i wouldn't worry at all. Just keep an eye out.

And welcome to the wonderful world of chickens! I hope you have a great time! I know i am.

 

[Slater1995]

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I lost 4 of mine. This is before I knew what was wrong with them. As soon as I found out I started the last sick one on the Corrid - full strength as reccomended by my vet and made up the water mixture for the other chicks. The one that was sick already did die. It was too late for it. The vet told me that once they are pooping blood and just sitting around they usually will die. There are those that will pull thorugh and once they recover they should have a natural immunity to it.

I did not have my chicks on medicated feed, which I was told not to give them. Now that I know what the medicated feed is for, I give it to all my chicks. The best thing to do though is keep the babies off the ground for the first 4-6 weeks as this is when they are most subseptable to it.

You also have to remember to give vitamins and electolytes after you are done treating them, because the Corid kills all that good stuff in order to get rid of the bad stuff so once they are done with the treatment, it is very important to rebuild the vitamins in their systems.

I hope yours get better.

Good Luck,
Teresa

 

[Cat Water]

How much do you have to give them if you don't give it in the water? I just got back from the feed store and I have the 9.6% liquid Corid. I have a 1 quart waterer. That is 1/2 a teaspoon in there, correct? There are three of them that I think really need it straight.

Edit: Teresa, how long were yours pooping blood before you started treating them? Mine only started the night before last night. I'm not too late, am I?

 

[Slater1995]

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When I noticed the blood, she died the next day, but every bird is different. I did not even notice the blood in the other three. The vet said sometimes you won't even see the blood.

Here is the information from the vet that helped me.
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Coccidiosisis the most common and most widely known protozoal disease of poultry.
It is very common in growing chicks from 3 - 6 weeks of age.
It attacks the intestinal lining, interfering with th absorption of nutrients, causing slowed growth, runny off-color droppings that may be tinged with blood, as well as dehydration due to the diarrhea. This is the most common cause of death in chicks your birds' age.
Unfortunately there are several common types of coccidia and the type and dosage of anti-coccidial drug varies with the species of the coccidia involved.
A stool specimen submitted to your veterinarian should disclose the type of coccidia causing the problem, if it is indeed coccidia. The odds are that is what it is.
If you can't get to a veterinarian for some reason, you should try amprolium first. Amprolium is the safest coccidia treatment, but it does cause vitamin deficiencies so a vitamin supplement is recommended after its use. Do not give the vitamins during the treatment as vitamin deprivation is one of the ways amprolium controls the coccidia.Since coccidiosis increases the chicks' susceptibility to bacterial infections, the duramune should be used as well and should improve the rate of recovery. There is no withdrawal time needed for amprolium. Be sure to follow the label directions for all medications and vitamin supplements.
If I may be of further assistance, please let me know.

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Good Morning. This morning her stool had turned to water with blood in it. I called my local feed store and they have amprolium under the name Conceani (not sure of the spelling) It does not have directions for chickens on it. It is strength 9.6 and the dosage says 10mg per 2.2 lbs of body weight. these chicks don't weight 2lbs. There are a few that may be that big, but the one that is already sick may be 1.5 lbs.

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Hi again.
The proper dosage is 50 -100 mg/L drinking water, so the dose range is quite large.
The 9.6 number is a "%" solution. Each affected bird should receive approximately 10 ml of the undiluted medication once daily as a drench, or in the drinking water, for 5 days. Don't worry about the lesser weight, it's close enough.
Good luck!
Dr. Bob
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So instead of putting itin the drinking water I can just feed 10ML to each bird in an eye dropper. or is putting it in the water better?
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Yes you can give it by either route., a plastic tube that delivers the liquid deeper into their throat may work better as the medication may taste bitter. Otherwise, place the dropper as far as possible into their throats, so they can't shake it out again.
Dr. Bob
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This is the email trail between the vet and I. I hope this information helps you. be very careful about putting it direcly in their mouth, you don't want to get it in thier lungs. If you have someone who can help you so one of you can hold their mouths open and the other one put the meds in, this way you can see the opening to their lungs.

Hope this helps.

Teresa

 

[Cat Water]

Can you give them the meds straight with it in the water too, or will they overdose? I only have one waterer and the other ones need the meds too.

Oh yeah, and is there any other benifits of giving it directly other than they get it faster?

Again, thank you so much for the help.

 

[Slater1995]

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giving it directly is stronger and you know how much they are getting. If they are really sick, they may not be drinking well if at all, so you won't know if they are getting it and how much. I would take the really sick ones out. Give them the meds directly and then just give them plain water to drink. You don't have to have a chicken waterer to give them water. We use all kinds of things for our babies. We take an small empty butter bowl or something of that sort. cut it down so that it is about an 1/2 to 1 inch deep and put water in it. Then we put 1/2X1/2 inch green vinal coated wire over it so the chick can only drink it and not stand in it. It really comes in handy when you have lots of babies that are different ages or when you just need to seperate birds for one reason or another.

Good Luck.

I have to get back to work now, before I get in trouble.

 

[Cat Water]

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giving it directly is stronger and you know how much they are getting. If they are really sick, they may not be drinking well if at all, so you won't know if they are getting it and how much. I would take the really sick ones out. Give them the meds directly and then just give them plain water to drink. You don't have to have a chicken waterer to give them water. We use all kinds of things for our babies. We take an small empty butter bowl or something of that sort. cut it down so that it is about an 1/2 to 1 inch deep and put water in it. Then we put 1/2X1/2 inch green vinal coated wire over it so the chick can only drink it and not stand in it. It really comes in handy when you have lots of babies that are different ages or when you just need to seperate birds for one reason or another.

Good Luck.

I have to get back to work now, before I get in trouble.

Those are some good ideas. I just disinfected all thier feeders and waterers. All of them are eating and drinking fine. They can't really stand in thier water anyway because it is only just wide enough for them to stick thier heads in, then there is a big jar. I appreciate your help.
And yeah, don't get in trouble! Go work! Sorry I distracted you!

I didn't know.

 

[Cat Water]

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That's textbook cocci. I would get to the feedstore and get a bottle of Corid (amprolium 9.6%). Put it in their water at a rate of 2 teaspoons to the gallon, immediately. The bottle won't be marked for chickens, but if it's liquid amprolium 9.6%, it's the right stuff.

Give it to them for 5 days straight, and you should see improvement quickly.

My dad told me to do the math myself according to the bottle. My calculations were consistantly 1/2 yours. I don't want to over dose them. Did you use that formula for your own chickens? Sorry I'm so cynical.

 

[Cat Water]

That Corid works like a charm! I put one teaspoon in thier gallon waterer. Since my sickest chick was sitting around puffed up and not doing anything, I gave him some of the water with a hypodermic needle without the needle on the tip of his beak. He drank it then. I gave him a few drops of that and I put him down and he seemed perfectly healthy! He was running around, eating, drinking, chirping, everything a healthy chicken does! Some of them stopped pooping blood already

! Is that normal? I'm happier and and a little more relaxed now after seeing his quick recovery. Four more days of that and they should be fine, right? Thanks everyone for the help! You guys are awesome!

P.S. Does anybody know what the white discharge on his nose is?

 

[PunkinPeep]

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Yay! I'm so happy for you. And yes, Corid does tend to work very quickly.

What white discharge? Pictures?