Help... failure to thrive?

[PolarBerry]

Alright, so I made two batches of the drench (one for turkeys and one for keets) and caught all of them and got .2-.3cc's in each bird and re-checked those with pasty bums. I replaced water with the corrid and put everyone back. Made sure I washed hands and supplies well before, between, and after dosing/cleaning. They're all napping so guess they aren't hating me too much.

Tomorrow is one week so I assume I am to slowly begin dropping temperature as usual?

 

[PolarBerry]

Wow, this thread has been so enlighting. Don't know much about this, so have nothing to contribute, except, your babies are lucky to have you. Sounds like you have worked very hard for them all. Please give yourself a pat on the back for me. Good luck with the rest. Keep us updated when you can.

My husband tells me it's good I don't have a full time job right now because I do feel like tending sick baby birds is all I'm doing! I even have my Merck veterinary manual out... I did study pre-vet but never did they teach us in depth anything about illness in birds, especially not poultry.

 

[Kiki]

They are sick...they may be ok with the temp staying the up a little.
But too much heat can cause pasty butt too you know.

 

[Kiki]

My husband tells me it's good I don't have a full time job right now because I do feel like tending sick baby birds is all I'm doing! I even have my Merck veterinary manual out... I did study pre-vet but never did they teach us in depth anything about illness in birds, especially not poultry.

You will almost be a vet by the time you finish fixing these guys up!

 

[PolarBerry]

You will almost be a vet by the time you finish fixing these guys up!

I used to breed/raise gerbils and also worked in a research facility with mice so I'm used to handling tiny fragile critters at least... just don't ask me to hit a tail vein on a
mouse because that is near impossible!

 

[BlueShadow]

Chicks as young as two days old can show signs of Coccidiosis.
I've thought it was Coccidiosis from day one.
Are you going to send the one body for a necropsy?

Sorry, Kiki. I have great respect for your knowledge of chickens, but on this, you are wrong. The coccidia have to complete (at least one) life cycle in order to cause damage, because when they reproduce, they rupture the intestinal lining cells, which is what causes the signs of disease. And unless the chick got a MASSIVE dose of coccidia, it takes several life cycles for there to be enough damage to show clinical signs. This is why most chicks show signs of disease at 3-6 weeks. It takes that long for the coccidia to reproduce and grow to enough numbers to cause problems.

Here is a very excellent resource explaining the life cycle of coccidia.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...nagement/41/life-cycle-and-types-of-coccidia/

It turns out that the poultry coccidia species do reproduce much faster than the ruminant species (with which I am more familiar). Poultry coccidia life cycle is 5-7 days, for ruminants it is 14 days. But both poultry and ruminants typically start showing signs at 21+ days.

So, in this case, it means that there may be coccidia beginning to show signs NOW (although I doubt it), but coccidia were not the cause of the earlier signs. Sorry Polar, none of this gives you much better idea what to do with the keets.

 

[Kiki]

Sorry, Kiki. I have great respect for your knowledge of chickens, but on this, you are wrong. The coccidia have to complete (at least one) life cycle in order to cause damage, because when they reproduce, they rupture the intestinal lining cells, which is what causes the signs of disease. And unless the chick got a MASSIVE dose of coccidia, it takes several life cycles for there to be enough damage to show clinical signs. This is why most chicks show signs of disease at 3-6 weeks. It takes that long for the coccidia to reproduce and grow to enough numbers to cause problems.

Here is a very excellent resource explaining the life cycle of coccidia.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/2/Coccidiosis Management/41/life-cycle-and-types-of-coccidia/

It turns out that the poultry coccidia species do reproduce much faster than the ruminant species (with which I am more familiar). Poultry coccidia life cycle is 5-7 days, for ruminants it is 14 days. But both poultry and ruminants typically start showing signs at 21+ days.

So, in this case, it means that there may be coccidia beginning to show signs NOW (although I doubt it), but coccidia were not the cause of the earlier signs. Sorry Polar, none of this gives you much better idea what to do with the keets.

I agree to disagree with you.

Did you see where even the hatchery that she bought them from told her they have been having issues with Coccidiosis?

 

[Kiki]

@PolarBerry Is a vet an option?
Or a "mail in some poop" to get tested an option?

 

[BlueShadow]

I agree to disagree with you.

Did you see where even the hatchery that she bought them from told her they have been having issues with Coccidiosis?

No, I didn't see that post. But still, even if someone was dipping the newly hatched chicks beaks in a solution of coccidia, the coccidia HAS to complete at least one life cycle to cause intestinal damage. They simply cannot show signs of coccidia earlier than that.

 

[Kiki]

Coccidiosis caused by E. tenella first becomes noticeable at about three days after infection. Chickens droop, stop feeding, huddle together,

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex4616