What a journey! I didn't get around to finding Tylan yesterday but this morning presented another can of worms that just might be the actual cause and I'm glad I hadn't made a purchase yet.
This morning I found bloody droppings in the main coop. I've only owned chickens since April 2009 and I haven't had any major issues. This was a bit upsetting. I've had time to process it now and can tell you exactly what happened. I purchased 15 meat chickens on July 15 for my broody to raise for me. There were a few issues that were present in the first few days but they all resolved themselves. On the 20th I was out with visitors watching the chicks when one of them pooped blood. I hadn't seen any droppings like it before so I decided to watch for more. I never saw any more like it. What I would see on occasion was the poop that is labeled as the shedding of intestinal lining on the chicken poo chart. I again didn't worry since it's labeled as normal. On the 23rd we lost our first chick, and the next morning we lost another. Both seemed to be failure to thrive cases. Both were skinny and just didn't appear to be able to fight off the healthier ones for the goods. There were a few others who were smaller then the rest but there weren't any other losses until yesterday (a week after the first loss). There was a dead one in the morning and another died in the afternoon. Since my broody wasn't looking good I was becoming suspicious but I though respiratory infection not cocci. After researching intensively this morning I decided that the chicks have had cocci and it's spread to the rest of my flock. I move the pen that the chicks are in every other day so that the droppings don't accumulate. When I do so the rest of my flock likes to scope out the ground for treats they didn't get and food that the chicks shoveled out of the food container. Oops. So I've purchased Sulmet and am in the process of dumping all water that is around the yard so they have no other choice but to drink the medicated water. I've decided to wait on Tylan and see if the swelling that is left on my broody's face (it doesn't look so bad today) will resolve itself with this treatment.
I have a few questions about this outbreak. 1) How long do we have to wait to eat another egg? 2) Does cocci effect the eggs, are the eggs from yesterday ok to eat? 3) I was planning on selling my youngest layers. Can I still do that? 4) How can I get it out of my yard? 5) What do I need to know about having it in my yard and exposing future chicks to it?
Other information
My main flock consists of 5 year-old hens, 2 twenty-weeks, and 3 fifteen-weeks. All layers. I also have 2 fifteen week old ducks. I feed my critters Organic Pride and they free range my acre all day. I spoil them all so they get wild bird seed, yogurt, fruit and egg as treats frequently. I'm not sure what else you might be wondering so I'll stop here. This wasn't supposed to happen to me! Thanks every one. I'll keep you posted
Oh and I couldn't figure out how to change the title to reflect the new development. Instructions anyone?
