Looks like a bloody stool

[Livvydays]

This morning after I put the chickens back in the coop after their morning free range time I noticed what looks like a bloody stool on one of the landscaping rocks outside by the entrance going to the coop. I checked all their vents and couldn't see anything abnormal. I put a homemade parasite tincture in both indoor and outdoor waters in the meantime until I figure out which one might be having the bloody stools. I also have a seperate water without the tincture available. Once I know which one I will give it the tincture directly to treat it. All the chickens are acting their usual selves so far. The tincture I use is from " The Homesteaders Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook." It includes clove, black walnut, thyme, stinging nettle, garlic and the vodka to make it a tincture. It's recommended to treat the infected chicken with 2 drops every 4 to 8 hours for 2-3 weeks. Anything else to be aware of or recommendations? It's going to also be a very hot day today with a geat index of over 100 degrees with high humidity so I have a water pool and ice packs I can add at the heat of the day as well as watermelon to keep hydrated. Hopefully the heat with this possible parasite infection won't make things worse! Any feedback welcomed!! Thanks in advance!!

 

[Eggcessive]

How old are your chickens? Do you have any pictures of them or their droppings? If they are under 3 months old, I would skip the tincture and put them all on Corid or amprollium and treat for possible coccidiosis. Dosage of Corid is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder Corid per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Make that the only water source and change it daily.

 

[Livvydays]

They are about 12-13 weeks old. I don't have pictures at the moment but I can take some when I'm home later today. Maybe I should pick up that treatment as I'm in town with the farm fleet store right now...

 

[coach723]

Yes, I would start them on it ASAP. I won't hurt anything if it's something else, but at that age coccidiosis is not uncommon, and it can kill them. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Livvydays]

Ok thank you! I just bought some corid. Would the homemade tincture have worked just the same? I don't want to take any chances but just curious if anyone has had good results with home remedy treatments such as the one I mentioned earlier. I can always save the tincture for if no available other treatments down the road or as a future preventative.

I'm guessing I need to remove all the bedding and put new down? I was doing the deep litter method inside the coop. Was that the cause of this possible illness? Outside they have eaten all the grass down and I have hay down in the meantime until I get sand in the outdoor run hopefully this week or next week. I kept taking out the old hay and putting fresh down. I've been trying to keep things clean and surprised this has come up. Maybe because of such warm temperatures? Idk.

 

[Eggcessive]

Coccidiosis is very common in warm moist or rainy weather. Coccidia are in the soil, and the chickens normally with exposure to it, will eventually develop tolerance to it as they get older. I would try to stir the bedding daily and add to it when needed to keep it fresh. I am not a fan of deep litter, but rather clean out the bedding when needed. Others may disagree. If there are ammonia odors in the coop, it is time to clean out. Those odors can damage lungs and cause eye ulcers. Sand could be good for bedding since you can sweep it with a broom, and scoop droppings with a kitty litter shovel. I really have never heard of that tincture. Corid is a medically proven treatment for coccidiosis with studies. It is very safe to use.