Managing Coccidias with Diary?

[KimKimWilliamso]

Soooooo Sorry for beating a dead horse!
I know there are tons of threads here on BYC about treating Coccidias. I have searched the internet and the forum about effective ways to try to "cure" Coccidias with diary products as apposed to meds.
But Id really appreciate some real time advice based on my particular situation.

Ive mentioned in previous posts that my chicks are about 2 weeks old now, doing great so far, until of course 2 nights ago. I was changing the litter before I went to bed (as Ive been doing it twice a day) and noticed 2 poops with a significant amount of blood in it. Al the chicks seemed to be eating great, active, etc. So I told myself that it was probably because I had given them some apples and lettuce that day. But in the AM, one of my little Buff Orpingtons started acting lethargic, hunching, sleeping WAY more than the others. Since then there hasnt been any bloody poo, but deff some super runny stuff in comparison to the other harder poops in the brooder. All other chicks look great.
They have all been on medicated feed since day one, even before they came to me. I THINK it might be Coccidias?

I drove to several farm supply and feed stores yesterday looking for the meds to help this chick recover, but found that most of the employees didnt even know what the disease was, let alone the type of meds youd use to treat them. I then focused my attention on more natural alternatives, and drove to several health food stores and groceries to look for Kefir....no luck!

SO - at home I tried to sour some of my 2 percent milk by adding Lemon Juice, no go. Then we just mixed in 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt to a handul of the medicated feed. ALL FOUR chicks went crazy for this! They were all eating it up! I havent seen anymore bloody poo, only a small amount of diahreah, no sticky bums. The chick in question is still hunched, but moving around and consuming bread and yogurt fine. No feed though, and I havent seen her drink water either.

Should I syinge some water into her? How frequently should I offer the yogurt? Should I keep looking for the meds, or can I manage this just with the yogurt? It appears the case of Coccidias (if thats what it is) is pretty mild at this point.......can I administer the meds in addition to the medicated feed, or will I need to replace the feed with non medicated feed after they are on meds?

Have any of you had chicks recover from this after only maintaining them on the dairy?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have never heard of a dairy treatment and I doubt it.
Yogurt would give probiotics but I doubt you'll see a slowdown in the damage to the intestines without an amprolium or sulfa drug.
I don't medicate but a couple batches of chickens ago had bloody stool.
I switched to medicated starter for 12 chicks/50 pounds and it cleared up.
Keeping bedding dry and feeders at least half full is usually all I have to do to prevent it.

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

Im not looking for a preventative, Im looking for something to help the chick recover from it, she is already infected (I believe). Which sucks, because I did start them on Medicated feed.

Dairy is a common preventative, and there is also reports of it assisting in recovery, on this very site and others. Something called a Milk flush ,and some Kefir which is a fermented milk drink (impossible to find in southern alberta apparently), yogurt, and other things. Apparently a bacteria in the dairy kills the coccidias. Some say it works, others not so much, but Im giving it a go.

After four servings (spread out) of the yogurt in the feed, my sick chick seems....the same. She is still eating fine, and drinking too, and no more diahreah. Maybe its working? Maybe it was something else? I did notice one of her nostrils is wet, but she isnt sneezing or wheezing.
Is there something else that could cause these symptoms? Im going to keep looking around the web for some answers.

 

[dawg53]

There are 9 types of cocci that chickens can get. Milk products may or may not have an effect in slowing the progress of one or two strains. However, depending which strain it is, death can and will occur eventually. I know that some people sprinkle the powder from powdered milk onto their feed to slow the effects of cocci, it's temporary until corid (amprolium) can be given to the chicks. Amprolium treats all 9 types of cocci. Sulmet only treats 2 types.