Misinformation regarding medicated starter feed

[ten chicks]

I would like to state that there appears to be a lot of misinformation regarding medicated starter feed. Chicks can get Coccidiosis on medicated starter feed,that is a fact. Medicated feed Does Not Prevent Coccidiosis,your chicks can still become infected.
Medicated starter feed is an aid only nothing else. The instructions on the bags clearly state that it is good for "light to moderate exposure only" I would even question that. If anything other than "light" exposure,medicated feed will DO NOTHING to prevent deaths. I personally believe that medicated feed, falsely lures people into believing that their chicks are safe from this parasitic monster. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you have chicks,and they are on medicated feed,do not assume they are protected. Be knowledgeable on the symptoms,know what medications you need,time is crucial in treating cocci. Coccidiosis acts very quick,and kills chicks even faster. In most cases,you have a window of about 24 hours to get meds and administer them to your chicks.

Some symptoms are: runny/watery poop(may or may not contain blood),fluffed feathers(chicks look like fluffed balls)not eating/drinking properly,lethargic(sleeping more than they have previously,looking sleepy),general look of not well. Most important,Trust Your Instincts,if you feel something is wrong,it probably is. Soon as i see even just one of these symptoms,bam in goes the Amprolium into their drinking water,i don't even wait. I am happy to say, that so far i have not had any deaths.

Corid(amprolium) is my personal choice for medication. Corid kill 9 strains of Cocci,Sulmet kills 2. Treatment is Corid Powder - 1/2 tsp per gallon of water, Corid Liquid - 2 tsp per gallon of water. Treat all chicks for 5 days(you might have to treat up to 7,if you are dealing with a particular aggressive strain of cocci). Do not give vitamins during treatment,interferes with medication. Give vitamins after treatment, to replace vitamins lost during treatment. Nutri Drench or other similar product are good. You can medicate again after 2 weeks( Given the life cycle of this parasite,there will be no Cocci to kill,sooner than 2 weeks)for 3 days. I use this as a cautionary measure. Cocci can come back to haunt you no matter how vigilant you are,could be weeks,could be months,just be aware.

I personally feel that no deaths are acceptable. If everyone is aware,and knows the facts,then maybe more chicks can live a long and happy life.

If your chicks have been vaccinated for Coccidiosis,DO NOT give them medicated feed. Doing so will counteract the vaccination.

After speaking to my vet today,he mentioned that if you feed your chicks anything, other than medicated feed(that includes all those treats and snacks we all love to give our chicks)then what little benefit you receive from medicated feed becomes basically null. The reason is that the Amprolium in medicated feed is a small amount,if you feed anything else,then your chicks are not receiving any benefit at all.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Good information. It is important to know the signs of cocci.

 

[1RedheadedChick]

Thank you for this info. I WAS lulled into thinking I was protected by feeding them medicated food so I didn't even look at the possibility. If I had I may have been able to save 3 chicks today. I live in the boondocks and will make the trip to town tomorrow for the Corid. I would have had it on hand if I hadn't trusted the feed to protect them

Do I feed the really sick one with a dropper? How much? Thank you so much!

 

[LTygress]

More details taken from my website:

Coccidiosus (commonly referred to as Cocci) is one of those diseases that every chicken will probably get. It is also found in other animals including other poultry, and even dogs and humans, but the various strains tend to be species-specific (meaning chicken cocci can not infect a human). But unlike Marek's Disease, Cocci is not caused by a virus. It's actually not even caused by a bacteria. It's caused by the seldom-seen germ known as a protozoan.

Cocci actually lives naturally inside of most chickens. An infection is when the number of protozoa is too great, and the bird's body can no longer keep them in check. Because of this, it is actually easier to PREVENT a cocci outbreak than it is to treat one.

Cocci is spread from one chicken to another mostly through the feces of infected birds. But it can also be transported on tools and products used with infected chickens - and it may even hitch a ride on something as simple as your shoes. Cocci can also live in the soil around your home for DECADES without a host. And in the right conditions, it will reproduce very quickly! Just one chicken infected from the soil can leave droppings with cocci everywhere. And just like many animals, a chicken doesn't consider feces to be immediately off limits! Younger chicks especially want to poke and prod at everything to learn what it is, and if an infected chicken's poop happens to be the odd thing laying around, they'll explore it! Yes it's gross, but it's part of the learning process for a chick, and it's perfectly natural.

Young chicks and chickens are most vulnerable to a cocci infection because of their small bodies and their weaker immune systems. Their bodies usually aren't prepared to deal with large amounts of germs invading it at once. Thus a warm humid environment, plus one chick foraging on a piece of soil where Cocci germs have significantly reproduced, equals an infection. So if the number of Cocci germs they ingest is too high compared to their immune system, they become infected and may even die. Dehydration is one of the problems of an infection, along with lacerations (sores) inside of the bird's digestive system. Severe damage from a cocci infection is actually irreversible. Once you start to see bloody poop with a mucus-like substance, it is often too late. But unlike Marek's disease, there are many ways to prevent a Cocci infection, and if it is caught early, it can be successfully treated.

The best and cheapest way to prevent an infection, is good chicken hygiene. Keeping the coop (and running pens) dry and lined with fresh clean bedding can go a long way in preventing an infection. Changing the bedding regularly as it becomes soiled also goes pretty far. The same can be said for keeping food dry, and the water clean. Cocci can not only thrive in warm humid conditions for quite a while without a host, but those conditions also promote reproduction and development of the germs, which increases the number of germs your chickens could ingest at some point. It is fine if your chicken run has moist grass now and then, but try not to let it become a giant mud puddle, full of poop.

There is also a cocci vaccine available on the market for the most common strains. But since it does not cover all strains, there is no guarantee that it will work on your chickens. And keep in mind that similar to the flu, new strains are always evolving, so even the latest vaccine claiming to cover all strains, may not prevent an infection.



I removed the part about medications and when to use which one, because you already explained that here. But Cocci is something that chickens will just get. Simple as that. You can't stop them from getting Cocci. The ONLY thing you can do, is deal with the infection itself - when the germs outnumber the immune system. In pristine conditions, cocci should be virtually harmless. Your chickens will still get it, but they won't get an infection.

Also, amprolium is given in relatively small doses to keep from harming the chicken. Thus the dose needs to be repeated for several days to get enough built up to kill the Cocci germs. But the amprolium isn't actually going to kill ALL of the Cocci germs. Just like us humans with the sunlight, some of the germs can withstand EXPOSURE longer than others. And you only want to give enough amprolium to give your chicken's immune system a chance to kick back in and take over again. Sure, you could go an entire month on treatment, but that is going to be expensive, and will also kill off the chicken's immune system after a while, and not just the cocci germs.

The key to ALL of this, is the chicken's immune system. When they get an infection, you need to help their immune system kill off enough germs to take control again.

 

[ten chicks]

I am not sure if you are posting this information for me or for general purposes? I can assure you i am very well versed in everything Coccidiosis,and i know all this information. The purpose of this thread,was to inform new chicken owners about the dangers of assuming that if your chicks are on medicated feed,they are protected from this parasite. This thread is about medicated feed and nothing else. There are far too many cocci related deaths in birds,due to this misinformation. To quote Dawg53 signature "To be forewarned is to be forearmed"never a truer quote has been said!

 

[Tanya22]

I don't know if any one will answer this but I am giving my chicks Cocci treatment and I am also feeding them medicated starter. But I have been told that medicated starter negates the effect of the Cocci treatment as it has vitamins in it and Cocci feeds on vitamins.. I am so confused and I really hope that someone answers me and helps out. I am completely new to raising chicks. We actually rescued one from the road and now we are raising her.

 

[Kiki]

I don't know if any one will answer this but I am giving my chicks Cocci treatment and I am also feeding them medicated starter. But I have been told that medicated starter negates the effect of the Cocci treatment as it has vitamins in it and Cocci feeds on vitamins.. I am so confused and I really hope that someone answers me and helps out. I am completely new to raising chicks. We actually rescued one from the road and now we are raising her.

If you are using Corid to treat the coccidiosis then you have nothing to worry about.
Coccidia...not cocci.

 

[Tanya22]

If you are using Corid to treat the coccidiosis then you have nothing to worry about.
Coccidia...not cocci.

I am using Coccicinilplus. I will attach a pic along with to show its composition.
Yes, I understand. Coccidia