Necropsy

[LeenaB]

Initial results/findings for the necropsy of 2 of my quail have come back. Enlarged liver and spleen, cocciadia, and enlarged testicles in the male. Both were underweight. They're running more tests to see why the organs were enlarged. Has anyone encountered this? I've had these birds almost a month now- so they've been in quarentine and will continue to remain there.

Should I throw out their eggs? We've been consuming them up until now?

Last week I started the birds on an herbal dewormer.

 

[Classroom Quail]

Huh, that's really weird.. I've never seen anything like that in my birds (no quail at the time, but I have other kinds). Keep us posted on the reason if you find out.

 

[LeenaB]

Yes it is very strange. And the man I bought them from on craigslist hasn't returned my email from last week.

 

[Classroom Quail]

That's not good. Hopefully someone can tell you what the deal is.

 

[TwoCrows]

That is what Cocci does...causes liver damage. Your birds have coccidiosis. Cocci will strike young babies at 2-4 weeks, at 6 weeks and even adult birds are not immune to cocci. It is a parasite in the intestinal tract of all birds. As the birds age, they can become immune so to speak and be able to manage this parasite. Babies and young birds are very suseptable to death because they do not yet know how to control it and their immune systems are still developing. The coccicysts are pooped out by the millions in the brooder and the birds become infected. They cause ulcerations in the intestinal tract, hence there is sometimes blood in the stool. The birds don't eat enough and many times stop eating all together. Adult birds can be affected as well and die.

You can use medicated feed for the first 6 weeks of life to help prevent cocci. And if you have adult birds with cocci, you can put Corid in their water for 5 days to heal them up.

The eggs are perfectly fine to eat.

 

[coop-er]

That is what Cocci does...causes liver damage. Your birds have coccidiosis. Cocci will strike young babies at 2-4 weeks, at 6 weeks and even adult birds are not immune to cocci. It is a parasite in the intestinal tract of all birds. As the birds age, they can become immune so to speak and be able to manage this parasite. Babies and young birds are very suseptable to death because they do not yet know how to control it and their immune systems are still developing. The coccicysts are pooped out by the millions in the brooder and the birds become infected. They cause ulcerations in the intestinal tract, hence there is sometimes blood in the stool. The birds don't eat enough and many times stop eating all together. Adult birds can be affected as well and die.

You can use medicated feed for the first 6 weeks of life to help prevent cocci. And if you have adult birds with cocci, you can put Corid in their water for 5 days to heal them up.

The eggs are perfectly fine to eat.

TwoCrows..can/should Corid be used as a preventative? I have a small flock (7) in my coop and I just bought 10 chicks last week. My young ones won't be added to my existing flock for several months (they are from Meyers) But I have Corid and I wonder if I should treat my birds occasionally to prevent an outbreak. I would hate to have a problem with my chickens when the preventative is sitting in a bag in my garage.

 

[LeenaB]

The thing is they came from someone who was chemically deworming them and giving them medicated feed. But they were kept in rather smelly and overcrowded conditions with overmating occuring and wounds, etc. So I took them off of all of those things, gave them more space and took care of injuries.

Last week I started herbally deworming them- so I'm going to run another fecal this evening and they're heading to the vet next Friday.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: If the birds are kept in a clean environment, they will on their own develop immunity to cocci. So you do not need or really want to add Corid unless they need it. Birds need to be exposed to a small amount of this parasite to become immune, and adult birds that are healthy will never die or have complications from it. If you add Corid when they don't need it, it is like taking antibiotics when you don't have infection. It really does no good and can actually weaken the immune system.

So just keep it as clean as possible. I only raise babies on wire. I had cocci outbreaks on litter when I first started hatching no matter how clean I kept the brooder. So I started raising on wire and never stopped. But you can keep them on bedding, just keep it very clean. You should be fine.

 

[TwoCrows]

The thing is they came from someone who was chemically deworming them and giving them medicated feed. But they were kept in rather smelly and overcrowded conditions with overmating occuring and wounds, etc. So I took them off of all of those things, gave them more space and took care of injuries.

Last week I started herbally deworming them- so I'm going to run another fecal this evening and they're heading to the vet next Friday.

You cannot deworm birds for cocci. This parasite is a strange issue. It is one that the bird just needs to become immune to over time. So cleanliness is the key. Since these birds came from dirty conditions, I would imagine they all have cocci. So get yourself some Corid and treat your birds. Then just keep their environment very clean and eventually they will become immune. Boost their systems with probiotics, vitamin supplements and healthy veggies.

 

[LeenaB]

Well the final results came in: Microscopic findings are compatible with lymphoproliferative disease
caused by Marek's disease virus (MDV) and/or avian leukosis.

Much more serious than coccidia and not curable.

I have a call into my vet as they were going to be seen tomorrow. It looks like a total cull and clean is in order.

Thankfully I've kept them in quarantine since I got them.