Need Help - Rust Colored Poop in Most of my birds

[NotTheMomma]

ALL species have E-coli.

It's one of the many bacterias present in the intestines to help digest food. So YES you may eat the chicken, and or the eggs.

E-coli is mainly a problem if it gets into a WOUND. Say someone didn't wash their hands well after pottying, and had an open wound that was itching.... see where that's going? The E-coli then infects the wound, and causes problems.

However, you WANT E-coli in the intestines, or the food doesn't get digested, and the nutrients absorbed by the body.

Sometimes a little knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge.

And with that... if the chicken is NOT acting sick, then leave well enough alone. The old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" is true in many cases.

As for antibiotics, well, it's going to depend on WHAT is going on, and what bacteria is causing that problem. There isn't a one sentence answer. Sometimes it's simply trial and error. If one thing doesn't work, you try another. No different than us going to the doctor for say bronchitis, and the doctor treating with one antibiotic, but in a few days, you're feeling worse, or no better, and the doctor orders a different one.

Without doing what is called a culture and sensitivity, there's no absolute way of knowing. With a c&s, a culture (some nasal discharge, or urine, or discharge from where the problem is) is submitted to a lab, and they apply that to a petri dish and see what grows. What grows is the bacteria that is causing the problem, and can then be identified as the exact bacteria. That bacteria is then tested to see what antibiotic it is sensitive to ( meaning which one will kill it). And then the doctor knows exactly which antibiotic to order to help you.

Hope that helps some!

 

[threehorses]

I'd just like to add that it's a common myth that you must see blood for it to be coccidiosis. The actuality of it is that once you see blood, things are really bad.

In reality, the first signs of coccidiosis are usually more runny stool, darker in color or rust color, with mucus or a stringy consistency.

If I see poop that looks like a dab of pudding, I start treating with probiotics heavily. My probiotic of choice is fastrack or probios from the feedstore, but plain yogurt (1 teaspoon per fourth a cup of food) helps as well as adding *organic* apple cider vinegar to their water at the rate that Glenda recommends. Organic apple cider vinegar still has the 'mother' in it, the bacteria that fermented the vinegar. Those bacteria are beneficial to our birds and colonize in their guts to help prevent bad bacteria. Additionally, the ACV corrects the pH of the gut to make it unfriendly for bad bacteria and pathogens like cocci.

If the pudding consistency doesn't go away, I will treat with Corid or Sulmet. During that time I pull the ACV and just use probiotics every other day throughout the treatment period and for at least a week thereafter.

Other things: make sure their bedding is completely clean (I prefer wire for little babies, sand next because it's dry, shavings last.) Make sure they don't roost on their feeder or poop in their waterer. (Mine are doing this this year - weird.) If they poop in their waterer, put it up on top of two bricks. Then give them something else to roost on in their cage.

It never hurts with hatchery and feedstore babies to give them a dose of probiotics their first week at home and weekly thereafter til theyr'e out of the delicate stages, especially if you don't have them on wire. Establish a strong beneficial bacterial colony in their gut, and you'll have very thrifty and healthy birds going into thrifty and healthy adults.

Start with a strong foundation, and your house will stand.

 

[WillowChick]

I am currently treating for the same condition (whatever it is) as if it might be coccidiosis or something else. I'm giving them ACV and yogurt mixed with crumbles and chopped hard boiled eggs in addition to Amprol and a penicillin/vitamin booster mix (got it at the vet in a pre-mixed package). I tried just treating with Amprol 9.6% at a 0.024 dose and it didn't work well, in fact it seemed to make it worse, so because my vet tech friend thinks it's still coccidiosis, I'm using the low (preventative maintenance) dose 0.006 with the antibiotic vitamins. Here's hoping. I will be taking a stool sample in to the vet in 2 weeks if this does not resolve though.

I noticed no one really answered your question!

Treating for coccidiosis: YES you can eat the EGGS but NO you cannot eat the MEAT (until 7 days after treatment)

Treating with antibiotics: NO you cannot eat the EGGS or the MEAT (during and 5 days after treatment)

At least thats what my vet sheets say...

Hope that helps?

Willow

 

[LAYINGCHICKENZ4]

IT should work normally does

 

[ten chicks]

I am currently treating for the same condition (whatever it is) as if it might be coccidiosis or something else. I'm giving them ACV and yogurt mixed with crumbles and chopped hard boiled eggs in addition to Amprol and a penicillin/vitamin booster mix (got it at the vet in a pre-mixed package). I tried just treating with Amprol 9.6% at a 0.024 dose and it didn't work well, in fact it seemed to make it worse, so because my vet tech friend thinks it's still coccidiosis, I'm using the low (preventative maintenance) dose 0.006 with the antibiotic vitamins. Here's hoping. I will be taking a stool sample in to the vet in 2 weeks if this does not resolve though.

I noticed no one really answered your question!

Treating for coccidiosis: YES you can eat the EGGS but NO you cannot eat the MEAT (until 7 days after treatment)

Treating with antibiotics: NO you cannot eat the EGGS or the MEAT (during and 5 days after treatment)

At least thats what my vet sheets say...

Hope that helps?

Willow

Using vitamins with cocci medication will affect the ability of medication to work. Cocci medication blocks thiamine(vit B1) from the body(parasite needs thiamine to reproduce)using vitamins defeats this purpose.

 

[WillowChick]

Thanks! Very helpful! I will omit treatment with amprol until I'm finished with my dewormer and my antibiotic.