Need Help with administering Sulfa to chicks

[Atomic Ranch]

I've just used Sulmet, since you can give it to all chickens. It does say to withdraw treatment 10 days prior to consumption though. Maybe that's it?

Anyone know why over 16 weeks can't have Sulfasol vs. Sulmet?

 

[Pinkychick]

I found this site and it says to use both Amprol/Corid powder and sulfa 3 weeks apart. Never seen that here on BYC at all. Can anyone verify if this is in fact what I need to do? http://thecozynest.com/understanding_coccidiosis.htm

 

[kelar]

The one week old babies are not old enough to be infected with cocci & chicks raised with hens do not seem to have as much trouble with this. I would put mom and chicks on medicated chick starter (which has amprol in it). The medicated starter it fine for the hen to eat too. Keep a close eye on the babies when they reach about 4 weeks of age to make sure you don't see signs of cocci. It seems to be the worst at 6-8 weeks of age, but it can show up earlier. Your can use sulmet on adult chickens - you just should not eat the eggs or the chicken until it is out of their systems. The others should be given the full 6 day dosage of sulmet and make sure their litter is very clean so they don't reinfect themselves. I'd then put them on medicated feed too.

 

[Pinkychick]

Thanks so much Keylar/neighbor! I am in Ariel.

I have been reading up on this all nite! Ok thats my thoughts too. Baby chicks just put on medicated. All the others I need to treat. What kinda bedding do you use? Thinking about going with the deep litter method. Seems less of a hassle.

 

[kelar]

Hi Neighbor! The deep litter method is not a good plan for baby chicks and frankly, with our very wet weather here, I don't think it works at all because too much dampness builds up in the bedding. I don't raise my chicks with the hens anymore, so I use wood pellets in the brooder boxes for the first few weeks and then switch over to all wood shavings because they are easier to change more frequently. For the mom and babies, I'd just go with the shavings - all wood or pine as mama will show them what to eat (and not eat). Cocci thrives in dirty, crowded and damp conditions, so it is very important to keep chick areas as clean and dry as possible at all times. Lots of breeders put them on wire for this reason, but I'm not set up that way.

 

[Atomic Ranch]

Quote:
That's strange, the very young RIR chick I posted about was tested positive for cocci. She was only 4 days- died the fifth.

I agree regarding the bedding. It was warm here that evening, and they had managed to wet their shavings with the water. The tech said conditions were likely the culprit, and to use Sulmet because it's quicker. Bad advice, do you think?

 

[Pinkychick]

Quote:
Ok sounds logical to me. I do have pine shavings. So I will just stick with that and frequently clean it. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Pinkychick]

Quote:
That's strange, the very young RIR chick I posted about was tested positive for cocci. She was only 4 days- died the fifth.

I agree regarding the bedding. It was warm here that evening, and they had managed to wet their shavings with the water. The tech said conditions were likely the culprit, and to use Sulmet because it's quicker. Bad advice, do you think?

Well I had a 6 week old chick die and a 1 week old chick die. I believe it was cocci. The rest of the chicks are all ok just want to treat them and I am using the sulfa because that is what I bought and opened it so I will stick with that and medicated starter. They are all doing well so far. The baby chicks I am giving medicated starter and think they should be ok. Thanks all for the help.

 

[kelar]

I believe it takes 3-4 days after ingestion for the occysts to multiply and start invading the bird's system. I've seen cocci as early as 3 weeks, but it seems improbable that a week old could die from it, although I suppose not impossible if it ingested the cocci immediately after hatch