Never had Cocci til I started feeding medicated...

[cluckcluck42]

I've been raising chicks since January 2010. I've not once had a cocci outbreak. For this batch of chicks I decided to use medicated chick starter. Discovered 6 dead today and absolutely disgusting bloody poops all over the brooder.

I've done a lot of reading on the subject and I know I've seen it mentioned many times that the cocci meds in the food cannot cause cocci. Is this for sure true? I really wonder because like I said I have never had cocci and the first time using medicated food I have an outbreak. The chicks have never been on the ground, are housed in a large brand new brooder (first birds to live there) and have not been in contact with any other birds. Thankfully I have Amprol on hand from a time I convinced myself a sick hen had cocci (nope she definitely didn't).

Wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences... Like I said, Never had any issues with chicks dying from cocci until I decided to feed medicated. Just seems like a big coincedence once I start using medicated I get cocci.

 

[Peaches Lee]

Sorry about your little chicks. I'm a new chicken owner. Was the feed perhaps bad? Could they have had cocci and feeding the medicated caused them to expel a large amount of cocci resulting in dehydration and death? Like I said I'm new to chickens so I don't know if that's possible or not, hopefully someone here will give you a good answer.

 

[Sierra pachie bars]

I feed medicated because that is all I am able to purchase chick feed wise. I blend it in my coffee grinder for them until they feather out. Then I switch to flock raiser. I have never had a outbreak. How old were the chicks ? Did you purchase them or hatch them out yourself ?

 

[cluckcluck42]

Quote:
They are going on three months and were from my own flocks eggs. Never interacted with other birds, I have only birds younger than them here and they are all housed separately. Really surprised they got sick, never ever had this problem. Needless to say I am never feeding medicated again! We have a somewhat cold spell which may have compromised their immune systems but besides the meds they were not exposed to anything that would give them cocci.


Thanks for your input Peaches.

Bad feed would not cause cocci. I am really wondering if the cocci in the feed GAVE them cocci when their immune systems were being challenged. Where else could they have got cocci from???

 

[buckabucka]

I've never had cocci here, either, but I am fairly new to this. I did use medicated starter, though. Doesn't cocci occur in the soil? Perhaps the feed did not cause cocci, but did not offer them enough protection? I really don't know, but am throwing that out there because it is easy to come to conclusions based on one variable, when there are likely several involved.
Good luck, - I hope some of your chicks make it!

 

[silkiechicken]

Cocci is a protozoa. Eggs survive in soil till a bird picks it up and eats it. It is 100% not possible to get a coccidosis protozoa from the medicine in a medicated feed. The medicine is a thiamine along that prevents cocci from reproducing in the gut so birds can gain immunity. Unlike inactivated virus vaccines and such, the drug and the cocci are totally different things.

However, what is possible is a wild bird dropping got into feed or into shavings, or if you did not hatch the chicks, they could have been exposed at the feed store, or on a bit of shell dibris with dirt on it from outside, and over time, the levels of protozoa built up in the brooder and overwhelmed the chicks. That said, you should have noticed lethargic puffy chicks before bloody poops and dead birds. It kills fast, but usually takes a few days.

For example, you can't get worms from taking a de-wormer. Same with cocci.

 

[gryeyes]

I HAVE had a really deadly cocci breakout, but never had any other signs until I was stupid enough to stop the medicated feed for 8 week chicks still in a huge brooder and start them on grower/finisher for two weeks before I put them outside on the ground and in their new grow out pen. The medicated feed needs to be continued when the chicks are actually exposed to it.... the adult birds were resistant, but they were not. I lost 10 birds - FAST.

I have no idea at all how or why your birds got it. I'm sorry you had to experience that - it is heart-breaking. Poor birds.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Quote:
Medicated feed doesn't HAVE cocci in it. It has amprolium in it, the same stuff you have from when you thought your hen had cocci. If the feed has cocci in it, it's because it has been contaminated, not because it is made that way.

 

[chickengrl]

Maybe it isn't coccidiosis. Ulcerative enteritis can also cause bloody droppings in that age group. (chicken health handbook) It is considered common. Also blackhead, but that is supposed to be rare. I would stop barking up the wrong tree so to speak. The medicated feed is NOT going to cause coccidiosis, and it sounds like your birds have not been exposed to soil or other birds droppings. So, I really don't think you have a coccidia problem. After reading more about the enteritis, it sounds really terrible. It is resistant to disinfectants, and permanently contaminates housing. It says you can treat with streptomycin in drinking water at 15 grams per gallon for 10 days, then 1 gram per gallon for 5 more days. All survivors may be carriers. I really hope that is not what you are dealing with....coccidia would be way more easy to treat. I have, thankfully, no experience with treating this, but wanted you to know that it could be something else. I hope they get better for you!

 

[cluckcluck42]

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aah I was under the impression the medicated feed worked by giving them small amounts of the cocci and thus build immunity to it. I just checked and it does indeed have Amprolium in it. My bad!

i just remembered something- About a week ago two of the little guys got out for a couple hours while my hubby was here alone. It slipped my mind until now but I guess that's a way the could have picked something up. It's also entirely probable that contamination happened some other way too but this is the only thing that comes to mind.

Our power has been off for 3 days from Thursday to Saturday and this was Saturday night/early Sunday morning that they must have started dropping like flies. Previous to this I did notice some reddish eyes and some seemed a little bit lethargic but I chalked it up to the weird weather we have been having and after some interneting wasn't too worried. There were no bloody poops or anything at that time.

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Thank you, it is very hard to lose them. I'm sorry for your experience as well, it's such a hard part of chicken keeping when you lose some.