Ok. We have Coccidiosis..... what's the latest treatment advice?

[Maran Chick]

I am by no means any kind of expert. I've read a lot about coccidiosis lately..... Sometimes you can find it off label for cattle. Not sure if that's an option up there. Amprolium/Corid is available online at places like Jeffers and Amazon. Chewy looks like it has some specifically for birds. EBay has it, but be careful for counterfeit. Once you get some, it'll usually keep for a few years before expiring. Hold on to it for the future. I know I'm going to try and get some Sulfa drugs from my vet to have in case I need it again and they aren't available.
My livestock vet still hasn't responded directly to my calls/messages from 3 weeks ago so I've given up on that. My small animal vet sent in a fecal to confirm coccidiosis and just gave me the (positive) results last night. Waaaaay too late to do anything medication-wise. I understand your frustration. I'm so sorry you are going through this.
There was another thread in the forum about trying to get Corid in Canada, from back in 2017 - maybe revisit that discussion and see if anyone up there has ideas.
I've added Oregano to my bird water down here. I figured it can't hurt. Pretty sure that should be available up there. To at least try and prevent secondary stuff.
Also, Cackle Hatchery has a "chicken expert" on staff that can offer advice. $25 for a consult. I bought a consultation, haven't used it yet (since mine seem to be past it).
Hang in there.

Thank you so much, it's so frustrating but it seems I may be able to get the bird looked at by the vet at noon today. I will look into what you mentioned above though to have on hand in future. I'm also hoping to get stuff from my vet today.

 

[Maran Chick]

Thank you so much, it's so frustrating but it seems I may be able to get the bird looked at by the vet at noon today. I will look into what you mentioned above though to have on hand in future. I'm also hoping to get stuff from my vet today.

Just realized also corid is not allowed to be shipped to Canada so Jeffers and Amazon.com is unavailable to me.

 

[HollyOakFarm]

Thank you so much, it's so frustrating but it seems I may be able to get the bird looked at by the vet at noon today. I will look into what you mentioned above though to have on hand in future. I'm also hoping to get stuff from my vet today.

How are your chickens doing?

 

[Maran Chick]

How are your chickens doing?

The one girl has pulled through and is now a huge suck. She comes to me for food and I can pick her up. No one else seems to have symptoms so it looks like I only lost one. Thanks for asking, it was pretty scary and hard to get the meds I needed.

 

[HollyOakFarm]

The one girl has pulled through and is now a huge suck. She comes to me for food and I can pick her up. No one else seems to have symptoms so it looks like I only lost one. Thanks for asking, it was pretty scary and hard to get the meds I needed.

What meds were you able to get up there?

 

[Maran Chick]

What meds were you able to get up there?

I had to get Amprolium from the vet.

 

[sillygolucky]

Update: I lost 15 out of 40+ young chickens to coccidiosis in the week that followed the heat wave. I contacted my livestock vet, and they were too busy with other emergencies to respond, and my small animal vet .... who was kind enough to send a fecal out for me, that confirmed it was coccidiosis.... but did not offer additional help.
I now have Corid, and Decox on hand. I've added Oregano to their water and am keeping a close eye on signs of another wave of coccidiosis. They've been on medicated feed their whole lives. That one week period was terrible and sad.

Everyone that is left is doing fine. (Pic napping after dinner)View attachment 2764694

I am so very sorry for the chickens you lost! I found this thread because we are currently treating our 10 week old flock of 11 chicks with Corid for coccidiosis. We have been going through a very hot and humid time here in NE Indiana for over 2 weeks now. I feel like it's been very hard on their not-fully-developed immune systems.

By where the bloody poop is on the dropping boards in the coop, I think possibly 3 have the overgrowth, but we're treating everyone via water. I haven't had a fecal test done, simply went by blood in stool and observation. On the second day of treatment just one of our chicks was showing signs of lethargy and disinterest in food, but she would drink. I gave her some extra TLC and by the next day she was recovering and is good now as far as those symptoms go. None of the other chicks have symptoms other than the blood in stool.

I was looking for one of the same answers you were originally--how long does it take for the blood to clear up? We are on day 6 of treatment and I still saw blood this morning. Everyone is eating, drinking, foraging, etc...I am home all the time so I have been monitoring them closely! According to treatment protocol, today we should go down to 1/2tsp Corid/gallon of water for two more weeks, but I'm worried it might be too soon?

Any insight you have from your experience would be appreciated!

 

[rascal66]

I am so very sorry for the chickens you lost! I found this thread because we are currently treating our 10 week old flock of 11 chicks with Corid for coccidiosis. We have been going through a very hot and humid time here in NE Indiana for over 2 weeks now. I feel like it's been very hard on their not-fully-developed immune systems.

By where the bloody poop is on the dropping boards in the coop, I think possibly 3 have the overgrowth, but we're treating everyone via water. I haven't had a fecal test done, simply went by blood in stool and observation. On the second day of treatment just one of our chicks was showing signs of lethargy and disinterest in food, but she would drink. I gave her some extra TLC and by the next day she was recovering and is good now as far as those symptoms go. None of the other chicks have symptoms other than the blood in stool.

I was looking for one of the same answers you were originally--how long does it take for the blood to clear up? We are on day 6 of treatment and I still saw blood this morning. Everyone is eating, drinking, foraging, etc...I am home all the time so I have been monitoring them closely! According to treatment protocol, today we should go down to 1/2tsp Corid/gallon of water for two more weeks, but I'm worried it might be too soon?

Any insight you have from your experience would be appreciated!

From personal experience with Corid, you'll probably see bloody poop for about 2-4 days after initial treatment, depending on how badly their infection is. Just keep treating them and do it longer term. It's a slow process, but it will work if you do it long term (as recommended on here, there is a cheat sheet but I don't have it on hand, but I assume you are using that?)
I always deal with coccidia, and ive learned to combat it. I've had one chick once near death, so lethargic and was nearly bones skinny. I was shocked when he pulled through, and is now a healthy happy friendly cockerel. Just keep trying! Not always will they make it, but never give up on them.

If I recall, the treatment guide should be 5 days on a 2 tsp per gallon, then for 14 days, 1/2 tsp per gallon. Out of experimenting, I have done the 2tsp for an extra day or two, but keeping up with it in general will help.

 

[sillygolucky]

From personal experience with Corid, you'll probably see bloody poop for about 2-4 days after initial treatment, depending on how badly their infection is. Just keep treating them and do it longer term. It's a slow process, but it will work if you do it long term (as recommended on here, there is a cheat sheet but I don't have it on hand, but I assume you are using that?)
I always deal with coccidia, and ive learned to combat it. I've had one chick once near death, so lethargic and was nearly bones skinny. I was shocked when he pulled through, and is now a healthy happy friendly cockerel. Just keep trying! Not always will they make it, but never give up on them.

If I recall, the treatment guide should be 5 days on a 2 tsp per gallon, then for 14 days, 1/2 tsp per gallon. Out of experimenting, I have done the 2tsp for an extra day or two, but keeping up with it in general will help.

Thank you for this! Don't worry, I won't give up...they're my pets, too I feel like all our chicks are fairly hardy and will pull through (but am also realistic!); my worry is the long-term damage it may be doing since we're still seeing blood. I have noticed a few of them feel skinnier, so most likely they are the ones who have the worse infection.

The protocol you mention is also what I am following. Today is day 6 and we already dosed their water for the day but I think I'm going to add a little more and go back up to the 2tsp for the rest of the weekend. On Monday it will start cooling off, which I think will take a lot of stress off them and fingers crossed the sicker ones start healing up!

Do you have a recommendation of a sanitizer to clean out the coop with?

 

[rascal66]

Thank you for this! Don't worry, I won't give up...they're my pets, too I feel like all our chicks are fairly hardy and will pull through (but am also realistic!); my worry is the long-term damage it may be doing since we're still seeing blood. I have noticed a few of them feel skinnier, so most likely they are the ones who have the worse infection.

The protocol you mention is also what I am following. Today is day 6 and we already dosed their water for the day but I think I'm going to add a little more and go back up to the 2tsp for the rest of the weekend. On Monday it will start cooling off, which I think will take a lot of stress off them and fingers crossed the sicker ones start healing up!

Do you have a recommendation of a sanitizer to clean out the coop with?

I've read that a concentrated ammonia is good to kill off any protozoa present. Don't bother with bleach, as it won't kill off the coccidia. Im still experimenting with the ammonia on my end, but at the very least, I submerge the feeders and waterers in a tub of water w/ammonia overnight. I hope your chicks will pull through!

Google quickly says, either boiling water and or 10% ammonia for sanitizing. Good luck!

Another edit: just realized you said coop.... I wouldn't know exactly the best choice for sanitizing a coop, especially if its wood. When i rear chicks, they are in my steel barn. They are on rubber mats, so when the batch of them are ready to go out and leave, I'll clean their stalls. Cleaning the floors and walls with ammonia.