One chick with coccidia symptoms--do I treat them all?

[WhiteWyan]

I LOVE the tiny brown one in the middle!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Love the black & white in the lower right hand corner

 

[HeyHo]

What are those black and white ones?? Very cute, like little cows...

 

[MaryZoe]

Did you hatch them or buy straight run chicks? Hopefully some are pullets, LOL.

I bought them straight run from Rarebreedsauction.com from Greenfire Farms. My experience with buying from Greenfire at those auctions is that they are generally cockerel-heavy. I gave away all my chix last May (after a battle with mycoplamsa that I was tired of waging) and restocked over the summer from those auctions and a couple hatches. I probably have 2 cockerels for every pullet as a result. No muy bueno.

Fortunately I love roosters. I now have a stag pen. I am slowly but surely selling them off, and I don't mind keeping them in the meantime. As adult roos they should be gorgeous birds, and I will keep the best.

My favorite new birds are some straight run day-old Araucana I bought from SkyBlueEggs. Those arrived very evenly matched, maybe even pullet heavy. Can't wait to breed them and create some Olive Eggers with my Marans from Greenfire!

 

[MaryZoe]

What are those black and white ones?? Very cute, like little cows...

Yes, the black and white ones are beautiful. They are a rare breed from an island off the coast of Sweden. They're called Orust, and they are truly gorgeous roosters. Their black glistens all shades of purple and green in the sunlight, and their earlobes are opalescent pink. Here's the Greenfire photo of an adult Orust:

The little brown one is one of the 2 pullets that came in the dozen "straight run" chicks. It is called a Vorwerk, it's a German chicken that is also quite stunning as adults.

Ironically I recently sold my two Vorwerk cockerels. Haha! Now I just have one little pullet!

Any buyers close to Florida? Any you want is yours...at least the cockerels! Haha.

 

[HeyHo]

Gorgeous birds! I take it you have been pleased with Greenfire quality... I'm thinking of going with their autosexing breeds for my next flock addition (because I cannot handle another surprise rooster).

 

[MaryZoe]

Gorgeous birds! I take it you have been pleased with Greenfire quality... I'm thinking of going with their autosexing breeds for my next flock addition (because I cannot handle another surprise rooster).

I am on the fence about Greenfire, to be honest. They insist that they do not sex their chicks, but each of the orders I've received has been statistically improbably cockerel heavy. This last one was 10 cockerels to 2 pullets. Really? That was my worst proportion. I may have had some better proportions, but I lost some of the chicks from my early order (to my "livestock guardian" dogs--argh!), so I cannot tell.
Of course I did not order from the pricy website, but rather through the cheaper option of the rarebreedsauction website. I guess you get what you pay for.

My big thing about Greenfire is their concern for biosecurity. I like the fact that they do not allow anyone on campus. I was burned once before by buying a sick chicken, so healthy stock is a big priority for me.
I also like the idea of rare chickens and I love their A-line Black Copper Marans. Their eggs are gorgeous.

If you order their auto-sexing breeds, read the fine print. Unless you order sexed birds directly from the website (pricy!!!!!!!!!!), you will get roos along with the pullets. But I think they guarantee more pullets than cockerels even from the auction site.

 

[MaryZoe]

I am on the fence about Greenfire, to be honest. They insist that they do not sex their chicks, but each of the orders I've received has been statistically improbably cockerel heavy. This last one was 10 cockerels to 2 pullets. Really? That was my worst proportion. I may have had some better proportions, but I lost some of the chicks from my early order (to my "livestock guardian" dogs--argh!), so I cannot tell.
Of course I did not order from the pricy website, but rather through the cheaper option of the rarebreedsauction website. I guess you get what you pay for.

My big thing about Greenfire is their concern for biosecurity. I like the fact that they do not allow anyone on campus. I was burned once before by buying a sick chicken, so healthy stock is a big priority for me.
I also like the idea of rare chickens and I love their A-line Black Copper Marans. Their eggs are gorgeous.

If you order their auto-sexing breeds, read the fine print. Unless you order sexed birds directly from the website (pricy!!!!!!!!!!), you will get roos along with the pullets. But I think they guarantee more pullets than cockerels even from the auction site.

….More pullets than cockerels uaranteed ONLY with the auto-sexing breeds.

 

[HeyHo]

Thanks for the feedback! I like the rare and bio-security aspects of Greenfire as well. I have such a small flock and am still so sad about having to give away my sweet roo that, at this point, I'd pay more for sure-bet pullets.

But, back to the purpose of your post, I had the same problem with one of my chicks and treated all with Corid. She perked right up after a day or so and ultimately became the head hen! The others never showed any issues. Good luck with your flock!

 

[MaryZoe]

Thanks. Today I bought a new bottle of Corid. I had been treating them with a bottle from last year that may well have been left out in the hot Florida sun or in the almost equally hot feed room for days (or months!) at a time. Here's hoping that this will clear up!

Too bad you don't live closer to me here in Florida. I did hatch a Flowery Hen trio (autosexing) from Greenfire eggs. When they start laying, I'll be glad to sell some at rates significantly lower than Greenfire. But I've never shipped chicks, and I'm afraid shipping all the way to Massachusetts from Florida would not go well. But if you're ever down this way... give a holler!