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With all the wet weather, do Oregon flocks deal with Cocci more so than other regions? Anything special that you do to ward it off?
With all the wet weather, do Oregon flocks deal with Cocci more so than other regions? Anything special that you do to ward it off?
I unfortunately have a lot of experience with cocci, have been raising/breeding birds here in Oregon for 8 years or so. I had many losses in the first few years due mostly to inexperience in recognizing the symptoms. Having done my "research" before I got my very first chicks, I put apple cider vinegar in the water from day one, supposed to help build immunity and I fed medicated chick starter. When I realized I had sick chicks I treated with Corid (amprol liquid) but often too late. As the years went on my methods developed and I have not lost a chick to cocci in a very long time. Almost every year I need to treat, last year, not a single case, very strange, talking about 5 - 20 batches of chicks throughout breeding season. Maybe my flock is building immunity (one can hope) as I know I have cocci, it is seen by the vet when I take poop samples to check for worms.With all the wet weather, do Oregon flocks deal with Cocci more so than other regions? Anything special that you do to ward it off?
I unfortunately have a lot of experience with cocci, have been raising/breeding birds here in Oregon for 8 years or so. I had many losses in the first few years due mostly to inexperience in recognizing the symptoms. Having done my "research" before I got my very first chicks, I put apple cider vinegar in the water from day one, supposed to help build immunity and I fed medicated chick starter. When I realized I had sick chicks I treated with Corid (amprol liquid) but often too late. As the years went on my methods developed and I have not lost a chick to cocci in a very long time. Almost every year I need to treat, last year, not a single case, very strange, talking about 5 - 20 batches of chicks throughout breeding season. Maybe my flock is building immunity (one can hope) as I know I have cocci, it is seen by the vet when I take poop samples to check for worms.
What I do now is no longer feed medicated feed or the ACV as it did not seem to make a difference. After the first few days in the house after hatch, my chicks go to a wooden brooder in a horse stall outside with their ecoglow. I do not keep the brooder immaculately clean, I used to, bleach/oxine/lysol, etc., etc. My belief now is they need some germs to build immunity, just not an overload. They get a container full of sand from the main flocks area and a clump of grass/dandelions/dirt. If they start to get sick - any signs of lethargy/wings down/puffy looking feathers (often seen before any bloody poops) I treat the whole batch immediately with Sulmet liquid, 2 TBS per gallon of water for 5 - 7 days mixing a fresh batch each day. You need to watch for the lethargy 7 - 10 days from when you add the outside soil. Broody raised chicks seem to not have a problem as they are exposed to the cocci immediately upon hatch and build their immunity from the beginning. I try to simulate that as best I can in my brooder when raising incubator hatched chicks.
Hope this helps!
Just sharing my experience and what has worked for me.
You guys are welcome!Thanks for the replies.
Zanna, thanks so much very helpful!
Is summer liquid something a person can pick up at a farm store like Wilco?
Thanks spellcheck! I tried to type Sulmet.