PLEASE HELP ...coccidiosis (I THINK )

[amydurose]

My chicks hatched on Saturday just gone, and when we went to the farm we got the eggs from my son told the lady he had a rooster and she agreed to take him back when hes older. She gave him one of her chicks that was a little older and said he could have that. I stupidly took him home and added him to my brooder. They all get along fine but I think they are sick.

Ive noticed lots of bloody stools in the brooder but have never been able to pin point who is doing it. I got some coxoid immediatly as advised from the breeder. I started giving them this last night.

Now this morning the brooder is wet. All the stools seem to have water in them, I saw one of the babies pop nothing but water. This baby has always been weaker than the rest as was born without absorbing all the yolk.

The chicks dont look sick they eat and drink fine its just their poop

Im at a loss as to what else to do, my children are so upset.

PLEASE HELP

I have 2 bantam orpingtons, a cream legbar and a welsummer all a week old and light sussex who is approx 1 month

 

[amydurose]

please help :-(

 

[PunkinPeep]

Am i understanding correctly that these chicks are less than one week old? I ask because the cocci - sort of incubating period - is about two weeks, so it seems unlikely that chicks this young could have a coccidial infestation at this point.

Are you sure that the bloody poops aren't just shedding of intestinal lining?

The watery poops that you're seeing now seem to indicate to me that maybe they're not eating - but they're drinking a lot? I would wonder if may there's a crop problem. Could they be eating pine shavings and blocking up their crops?

 

[Judy]

Agree with PunkinPeep. Very young chicks have lots of strange looking poop, including watery and bloody looking. Every chick I've watched grow up has gone through lots of funny looking poop til their intestines gfot the knack of digesting food.

Look here: http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[amydurose]

i think its the older one the farmer gave my son. The babies are passing poop and water but i now think this is because they were a bit hot, ive moved the lamp and readjusted the temp a little lower.

Im worried sick about them.

Will the chicks be ok with coxiod if its just to treat the other. I havent got another heat lamp to seperate

 

[amydurose]

To be honest PunkinPeep Ive never raised chicks before so I dont know if thats the cause, I hope it is.

The bedding is only paper towels at the moment, they always seem to be eating i will keep my eye on how much they are drinking.

thankyou for your advice, i actually feel a little better now

 

[PunkinPeep]

Well, you probably discovered the cause of the watery poop. Your babies were hot.

As to the older chick, it's no sign of a bad breeder that he has coccidiosis. Your chicks will likely go through the same thing about 2 - 3 weeks after you put them on the ground. And your older chick who's sick now may go through it again if your place happens to have different strains of cocci in the soil than the breeder's.

Once they go through an infestation like that, they develop resistance to those strains of cocci and will likely never have a problem again. Just keep that coxoid on hand and watch for lethargic, fluffed up babies; also look for the bloody poop, which you now recognize.