Re: Confused about Coccidiosis

[Michael Apple]

Hello Michael Apple,

Thank you for your post.

When do you suggest I introduce them to the outside?
Everything I keep looking up is conflicting.
Is it 4, 6, 8 weeks?

I feel like an idiot, I have been spending all this time reading up on coop building and what to expect when the chickens are fully grown.
I never really gave baby chick rearing much thought because until now I had been lulled into thinking that as long as they were warm, had food and water and clean bedding, they'd be fine.
Then I discovered the chick parasites!!!!
Most of the manuals, books, and how-to guides out there speak about these things in vague generalities, as if it's basically a crap shoot.
Depending on who I have spoken to, they react like I am being crazy, which I know I am, but at the same time when I mention some of this stuff to people who have reared chicks in the past (30+ years ago), they react like I have three heads.
"ah, I just kept them warm and fed them, then they gave me eggs!"
Great!!!!

I looked up Corid V and there seems to be two routes of dosing, a stronger (10cc per gallon) at five day intervals and a 21 day "preventative" dosing.
I cannot find a proper dose for chickens because this medication isn't listed to be used for chickens.

How long do you wait between intervals to then dose the chicks?

The dosing calculations for Corid V start at 100lbs for cattle.
I have no idea how much my chicks will weigh when they finally go outside and frankly at this point I am not sure when they should.
So I have no idea how to calculate the dosage.

Thank you again for your post, it means a lot
Antionette

Ridgerunner made a point about environmental conditions of which poultry are kept. For that reason people do it differently. I live in Northern California. It is humid and moist in this environment. I brood mine in house for 5 weeks before they go out to the grow off pen in late April / early May. If you are like me, you will do your best to keep brooders tidy. They get filthy no matter how often you clean them, and chicks will eat some fecal matter since it gets in any fecal proof feeder people claim to use. This is normal as they need to build immunity. Too much can overwhelm them and that is where coccidiosis comes in to take advantage of their immune systems.

I have dealt with Coccidia in chicks as well as adult birds. Since it is about a 4-7 day process for coccidia to become infectious, I begin treating the quart waterers with 1.25 ML of Corid 9.6 liquid at 5 days old. This is merely a preventative dose done for a 5 day period. If I see symptoms, I will do it for 10 days. Each treatment is done with a follow up of vitamins and probiotics in the water for 3 days. Once I have them on .5" vinyl wire flooring or pine shavings, I don't concern myself with a rigid treatment for cocci as much after 2 weeks in the brooder since there is less fecal matter for the chicks to come in contact with. I do use the Corid 9.6% at about 5 ML per gallon of water from the day they are outside for 5 day intervals, with vitamins & probiotics in the water in between, for those two weeks. I don't further treatment after that unless I see symptoms. I don't believe I run the risk of assisting Amprolium resistant coccidia this way, but provide enough to keep it from overwhelming chicks.

Some would ask,"Why not use medicated starter?" I have brought home spoiled feed from the feed store in the past. Since there are no expiration dates on most feed sacks, I am unaware of the amprolium effectiveness in the feed. In the water, I know what dosage they get since I am providing it, and don't need to concern myself with spoiled feed or ineffective medication.

 

[BCollie]

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who is paranoid and over-thinking the whole raising-chicks-for-the-first-time thing...

 

[Michael Apple]

Times are different now. When I was a kid, my Dad bought our chicks locally. We never had them shipped from the opposite end of the country. We never wormed our birds and we had some birds that lived more than a decade. There were no GMO feeds then. Birds weren't on a mass production scale they are today. Perhaps poor breeding practices by the largest hatcheries are a contributor to lack of disease resistance. Perhaps there are many more reasons. I attribute much of the coccidia around here to migrating birds, quail, the moist pasture, etc. That is why I treat for it. I've found that when I don't treat for it, birds are affected. Molds and fungi in the fields, and diseases passed by migratory birds and mammals seem to cause the most problems around here. CAHFS up in Davis, CA recently released a report about Bursal disease being found locally now. I don't worry or fret, I just try to stay informed and keep the birds healthy. If I didn't enjoy it anymore, I'd stop keeping them.

 

[blondiebee181]

Most of what has been said here is very logical. I struggled with conflicting feelings about coccidiosis too with my first chicks but I brooded ducks too and most coccidiosis meds are not safe for them so that kind of made my decision but in hindsight I am glad I did not medicate. I kept them clean and dry and introduced yard material like mulch pine cones and soil at about 3 weeks. Coccidiosis is a gut infection I believe so I fed them lots of probiotic yogurt too. Some ppl dose apple cider vinegar in the water. I think meds have their place if there are going to be many batches brooded over and over and etc but I also think that if it ain't broke why fix it...a lot of folks on here were very helpful. Good luck with your chickies

 

[mtnviewfarms]

I always start my Spring and Fall chicks from day old on Medicated Premium Starter/Grower Crumble ( Only protects and builds immunity to Coccidossis ).

I stop hatching and raising chicks in warmer weather ( we live in Georgia and it is hot and humid - Cocci loves it ) and resume in late September when the temperatures lower.

I also use Meyer Hatchery's 'Vital-Pak' ( 1/8 tsp of the powder per gallon of water ) for the first five days which contains extra nutrients and enzymes that gives them a good start in life and then after that and for the rest of their life I add 'Apple Cider Vinegar - With the Mother' to to their drinking water. It is a general tonic as well as preventative that keeps feathers looking great and the chickens healthy - at least it seems to for my birds.

Once the birds are 8 to 10 weeks of age I switch to unmedicated Premium Starter/Grower and continue that until 20 weeks of age at which time I transition them slowly to Premium Layer Pellets that also contain pre-and pro biotics in the formula.