REALLY bad Week

[minna]

Well, maybe two weeks. The middle of last week I went to collect eggs and only had 3 instead of 12. Then the culprit slithered out of the coop! I have yet to catch that snake back in there and it is still getting my eggs. Then I moved some of my older babies out of the brooder into the nursery pen, b/c we are seeing 80-90 degree weather and I figured they would be more comfortable. I left my guinea keets in one side of the brooder and my quail babies in the other. With a thermostat, so if it got too cool the light would come on, but otherwise stay off. I went out Sunday to show off my babies to a friend and my half of my guineas were dead and the other half staggering as were a few of my chicks in the nursery pen. I freaked and did fresh water, fresh food, antibiotics and vit/electrolytes. Yesterday I went to check and the rest were dead. And I lost a few of the chicks in my nursery pen. But only the ones that were visibly sick the day before. Today I went out and almost all of my quail are dead, the rest are sick. I don't know what it could be, or what to do, it's just all of a sudden. The day before they are sick, they are running around just fine, then BAM! I am sooo scared that tomorrow my whole nursery pen will be wiped out. Someone mentioned it could be the heat, but I don't really see that. I may be wrong though. Any ideas???

 

[MoodyChicken]

Have they been freshly introduced to soil? Are you feeding medicated feed? It could be coccidiosis. I'm so sorry though! What a bummer. Hang in there!

 

[Crickett]

I'm really sorry to hear of your troubles. I don't know what could be causing it though. Maybe they caught something? Were they vaccinated? Perhaps some else that knows more will have more insight.

 

[cariboujaguar]

I'm so sorry! I would guess Cocci as well, I am familiar with it in Goats and it's NOT pretty!

 

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
Just as ugly in chickens, but fortunately they grow immune with age. It has a high mortality rate in chicks and can wipe out half the brooder overnight like she's described. Easy to treat at least.

 

[minna]

The nursery pen is on soil, so that might explain that maybe, except that I have had chicks in there for weeks, older chicks, and if there was something in the soil, I would think they would show symptoms first? And no the quail or guineas had never been on soil. They don't get medicated feed. I don't like it. Although I have learned through this that it is recommended for guineas and quail, but some people recommend it for all chicks and I don't agree with that, so I don't know what to go with. Thanks for the response, I am going to try to do some more research, it was just all so sudden. And the bad part is, I can't easily replace them. I bought the quail eggs and the guinea eggs I had a random person ask me to hatch on halves and I ended up with quite a few and even sold some. I need to call and check on the ones I sold??? Now in order to have guinea's or quail I am going to have to start all over.

 

[MoodyChicken]

It definitely sounds like cocci to me. I would begin treating every bird ASAP. If your other chicks didn't get sick it might mean that the cocci weren't present at the time, the older chicks increased the cocci number (it spreads through droppings), they got it and fought it off, lot of possible explanations. Did you clean the brooder before you put the new chicks in? That would explain it. It would be nice to call the other people, but don't startle them. Be sure to explain that it's likely cocci which is just an environmental problem.

 

[minna]

I did treat all of them at the same time and gave everyone fresh food and water. I did clean the brooder b/f they went in and it's a wire floor? I wonder how much a vet would charge to check?

 

[MoodyChicken]

How long did you treat for, and with what? Depending on the cocci species, the meds may not have worked.

Depends on the vet. You could pay for a poop screening. that would confirm/unconfirm (lol, can't think of the opposite of confirm) cocci.

 

[minna]

I treated them with amporillin,I think. Could have been duramyacin. My mind is gone today, I would have to walk out to the barn. Of course it happened on a sunday, so my feed store was closed and our TSC is awful. They didn't have anything, and didn't know anything. So I just used what I had and hoped. I don't know what I need to do. I really don't want it to spread any further..