Red poo

[catchthewind]

I checked on my chicks this morning (aged 3.5-5 weeks or so) and noticed one of the Silkies had a bit of blood on his foot. I picked him up and as I did a big glob of red dropped off of him. I checked him all over and couldn't find anything wrong with him that would cause it, so I checked the rest of the birds wondering if he had it on him from someone else. Then it occurred to me he had probably pooped it, and I scooped up a bit of poop from the brooder that looked suspect and it was a bit red too (though not as obvious as the one that had dropped on the floor).

The other chicks (not the Silkies) all went outside for the first time on Friday. They were out for about 10-15 minutes. My older chicks have never had problems being outside and none of my chicks are on medicated feed. The Silkies haven't been out at all. Everyone else is acting normal, and the poop in the brooder that was red looked normal other than having blood in it. It was hard to tell if the one on the floor was normal because it had dropped from so high up.

And at the time I wasn't analyzing poop but freaking out about coccidiosis or something. The Silkie in question has always been very calm and quiet, so it's hard to tell if he's lethargic or not. He was spunky when I picked him up to examine him though and peeping to go back in the brooder.

I gave them a small bit of homemade yogurt yesterday mixed with oatmeal and a few other grains. It's the first time they've had that. Could that cause problems?

What other signs do I watch for with Coccidiosis? Can I get medication for it over-the-counter (I'm in Canada)? How much of an emergency is it? (Like, if I do see them starting to act droopy and lethargic, do I still have time to treat them?)

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
sounds like Cocci for sure. if untreated your chicks will most likely die they can't recover from it easily especially since they have not been on medicated feed-see if you can find sulmet or corrid to add to their drinking water asap. It's nothing something to wait on and is very treatable if caught in time....good luck

 

[catchthewind]

Thanks. I went to the feed store in town and the employees I talked to had no idea what Cocci was and weren't sure what I could use for it.

All they had was an antibiotic that stated it was for respiratory illnesses in poultry, and wasn't called anything that was familiar from this site. It's a small feed store in the middle of the city, but I was there already so it was convenient. The other one was closed before I had a chance to get there. So I didn't get anything. So far, it's only the one Silkie. I did a really good clean of the brooder tonight and didn't find any more bloody poops. All the chicks, including the Silkie in question, are acting normal. I sat and watched them for a while this afternoon after refilling their food and he went over and ate, and I saw him drinking too. The poop I found in the brooder this morning looked like the second last of the "normal" poops on this site: http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0 The other one (that fell four feet and splattered) had more blood in it, but again because it splattered it's hard to know for sure. I'm hoping it was just shed intestinal lining, maybe due to the dairy/grains they got for the first time the day before?

I have the numbers for the two breeders we've gotten our chicks from. I'm going to keep an eye on them still and if I see anything concerning or any more blood, I'll call one of them and see if they have anything I can come by and grab off of them. I've added a little bit of acv to their water. I was reading about doing a milk flush with raw milk, but since they got raw yogurt yesterday, I'm hesitant to do anything like that in case the yogurt was the cause. Or am I in denial and I should be treating them with anti-Cocci medication regardless?

From what I've been reading here and around, I should be watching for more bloody stools and lethargy. Anything else?