sick 4 week olds, bloody poop

[Momma 2 silkies]

My silkie chicks have bloody looking poop, what do I do? They have outside time and inside time, nothing new has changed. No new visitors or ventures of any kind. What could this be? They all seem to be eating and drinking but 1 of our favorites is acting a little weird, he isn't as active as usual but isn't laying around or anything like that. Please help me help my chicks.

 

[groundpecker]

Your chicks probably have coccidiosis.. This is a serious illness. I suggest you immediatly get some " sumlet" or other cocci medicine and treat right away. From my experience with cocci, every hour counts before they start dieing. I hope i have not alarmed you too much, but i am just stating the facts. You can search the fourms for more info on cocci and treatments.

Cocci is in the soil, nothing anyone can do about that. Your flock may eventually become immune to this protozoan after a couple generations. Many flock keepers have sumlet on hand, so if you know anyone who has
chickens, you may can get a couple doses from them. If not, try your local farm/feed supply stores.

"Edited for correct description"

 

[mnferalkitty]

coccidia

 

[pacman]

clean everything with bleach and soap and pick all the poop also put some sulmet in the water for 2 consecutive days pronto before bad news happen

 

[Momma 2 silkies]

Why would this come on now? They have been going outside for weeks and I never had a problem until today. Could it be anything else? Will they still eat and drink if they have Cocci? Not all of my chicks seem sick just 1 or 2, One of them is my 10 year olds favorite, really don't want to lose my chicks, don't think the hubby will let me get any more if they die.

 

[groundpecker]

Why would this come on now? They have been going outside for weeks and I never had a problem until today. Could it be anything else? Will they still eat and drink if they have Cocci? Not all of my chicks seem sick just 1 or 2, One of them is my 10 year olds favorite, really don't want to lose my chicks, don't think the hubby will let me get any more if they die.

They may have gotten into a spot where the cocci was, or it just took a while for the protozoan to grow until you noticed it. Your chicks will eat, drink, and act totally normal until it is too late, and they lay down. Once they lay down and do not move much, it is too late to save the bird.

Even if only a couple are showing signs of infection, it is wise to administer medicine to all the chicks or young birds under 3 months old.

There is a slight chance that "grit" may be causing the bleeding. If you are feeding them "grit" it may be messing up their digestive tract.
Another even slighter reason is, they are shedding the digestive tract lining, "Only older birds should do this".

 

[Momma 2 silkies]

I wanted to thank you all for replying, I got the corid and all of my chicks have bounced back nicely after only 2 days on meds and no more bloody poop. I will keep them on the meds as long as they need but I have no clue how long that should be. Is it 5 to 7 days or is it longer than that?

 

[groundpecker]

I would keep them on the meds for 4 days. Then for the next couple weeks, i would carefully watch to make sure the medication is working.

 

[leadwolf1]

5 - 7 days for the Corid. Don't stop before then, especially since they were already pooping blood.

I wanted to thank you all for replying, I got the corid and all of my chicks have bounced back nicely after only 2 days on meds and no more bloody poop. I will keep them on the meds as long as they need but I have no clue how long that should be. Is it 5 to 7 days or is it longer than that?

 

[groundpecker]

5 - 7 days for the Corid. Don't stop before then, especially since they were already pooping blood.

I have no experience with corid. Best follow the advice of others.