Sick chicks about 3 months old..._???

[thepoulsens]

We have 14 black marans and black Australorps we have raised from just a couple days old. They were fed medicated feed for first 6 weeks and kept inside with a heatlamp. At 6 weeks we weaned them over to regular crumble feed and moved them to a bigger "cage" in our barn still under a heatlamp. We had two die not too long after moving them to the barn. Now we just moved them into the large coop with our bigger adult Copper Marans and we just had one of the 3 month old chicks die today...they are in an enclosed big coop that we try to keep clean including their feeders and waterers. After the first two died about a week ago we began Corid and a good liquid wormer in their waterers immediately. We are still treating with Corid and the wormer currently. What could this be that is killing our chicks? They act fine then start being a little lethargic and sluggish then die within a day or two. We are new at this chicken raising and all. Any help is appreciated.

 

[bantybabylover]

dont do the corrid with the wormer, corid drains their system. if you suspect illness go to the list of illnesses in emergency and look through the illnesses. note if there is bloody stool, thats coccidiosis and can be deadly. we went through the same thing, we started with corid then waited 24hours after finishing and started with tetracycline, because the corid can make them immune suppressed and so they became ill with another illness. sorry you are having bad luck, hope that you can find your solution in emergency and illnesses on this site

 

[Eggcessive]

What wormer have you been using all this time? Have you been mixing it in the water with the Corid? I would probably have used the Corid first, then later wormed them after a few days of vitsmins and probiotics. Also, if the chickens haven't been drinking the Corid due to the cocci, they won't get the treatment. Medicines shouldn't be mixed together, and both Corid or other medications should be the only source of water.

 

[thepoulsens]

What wormer have you been using all this time? Have you been mixing it in the water with the Corid? I would probably have used the Corid first, then later wormed them after a few days of vitsmins and probiotics. Also, if the chickens haven't been drinking the Corid due to the cocci, they won't get the treatment. Medicines shouldn't be mixed together, and both Corid or other medications should be the only source of water.

What type of vitamins do you guys suggest? We have juveniles and adults in one coop so we need something suiting for all of them. We stopped the corid and wormer as soon as I got this message. We began Tetracycline in their water sources today. So far today they have all been just fine acting, eating, and drinking okay. It seems like their symptoms match up with coccidiosis but it is hard to tell considering the mild symptoms the few had had were fitting for many different illnesses. I appreciate the advice.

 

[bantybabylover]

i hope you put 24 hours between the corid and tetracycline, too soon can kill. probiotics are best for all ages and breeds, most feed stores carry it. some have said they use baby vitamins, but i stuck to the probiotics, you can find some other vitamins at your feed store, just read the label. be sure to clean your coup out, i used good old fashion antibacterial cleaner, lysol. put down clean pine chips and make sure they have plenty of fresh air. coccidiosis spreads and grows in dark, dirty and damp. its a critter that lives in the gut of the chicken and spreads through feces. do not mix the probiotics with tetracycline. a good 2 days of water only with probiotics in it will boost your little fellas

 

[Eggcessive]

What type of vitamins do you guys suggest? We have juveniles and adults in one coop so we need something suiting for all of them. We stopped the corid and wormer as soon as I got this message. We began Tetracycline in their water sources today. So far today they have all been just fine acting, eating, and drinking okay. It seems like their symptoms match up with coccidiosis but it is hard to tell considering the mild symptoms the few had had were fitting for many different illnesses. I appreciate the advice.

If you suspect cocci, then I would complete the Corid, since coccidiosis can be responsible for the deaths. Once it is finished then I would treat them with several days of vitamins and probiotics--Rooster Booster Vitamins with Lactobacillus is good, and there are other brands you can use separately. Then, you could worm, or if they are not better, think about an antibiotic. Tetracycline is for respiratory diseases, and for some intestinal diseases. So if they no sneezing, runny noses, watery eyes, or eye swelling, I would hold off on the Tetracycline, and use the Corid. It gets confusing on a public forum with all of the advice, but best to treat for one thing at a time. Here is a good link on coccidiosis, and one on the common diseases to learn about respiratory and other disease symptoms:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[cafarmgirl]

What strength are you mixing the Corid, or how much are you putting in the water per gallon? Coccidiosis is what I would suspect the most rather then worms or other illness. They are very young to be carrying any kind of heavy worm load just yet. But you need to make sure you are mixing the Corid at the right strength as well as making it up fresh every day.

 

[thepoulsens]

If you suspect cocci, then I would complete the Corid, since coccidiosis can be responsible for the deaths.  Once it is finished then I would treat them with several days of vitamins and probiotics--Rooster Booster Vitamins with Lactobacillus is good, and there are other brands you can use separately.  Then, you could worm, or if they are not better, think about an antibiotic.  Tetracycline is for respiratory diseases, and for some intestinal diseases.  So if they no sneezing, runny noses, watery eyes, or eye swelling, I would hold off on the Tetracycline, and use the Corid.  It gets confusing on a public forum with all of the advice, but best to treat for one thing at a time.  Here is a good link on coccidiosis, and one on the common diseases to learn about respiratory and other disease symptoms:  
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Thank you Eggcessive, your helpful advice is much appreciated. We have probiotics that we have always done once a week for the last year since we took on the chicken experience. We started with Black and Copper Marans and had such a great experience with them. We let them out to free range and they just flourished. That is until our bordering neighbor's dog decided to kill a few. We began keeping them in their coop in the barn which is more like a chicken condo. We keep it super clean. After our neighbor found a new home for his dog we decided to start letting the Marans free range again...and add to our joy. We raised new hatchlings keeping them quarantined and in our old farmhouse under a lamp for 3 months. They are the ones we have been having trouble with. It seems like once we moved them over to the big chicken condo they have not been doing so well. We were still giving them probiotics doing daily cleaning in the coop and keeping feed and waterers clean and fresh at least a couple times per day plus they have two big hanging heatlamps. It stays a nice 70 degrees in their condo. We are in north Arkansas so the weather is getting pretty cool at night now. We are just not having good luck with these group of 20 hatchlings we have been raising. We have Wyandottes, Australorps, Buffs, RI reds, and Blue D'Uccles too...all of which have done very well and are big healthy birds.