Sick cockerel

[Chickenlady1973]

Hi y’all
One of my young males started acting like he didn’t feel well. Just sitting around. I have separated him from the others. I have him in my office with a heat lamp, sac a chic electrolyte solution, and his food. His droppings are normal color. They are runny but they are not formed. I noticed he was a little different yesterday. He is acting the same way now, no better no worse. He is around 6weeks old. Any advice?

 

[Chickenlady1973]

That’s supposed to be Sav a chic electrolyte solution

 

[coach723]

Can you post a picture of his droppings?
A chick that is lethargic, sitting fluffed up, not eating or drinking well, with runny or mucousy droppings could be coccidiosis. Sometimes there will be blood in droppings, but not always.
Treatment for that is Corid, pictures of the products below, most feed stores and tractor supply stores carry it, in the livestock section.
Dosing is 1 1/2 tsp of the powder form, or 2 tsp of the liquid form mixed in 1 gallon of water, it needs to be the only water available during treatment. Make it fresh daily and treat for 5 - 7 days. You can also give an oral dose for up to 3 days in addition to the medicated water, if he's not drinking well, then I would give the oral dose as well. Dosing for that is here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/
I would treat all of them that are/were kept together.

 

[Chickenlady1973]

Droppings are appearing more normal. I fed him the medicated chick food (Purina Medicated ) for the first few weeks but switched to starter grower about 2 weeks ago. Pic of most recent dropping attached. Should I still go ahead and treat all the chicks?
I have noticed a runnier dropping in my adults from time to time. Would they also benefit from treatment? I have not seen any blood in the stool from either the chicks or the adults.
Thanks!

 

[coach723]

The picture is blurry, but it appear to be fairly normal. Runny in itself is not always a worry, it can be from dietary changes, drinking a lot of water, etc. The behavior of the bird is most important. Adult birds usually have some resistance to the coccidia in their environment and don't get sick unless they are exposed to a new strain or are weakened by something else. Chicks are most at risk. If all the others are acting fine, and this is the only one acting off, then treat him and if he improves then consider treating the rest of the chicks.

 

[Chickenlady1973]

The picture is blurry, but it appear to be fairly normal. Runny in itself is not always a worry, it can be from dietary changes, drinking a lot of water, etc. The behavior of the bird is most important. Adult birds usually have some resistance to the coccidia in their environment and don't get sick unless they are exposed to a new strain or are weakened by something else. Chicks are most at risk. If all the others are acting fine, and this is the only one acting off, then treat him and if he improves then consider treating the rest of the chicks.

Thank you so much. I have attached a pic I just took that is better, I hope. But his behavior is what tipped me off. He was just sitting around and would walk a little then sit. He is drinking much better since the electrolyte solution. That seem to have helped as well

 

[coach723]

Dropping looks pretty normal, maybe a little runny/mucousy. Maybe he got a little dehydrated and the electrolites are helping. If he doesn't perk up I would be inclined to start the Corid, just to be safe. If he looks better already, then maybe just watch, see how he does. Just be ready to start the meds if he doesn't seem to be getting better, or gets worse. Coccidiosis can progress quickly, sometimes they can die in a matter of hours, so if in doubt, treat. The treatment is very safe and won't hurt him.

 

[Chickenlady1973]

Dropping looks pretty normal, maybe a little runny/mucousy. Maybe he got a little dehydrated and the electrolites are helping. If he doesn't perk up I would be inclined to start the Corid, just to be safe. If he looks better already, then maybe just watch, see how he does. Just be ready to start the meds if he doesn't seem to be getting better, or gets worse. Coccidiosis can progress quickly, sometimes they can die in a matter of hours, so if in doubt, treat. The treatment is very safe and won't hurt him.

Question: Can the Sav-a-chick electrolytes be mixed with the Corid solution?
he doesn’t seem to be drinking the treatment like he did the electrolytes. I was worried he may not be getting enough to drink

 

[coach723]

I wouldn't mix them. Give him the oral dose in my previous post, and then give him some of the water mix via syringe several times a day, as often as you can, to get the medication in him. As he starts to feel better, he should start drinking it on his own. The Corid doesn't usually put them off water, I've never had an issue with that, but the more stuff you start putting in, the more likely they may not want to drink it.

 

[Chickenlady1973]

I wouldn't mix them. Give him the oral dose in my previous post, and then give him some of the water mix via syringe several times a day, as often as you can, to get the medication in him. As he starts to feel better, he should start drinking it on his own. The Corid doesn't usually put them off water, I've never had an issue with that, but the more stuff you start putting in, the more likely they may not want to drink it.

Thanks!