Some of my 1 wk/old chicks have a liquid brown poop

[IdahoPrepper]

Looks like diarrhea to me. Should I be worried? I had to cull one chick as it could not stand, eat or drink. It would not eat when I tried to hand feed. I have 24 chicks so I put the one sick baby to sleep as I didnt want to risk the other 23.

I am feeding medicated food and also vitamin/probiotic water. Is it OK to give both at the same time?

Any help on this matter would be great. I am new to all this.

Looks like maybe 2-3 birds have the liquid poop, most do not.

 

[Judy]

How old are they? Are they on the ground or in an indoor brooder?

Some liquid poop, and other variations, is normal in very young chicks. You will even see some red tissue which is normal sloughing. But if they start looking or acting like the one you lost, getting lethargic, looking cold and huddling up, reluctant to eat or drink, you need to treat for cocci promptly. Note that only some strains of cocci cause blood in the stool.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/775739/blood-in-older-chicks-stool#post_11087272

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[Joecool1994]

How old are they? Are they on the ground or in an indoor brooder?

Some liquid poop, and other variations, is normal in very young chicks. You will even see some red tissue which is normal sloughing. But if they start looking or acting like the one you lost, getting lethargic, looking cold and huddling up, reluctant to eat or drink, you need to treat for cocci promptly. Note that only some strains of cocci cause blood in the stool.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/775739/blood-in-older-chicks-stool#post_11087272

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

I 2nd this, it's pretty normal for the poop in chicks to be a bit runny. As long as they are eating and drinking and staying warm, everything should be fine!

 

[IdahoPrepper]

How old are they? Are they on the ground or in an indoor brooder?

Some liquid poop, and other variations, is normal in very young chicks. You will even see some red tissue which is normal sloughing. But if they start looking or acting like the one you lost, getting lethargic, looking cold and huddling up, reluctant to eat or drink, you need to treat for cocci promptly. Note that only some strains of cocci cause blood in the stool.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/775739/blood-in-older-chicks-stool#post_11087272

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

I lost a second chick this am. It wasn't standing and couldn't walk. All huddled up and in the corner. I had to put the second chick down. They are eating medicated feed so now what? Should I give them cocci meds with the medicated food they are eating? Should I treat all of them?

They are all about 1.5wks old now. Living indoors in a box I built with a heat lamp. The two chicks I culled were both meat chicks. All my layer chicks are/seem healthy.

The meat birds came from a different source.

 

[Judy]

Yes, give the cocci meds even with the medicated food. It is the same medication (amprolium) but the dose in the feed is very small. That does indeed sound like the way they behave when they have cocci.

If you want to learn more about cocci, here is just one source:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/792579/just-found-a-dead-chick/20#post_11436103

 

[IdahoPrepper]

Yes, give the cocci meds even with the medicated food. It is the same medication (amprolium) but the dose in the feed is very small. That does indeed sound like the way they behave when they have cocci.

If you want to learn more about cocci, here is just one source:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/792579/just-found-a-dead-chick/20#post_11436103

Do I give the meds to ALL birds or only the ones that look sick. Im guessing all because once they get sick they wont drink or eat.

Whats the best meds to give them? My local store has something other then ampolium.

Is the packet of vitamins and probiotics powder better than ACV?

 

[Judy]

All the chicks, definitely. I would order the amprolium from Jefferslivestock or Amazon and hope you get it in time, or mabe find another store or a TSC. What is this "something other than amprolium?" Feed store employees often give mistaken advice, in trying to be helpful, because they are not trained that well in their products.

Check out whatever they are trying to sell you here. It may be harmful, completely ineffective, or a poor second choice that may be worth it.. Sulmet, or sulfamethazine, is effective against some strains of cocci but bvery rough on the chicks. Sulfamethoxine is better. If they are trying to sell you an antibiotic sucy as doxycycline, it is completely ineffective against cocci, because cocci is a protooa and antibiotics ore for fighting bacteria. Amproium works by preventing the cocci from taking up thiamine, weakening and gradually killing them. It stays in the intestine, so it doesn't have the same effect on the chicken or the eggs ou eat.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/758621/coccidiosis-sulmet-or-corrid

 

[IdahoPrepper]

All the chicks, definitely. I would order the amprolium from Jefferslivestock or Amazon and hope you get it in time, or mabe find another store or a TSC. What is this "something other than amprolium?" Feed store employees often give mistaken advice, in trying to be helpful, because they are not trained that well in their products.

Check out whatever they are trying to sell you here. It may be harmful, completely ineffective, or a poor second choice that may be worth it.. Sulmet, or sulfamethazine, is effective against some strains of cocci but bvery rough on the chicks. Sulfamethoxine is better. If they are trying to sell you an antibiotic sucy as doxycycline, it is completely ineffective against cocci, because cocci is a protooa and antibiotics ore for fighting bacteria. Amproium works by preventing the cocci from taking up thiamine, weakening and gradually killing them. It stays in the intestine, so it doesn't have the same effect on the chicken or the eggs ou eat.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/758621/coccidiosis-sulmet-or-corrid

Will track down the corrid tomorrow. All the other birds look Ok for now. I really dont want to wait and see. The "other stuff" was a xxxxcycline of some type.

Would I be better off with sand instead of pine shavings in my brood box?

 

[Judy]

The xxxxcycline is an antibiotic, probably doxycycline.

I don't think it matters whether you use sand or pine shavings. The cocci came from soil at some point, but once inside, they do their multiplying in the chick. The amprolium suppresses them, giving the chick time to develop an immunity.

For future reference, in case you are interested: There is also a vaccine for cocci. I've never read about anyone's experience with it, but it makes sense to me. It can only be given to healthy chicks, though. I know some hatcheries offer it now. That is one down side to feed store or private buyer chicks, not having this choice to have it already done. Same with the Marek's vaccine. Some people do it themselves anyway, though you have to buy a huge number of doses.

 

[eagrbeavr]

Local feed store should have it. Doesnt cost much. The vaccine is like a flu shot tho. It doesnt cover all strains. Get them on the Corid. Mix a fresh batch every day, so try to measure it down if you can. The dose will be for 2 gallons at a time and obviously you dont need that much. I just went thru this myself. Lost one, almost a second. She still isnt right.

Best of luck.

I read that keeping a really clean brooder and having them on med food can actually hinder them. The vaccine doesnt work right since they arent exposed to it. They need to be exposed to it for it to work. Im sure people will argue that, and I dont know which is right, but I do know this. I kept the brooder clean, they were on medicated food, and got sick, so. I do think I bought one chick that was already sick, in hindsight. I only had it 3 days when it died, but only hours later, a thriving bird started going south.

Heres the article, from here

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/coccidiosis-and-medicated-feed