The EE braggers thread!!!

[jerryse]

What are you feeding? Medicated or unmedicated chick feed? Has she been exposed to soil yet?

Medicated is best . Prevents cocci . Cocci will cause a brown or bloody stool . Many people think medicated feed is bad until they have a die off from cocci .

 

[VickisChickis]

Hi! I am a new chicken Momma and these are two of my new girls. We lost our first EE at 10 days, we replaced her with two, so.....the chicken math is already starting at our house! The first one is our blue girl, and the second is our chocolate. I think they are absolutely gorgeous but they are more "stand-offish" then my Sex-Links or Barred Rock.

 

[OldCrookedToe]

To my knowledge she has not been exposed to soil yet. She is being fed unmedicated chick starter. I have always heard that you shouldn't use medicated feed, but apparently my chicks were NOT vaccinated and may therefore need to eat medicated feed.
Should she be quarantined? I haven't seen any bloody stool yet but to be honest she hasn't pooped much. I am not home right now but when I get there I'll check for pasty butt.
Also I guess I'll not use the honey. What should I use then? Sugar water?

 

[junebuggena]

To my knowledge she has not been exposed to soil yet. She is being fed unmedicated chick starter. I have always read the unmedicated is better since medicated feed may cause an OD. Do I need to switch to medicated? The two healthy ones will be eating it too. Should she be quarantined? I haven't seen any bloody stool yet but to be honest she hasn't popped much. I am not home right now but when I get there I'll check for pasty butt.
Also I guess I'll not use the honey. What should I use then? Sugar water?

Get to your local feed store and pick up some Sav-A-Chick vitamin/electrolytes. Medicated chick starter does not actually have any medication in it. It contains a thiamine blocker that prevents the coccidia protozoa from taking over and overwhelming a chick's immune system. The feed contains such low dosage, that there is no chance of overdosing. She does appear to have the symptoms of coccidiosis, so getting some Corid and treating is a good idea. Coccidia can kill in a matter of days if untreated, but treating won't do any harm at all (if it's not coccidia).

Do you have other chickens, or just these chicks? If you have older birds, it's possible that you may have accidentally introduce coccidia to the chicks via not thoroughly washing or letting the chicks run around on contaminated ground. Has she ever been outside yet? If she's been outside, on grass, then she has been potentially exposed to soil/coccidia. If you put a chunk of sod or grass clippings in the brooder, that is another possible source of coccidia introduction.

 

[OldCrookedToe]

The only other chickens are adult roosters that free range. They are all healthy but I have minimal interaction with them since they're pretty flighty and wild. She's been on sav-a-chick since day one with us- probiotic and electrolytes. I'll quarantine and treat her for cocci. Thank you so much, I was scared of what would happen if she's treated for something she may not have. I have never introduced them to the outdoors for fear of bacteria (Roosters and ducks) however I have no knowledge of how the hatchery raised them. I wash hands religiously because of salmonella (I have dogs that could easily get a fatal dose from such bacteria bc they're so small)

 

[junebuggena]

The only other chickens are adult roosters that free range. They are all healthy but I have minimal interaction with them since they're pretty flighty and wild. She's been on sav-a-chick since day one with us- probiotic and electrolytes. I'll quarantine and treat her for cocci. Thank you so much, I was scared of what would happen if she's treated for something she may not have. I have never introduced them to the outdoors for fear of bacteria (Roosters and ducks) however I have no knowledge of how the hatchery raised them. I wash hands religiously because of salmonella (I have dogs that could easily get a fatal dose from such bacteria bc they're so small)

It's not so much hands that are a problem. If you walk around outside (and get chicken poo on your shoe), then walk around in the chick area (transferring that chicken poo to the ground there), then let the chicks out of the brooder for some playtime. Well, you can see how easy it is for them to contract coccidia. And salmonella is actually very rare in backyard flocks. Unless your birds are living in their own filth, it's not really a cause for concern. Coccidia, however, is everywhere and unavoidable. Chickens (and other animals) become resistant and develop immunity to the types of coccidia they are exposed to, rending those protozoa fairly harmless. Young chicks, however, have weak immune systems and can easily get overwhelmed.

 

[jerryse]

Get to your local feed store and pick up some Sav-A-Chick vitamin/electrolytes. Medicated chick starter does not actually have any medication in it. It contains a thiamine blocker that prevents the coccidia protozoa from taking over and overwhelming a chick's immune system. The feed contains such low dosage, that there is no chance of overdosing. She does appear to have the symptoms of coccidiosis, so getting some Corid and treating is a good idea. Coccidia can kill in a matter of days if untreated, but treating won't do any harm at all (if it's not coccidia).

Do you have other chickens, or just these chicks? If you have older birds, it's possible that you may have accidentally introduce coccidia to the chicks via not thoroughly washing or letting the chicks run around on contaminated ground. Has she ever been outside yet? If she's been outside, on grass, then she has been potentially exposed to soil/coccidia. If you put a chunk of sod or grass clippings in the brooder, that is another possible source of coccidia introduction.

Mine lists Amopril ( corid ) as a ingredient . I guess not all do .

 

[OldCrookedToe]

It's not so much hands that are a problem. If you walk around outside (and get chicken poo on your shoe), then walk around in the chick area (transferring that chicken poo to the ground there), then let the chicks out of the brooder for some playtime. Well, you can see how easy it is for them to contract coccidia. And salmonella is actually very rare in backyard flocks. Unless your birds are living in their own filth, it's not really a cause for concern. Coccidia, however, is everywhere and unavoidable. Chickens (and other animals) become resistant and develop immunity to the types of coccidia they are exposed to, rending those protozoa fairly harmless. Young chicks, however, have weak immune systems and can easily get overwhelmed.

Thank you so much for all your help. I'm pretty sure without your warning she'd be dead before I knew what was going on. The corid 9.6 will be here tomorrow. I wear special boots for the duck pen to minimize spreading. They haven't been on the floor but I'll make sure to be extra careful they don't mix with any of the tracked in feces bacteria for all future references. Forgive my ignorance to all this, I'm new to chicks and have only really worked with adult birds with much stronger immune systems. I've done research but that's nothing compared to hands on experience.
Since their immune systems are weak, should I feed them medicated to help prevent it in the other chicks? Again, thank you.

 

[jerryse]

Thank you so much for all your help. I'm pretty sure without your warning she'd be dead before I knew what was going on. The corid 9.6 will be here tomorrow. I wear special boots for the duck pen to minimize spreading. They haven't been on the floor but I'll make sure to be extra careful they don't mix with any of the tracked in feces bacteria for all future references. Forgive my ignorance to all this, I'm new to chicks and have only really worked with adult birds with much stronger immune systems. I've done research but that's nothing compared to hands on experience.
Since their immune systems are weak, should I feed them medicated to help prevent it in the other chicks? Again, thank you.

Yes I would feed the medicated to all . Corid is a good idea as the feed will not stop a outbreak once it has started . It is a preventative dose .

 

[junebuggena]

Thank you so much for all your help. I'm pretty sure without your warning she'd be dead before I knew what was going on. The corid 9.6 will be here tomorrow. I wear special boots for the duck pen to minimize spreading. They haven't been on the floor but I'll make sure to be extra careful they don't mix with any of the tracked in feces bacteria for all future references. Forgive my ignorance to all this, I'm new to chicks and have only really worked with adult birds with much stronger immune systems. I've done research but that's nothing compared to hands on experience.
Since their immune systems are weak, should I feed them medicated to help prevent it in the other chicks? Again, thank you.

Actually, if you feed medicated from the start, exposure to bacteria, soil, and other birds is healthy for them. Their immune systems gain exposure, while they are still somewhat protected by the medicated feed. My chicks always get unmedicated for the first week after hatching, then I switch the medicated for the next 4 weeks. During that four weeks, I expose them as much as possible to the environment they will be living in, starting with a chunk of sod in the brooder. Then, weather permitting outside playtime. By the time they are 5 weeks old, they've already been exposed to just about everything and are ready to begin the integration process.