The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Bulldogma]

Oh gosh! Cocci seems to be going around! I have some 9-week old chicks with bloody stools and my local TSC is out of Corid! Another store only has big Sulmet tablets made for cattle.

Advice, please??

 

[Bulldogma]

HELP

!!!

Hi All!

I've been following infrequently for awhile now...

Am a newbie flocktress & have a question...

Chickies (BO & Doms) arrived this morn. I have them settled in brooding box with fermented feed & homemade electrolyte restorative solution. We've been home for about an hour and they haven't touched either. Our local feed store owner had already given them a drink of water by the time I got there to pick them up. Is it possible they won't be insterested in my drink (honey, garlic, sea salt, etc) because of that? Also, they are pecking around, so should I just go ahead & give them some unfermented feed till they get used to the other? And, they keep getting stuck in the fermented feed! Have already had to rescue several, afraid to leave them alone with it

Sorry for the poor picture quality - iPhone...

Anyway, do I just need to relax & be patient?

Thanks so much in advance for your thoughts!

Kendra

Just sprinkle some dry feed on top of the FF. It can take them a little bit to get used to FF, but once they discover it, they'll love it!

 

[aoxa]

no..it is cocci..They should have seen dirt to help build immunities from day one.
I think everyone has recommended a dirt plug for new chicks. It really can save them. For everyone reading this...please take the time to dig up a small dirt plug for your new chicks. It takes seconds to do this.by the time you see blood they have had it for 3 days. They start dying on day 4. Signs before the bloody poop. huddling..crying, less moving and running.The smell is awful and it is unmistakeable. They do not gain much weight and crops are not bulging. That's a shame..sorry you are going threw this.

There are 7 types of cocci. Now that they have had one variety they will be susceptible to the other kinds. Build up the immunity now that you are medicating. Get them on the ground on sunny days for a few minutes every day.

I agree Del. I always provide sod and have since I started.

As for bloody poop - it isn't always Cocci. The basement babies had a bit of bloody poop and I did not treat because they had no other symptoms at all. What did you say it was again? Gorging on food I believe? Anyway, the blood poop wasn't much at all and they stopped after two days.

But I was scared it was!

Arkansaschick - so sorry you have cocci! I am not trying to make it sound like it could be anything other than cocci, your chicks are dying - it is definitely cocci.

 

[arkansaschicks]

no..it is cocci..They should have seen dirt to help build immunities from day one.
I think everyone has recommended a dirt plug for new chicks. It really can save them. For everyone reading this...please take the time to dig up a small dirt plug for your new chicks. It takes seconds to do this.by the time you see blood they have had it for 3 days. They start dying on day 4. Signs before the bloody poop. huddling..crying, less moving and running.The smell is awful and it is unmistakeable. They do not gain much weight and crops are not bulging. That's a shame..sorry you are going threw this. There are 7 types of cocci. Now that they have had one variety they will be susceptible to the other kinds. Build up the immunity now that you are medicating. Get them on the ground on sunny days for a few minutes every day.

Thank you for the information. This is the first time in 4 years I have raised chicks in a brooder box. My hens have hatched all my chicks over these years. These guys were being raised on medicated feed so when I got them at 3 weeks old I just continued with that. Lesson learned the hard way. Just hope I can save the other 6

 

[arkansaschicks]

Any other advice to try and save them besides starting the Corid?

 

[delisha]

Oh gosh! Cocci seems to be going around! I have some 9-week old chicks with bloody stools and my local TSC is out of Corid! Another store only has big Sulmet tablets made for cattle.

Advice, please??

Albon and Di-Methox or Yarrow

 

[ramblinH]

Just sprinkle some dry feed on top of the FF. It can take them a little bit to get used to FF, but once they discover it, they'll love it!

Great, will do! I also just elevated the feeder a tad & put a sod plug in - they are loving it!

Thanks for your quick response!

Oh & by the way, thanks also for all you do over at your NCK blog! That & Ussery's book have been such great learning tools. So excited to be implementing these methods from the get-go

 

[aoxa]

Oh gosh! Cocci seems to be going around! I have some 9-week old chicks with bloody stools and my local TSC is out of Corid! Another store only has big Sulmet tablets made for cattle.

Advice, please??

Do they seem ill?

 

[lalaland]

Did you do the epsom salt flush? I just lost a two yr old to what I think was kidney failure. She had been drinking lots of water for a couple of weeks. She had a very messy bottom that I would clean and put bag balm on. Thought maybe she had vent gleet but no smell. She quit laying thought maybe she was egg bound. She would eat but started loosing weight thought worms. I tried treating her naturally but in the end it didn't matter. I was going to neocropsy her but couldn't bring myself to do it. She was my DBF favorite she just loved him. One thing I did notice is this bird never went through a molt she never lost a single feather. There is one more that hasn't molted also. I am keeping an eye on her she is looking kinda thin.

ETA. These are production birds so at two yrs.they are already past their prime. Thats what I've been told. Not by anyone on this thread.

I wanted to do the epsom, but she was such a fighter I couldn't hold her, get the beak open and aim a syringe with the epsom salt dose. I ended up giving her oil via soaked bread crumbs.
She didn't make it thru the night, and I am going to do my first necropsy at noon on my lunch break (am working from home today because of the storm). NOT looking forward to this, but I need to learn. She was a 4 yr buff orpington from McMurray's. Will post pics.

 

[delisha]

You guys need to be careful with giving drugs. You will also have to give added vitamins. It blocks the thiamin/b1 in your chicks. Give extra fresh greens. Prevention and getting chicks on FF and building immunities is the way to go. I know weather play a part of it..but even with chilly weather get the dirt to the chicks early.