To treat for coccidiosis or not?

[ironsightfarm]

Hi all!

When opening the coop yesterday I noticed a small amount of blood in the shavings - after looking flock over and cleaning droppings board I realized it was bloody poop. Some poop also had a significant amount of intestinal shed. Today there was less blood, but there were 2 bloody poops on the droppings board (runny) with some poop with intestinal shed.

All poop (in spite of blood) is of normal consistency and color. All girls are eating, drinking, behaving, and laying normally. Pullet ages are 22 weeks, 20 weeks, and one 14 week old. A fecal tested via my vet exactly 2 weeks ago came back negative for everything, 14 week old introduced to flock around that time. The 6 hens that are laying started between 18 and 22 weeks of age. On shavings in coop, straw in nest boxes, and dirt run (cleaned 2-3x weekly). One thing I haven't done is check each pullet's vents, which I plan on doing tonight - either way the whole flock would be treated if needed.

Should I treat flock with Corid? Or is bleeding like this normal in pullets that have just reached POL? I've never had pullets this age so I want to be sure I'm not treating unnecessarily. Sending another poop sample out for testing is also an option, but since cocci can come on fast I want to treat sooner than later (fecal will take ~2 days).

Thanks in advance for the help!!!

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

I doubt it'll hurt to provide Corid just in case. Do you notice if the eggs are bloody, or is it just the poo?

 

[ironsightfarm]

@RhodeIslandRed5, just the poop! Eggs and best boxes are clean.​

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

Well then, I don't see why you cannot provide Corid. Your pullets are already on layer feed, right?

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

Do you think you can provide a picture of the bloody poop?

 

[townchicks]

I would treat, as it is not really a medication per se, but rather it suppresses the B vitamins that the coccidia need to live on. That reduces the number of coccidia in the gut, to give the chickens time to build resistance to the coccidia. I would also try to determine which chicken is the one, and give it a good going over for any other issues that may be causing the problem. Fecals can come back "negative" but that only means that no eggs are seen in the stool. Internal parasites shed eggs in cycles, so there may be eggs in the stool now. Best practice is to run a second sample 2 weeks later, to be safe. Most people don't like to spend the extra money, however, since you are now seeing blood, it may be prudent to do so. Or you can just treat. I'll tell you about a stray cat I took in years ago when I worked for a vet. I checked her stool when I first picked her up, and there was NOTHING on the slide. 2 weeks later, I checked a sample and the slide was nearly wall to wall roundworm eggs. In 15 years of working there, I never saw a slide with more eggs on it.

 

[ironsightfarm]

Well then, I don't see why you cannot provide Corid. Your pullets are already on layer feed, right?

They're on grower with free choice oyster shell due to age differences

 

[ironsightfarm]

Do you think you can provide a picture of the bloody poop?

I can! I'll post after I head to the coop later

 

[ironsightfarm]

@townchicks I wasn't aware about re-testing in 2 weeks - that's great info! Your whole reply was great info Since I'm seeing blood I am leaning towards treating. If the blood doesn't resolve than I know it's an internal issue with a pullet. Using Corid when there's not cocci present won't create issues in the long run?

 

[townchicks]

Using Corid when there's not cocci present won't create issues in the long run?

No, it shouldn't be a problem.