too much red fruit?

[Saerasx]

My flock free ranges and I have lots of strawberry and raspberry bushes that grow wild. I was cleaning the coop today and noticed some dropping that had a red tinge to them....Im really hoping this isnt an indication of coccidosis! We do only nipple watering systems but it does rain a lot here and I have seen them drink from other water "puddles". I always add ACV to their water and they have never been sick before. The flock is around 10 weeks old...so could this be from fruit?? or something more sinister? I only saw it on one dropping.

 

[niamhblond]

Im not an expert but I think somethings wrong.

 

[Saerasx]

thanks for the graph...im really starting to freak out since i have no idea who dropped it and all the other dropping out of the coop look normal. is there a test or something i can order/buy?

 

[niamhblond]

Treatment of coccidiosis generally involves three components.

1. Kill the coccidiosis in the birds to stop further gut damage, this usually involves an anticoccidial medication.
2. control the bacterial disruption to the gut, this is treated by antibiotic therapy.
3. TLC, providing your bird with a warm dry environment and following any medication advice. It is advisable at this stage to follow on with provision of multivitamins and a probiotic to restore gut flora with a product such as Beryl’s Friendly Bacteria.

A vaccine is available commercially, however its administration can be complex and needs the correct environment to work, realistically this is not currently practical for backyard chicken holdings.

If you are concerned about coccidiosis then consult your vet. This website (http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/coccidiosis/index.aspx) will give you a Chicken Vet Faeces Sample Kit, whereby you collect some droppings from your birds and send them to the Chicken Vet laboratory, the droppings are tested for coccidiosis and worm eggs and you will receive your results within 48hrs.

For even more information I recommend visiting this site = http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/coccidiosis/index.aspx

 

[Den in Penn]

Take a deep breath and relax a little. They have been eating berries and it was just one. At ten weeks if they have be out and haven't come down with the local cocci variant before when they were younger, then they are not likely to have now. Just watch a little more.

 

[Saerasx]

Thank you for the advice/words. Upon further inspection it's just too early to tell but if I find any again I'll have the vet do a float test to see just what's up. It did almost look like they found something that they probably shouldn't have eaten, like something hard and plastic so it could have just scraped them up on the inside, still not good but just an observation. I love my birds, I hate having to worry about them! We have been lucky so far with no health problems so far though.

 

[aart]

Im not an expert but I think somethings wrong.

@Saerasx when my birds eat strawberries, their poops are reddish.
When they get fresh ashes in their dust bath, they eat some of it and their poops are black.
The 'graph' posted does not look realistic, but rather alarmist-whatever animal it's supposed to be for.