Two dead chicks in brooder pen

[OnlySympathy]

I do live in a hot and very humid climate, and we've had a lot of rain. I plan to start taking them outside within a week or so for field trips before introducing them to the coop. So they'll be in contact with the soil then. Should I start them on it ahead of time?

I would just finish any food you have left and then switch. No need to waste any!

And if so, do you introduce the new feed slowly over a few days, like you do when you change a cat or dog's food? Sorry for all the questions, these are my first chicks.

So this seems pretty split on what people do. I personally have never done the introducing slowly and my chickens have always been fine and not picky whatsoever about what food they get. If they are hungry they will eat it so I wouldn’t worry about it but if doing it the way you would with cats and dogs makes you more comfortable then you absolutely can do that. And it’s all good, that’s what BYC is here for! Everyone was new at some point and I think most of us are happy to answer as many questions as we can if it helps make raising them easier and less stressful for you. I personally would much rather see you ask a question than have you just assume because it shows you care and want to do what’s best

 

[redinator]

I understand. My chicks are 2 weeks old. I've had them for a week. And I watch them like a hawk (maybe bad idiom) for any sign of coccidiosis. They are inside and not on medicated feed. This thread has me thinking maybe I should put them on it. Is it too late to switch them to it?

I've read the medicated feed is pointless unless the bacteria is present. From what I understand the feed helps make symptoms less severe, similar to getting a flu shot, which is why I opted not to use medicated feed.

When I started with my first chicks back in March it was still chilly outside, so I would only bring them outside a few hours every few days to acclimate to the temperature. This also probably prevented them from getting too sick to fight off the bacteria.

I don't know if that is true, but it's the only difference I can think of between the two batches.

 

[ChickenChick46]

I would just finish any food you have left and then switch. No need to waste any!

So this seems pretty split on what people do. I personally have never done the introducing slowly and my chickens have always been fine and not picky whatsoever about what food they get. If they are hungry they will eat it so I wouldn’t worry about it but if doing it the way you would with cats and dogs makes you more comfortable then you absolutely can do that. And it’s all good, that’s what BYC is here for! Everyone was new at some point and I think most of us are happy to answer as many questions as we can if it helps make raising them easier and less stressful for you. I personally would much rather see you ask a question than have you just assume because it shows you care and want to do what’s best

Thank you so much! I told my husband the other day I haven't been so stressed over the care of anything since our kids were newborns, lol. I just want to do everything right for them.

Okay, I'll finish out what they've already got and switch them after. With our humidity and this wet summer we're having, I don't want to take any unnecessary chances.

 

[ChickenChick46]

I've read the medicated feed is pointless unless the bacteria is present. From what I understand the feed helps make symptoms less severe, similar to getting a flu shot, which is why I opted not to use medicated feed.

When I started with my first chicks back in March it was still chilly outside, so I would only bring them outside a few hours every few days to acclimate to the temperature. This also probably prevented them from getting too sick to fight off the bacteria.

I don't know if that is true, but it's the only difference I can think of between the two batches.

It makes sense to me. As the weather warms up and we have higher humidity and so much rainfall, I'm sure the bacteria is more abundant. Coupled with the babies being on the ground outside for longer periods of time, you always have that chance.

 

[redinator]

Could some please tell my chicks this is not the time to play "dead chick"

I almost started bawling when I thought another one passed. It'll be at least a week before I stop poking them to check them . . . at least a week.

 

[redinator]

@ChickenChick46 another thing I did with my first two batches was bringing in dirt and grass from my yard for the chicks to dig through.

A thread I'd read mentioned it being a safer way to introduce your chicks to microbes in the soil. You could start doing this once you put them on medicated feed if you're still apprehensive about putting them outside full time.

Keep in mind, if you start bringing them outside, or bringing the outdoors in they'll need chick grit to help grind up any grass or what not they'll ingest.

 

[NatJ]

Does the medicated feed have the Corid in it, or is that something different?

Read the label to be sure.
Corid should have the active ingredient amprolium.
Most medicated chick starter in the USA also has the active ingredient amprolium.

The Corid package probably has instructions for two levels of dosing: one a "preventative" level (similar to using medicated feed), the other a higher level to treat actual outbreaks.

I had one other chick pass from the coccidiosis a day after bringing them inside and starting the Corid. It was the chick that looked unwell and alerted me to the issue. I'm down to 26 out of 30 .

Today is day 4 of the Corid treatment and thankfully I'm not seeing anymore bloody, runny stools and they are going bonkers being in a small brooder after having more space outdoors.

I completely moved the open air coop/run to a different location since I couldn't think of any other way to 'clean/sanitize' the dirt/sand.

I planned to move the run eventually anyway. The reason I put the run in that location initially was to let the chickens till the soil and remove weeds before planting a garden for them.

Is there anything I should/could do to before planting a garden there? Or should I just change the location all together? I'm not opposed to removing a few inches of the soiled dirt and adding in gardening soil if it would make a difference.

Now that I know coccidiosis is present in my yard any future chicks will be getting medicated feed until they're at least 16 weeks old.

As I understand it, the basics of coccidosis are:

--it is present in almost all soil
--there are many different strains
--chickens usually build up immunity to the strains at your location, if they have small amounts of exposure
--exposure to large amounts or unfamiliar strains (like in someone else's yard) will cause problems.
--amprolium works by blocking thiamine, in a way that hurts coccidosis more than it hurts chicks
--you should not give any vitamin supplements that contain thiamine while treating with corid (because you don't want to give the coccidosis any more thiamine to work with.) The amount in normal chicken feed is fine.


So in this case, I would make sure the chicks are healthy again, then move them right back outside. I would probably keep giving them water with corid in it for at least a week or two: you want them to develop immunity without being overwhelmed. Because you can give corid in their water, and you already have it, I would do that instead of buying medicated feed.

I would not try to replace the dirt, and I would not really try to sanitize it either. Sunshine does dry things out (bad for coccidiosis) and the radiation in sunlight is bad for some kinds of bacteria and other little things (I don't know if coccidiosis cares or not). So letting the sun shine on the dirt might be a good idea-- of course that happens naturally in a garden, even without extra effort on your part.

For future batches of chicks, you could use medicated feed or you could use corid in the water. Or you could raise chicks in a dry brooder (no coccidiosis) but give them a scoop of your local dirt every day or so (small exposure) to let them build immunity before they go outside. If you do that, you might not need to use any medication, although it is still a good idea to keep corid on hand just in case.

 

[redinator]

Read the label to be sure.
Corid should have the active ingredient amprolium.
Most medicated chick starter in the USA also has the active ingredient amprolium.

The Corid package probably has instructions for two levels of dosing: one a "preventative" level (similar to using medicated feed), the other a higher level to treat actual outbreaks.


As I understand it, the basics of coccidosis are:

--it is present in almost all soil
--there are many different strains
--chickens usually build up immunity to the strains at your location, if they have small amounts of exposure
--exposure to large amounts or unfamiliar strains (like in someone else's yard) will cause problems.
--amprolium works by blocking thiamine, in a way that hurts coccidosis more than it hurts chicks
--you should not give any vitamin supplements that contain thiamine while treating with corid (because you don't want to give the coccidosis any more thiamine to work with.) The amount in normal chicken feed is fine.


So in this case, I would make sure the chicks are healthy again, then move them right back outside. I would probably keep giving them water with corid in it for at least a week or two: you want them to develop immunity without being overwhelmed. Because you can give corid in their water, and you already have it, I would do that instead of buying medicated feed.

I would not try to replace the dirt, and I would not really try to sanitize it either. Sunshine does dry things out (bad for coccidiosis) and the radiation in sunlight is bad for some kinds of bacteria and other little things (I don't know if coccidiosis cares or not). So letting the sun shine on the dirt might be a good idea-- of course that happens naturally in a garden, even without extra effort on your part.

For future batches of chicks, you could use medicated feed or you could use corid in the water. Or you could raise chicks in a dry brooder (no coccidiosis) but give them a scoop of your local dirt every day or so (small exposure) to let them build immunity before they go outside. If you do that, you might not need to use any medication, although it is still a good idea to keep corid on hand just in case.

I purchased the medicated feed already, but plan to start feeding it to them after they finish the 5 day Corid treatment (which will be Thursday) since I don't want to 'over correct' the problem. I was also wondering if I should give them electrolytes and/or probiotics to help them recover once they're off the Corid.

Edit: the Corid is the one with amprolium 9.6%

This is the label from the medicated feed bag:

 

[ChickenChick46]

Could some please tell my chicks this is not the time to play "dead chick"

I almost started bawling when I thought another one passed. It'll be at least a week before I stop poking them to check them . . . at least a week.

I had one of mine do this. I poked my head in to check on them 2 nights ago, and I almost had a heart attack. I reached in and grabbed the baby, which made a thoroughly unsettled series of noises, then proceeded to cuddle into my hand and go back to sleep. I think my heart rate stopped then doubled in about 2 seconds.

 

[ChickenChick46]

@ChickenChick46 another thing I did with my first two batches was bringing in dirt and grass from my yard for the chicks to dig through.

A thread I'd read mentioned it being a safer way to introduce your chicks to microbes in the soil. You could start doing this once you put them on medicated feed if you're still apprehensive about putting them outside full time.

Keep in mind, if you start bringing them outside, or bringing the outdoors in they'll need chick grit to help grind up any grass or what not they'll ingest.

I've already got grit in their brooder, as I did bring in some dirt from down by where their coop is. They had it for several days, and loved it. I was changing it out every day so it was always "clean dirt" lol. But the past 2 days we've had rain. So that dirt is now a sandy, red clay mess and I haven't given them any those days. Maybe today if the weather holds out. Their medicated feed will be here tomorrow.