Updated - Corid and Amprol (amprolium) Dosing

[KsKingBee]

Hmmm, @KsKingBee , I think we have 3 or 4 different sets of chicken folks with possibly similar issues all chiming in, and I thought that photo was from one of the other ones, not the puffed up bird from @Mike10 ? But I'm with you on there being some kind of crop problem...

Oh, you are right. My bad. Guess I got confused.

 

[Garden Peas]

It's all those chickens, they are hard to tell apart

 

[zazouse]

I'm hoping the corid treatment cures my Lucy - she has had diarrhea for a month now. I tried worming her with safeguard but that didn't work. I started today with .4ml of liquid corid by mouth.

She also has pendulous crop, I am hoping this is also an effect of cocci.

http://poultrykeeper.com/digestive-system-problems/pendulous-crop

 

[casportpony]

Many things can cause crop problems... worms, bacteria, yeast, disease or obstructions.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

If the crop is not impacted I usually start by de-worming with Safeguard and treating for a bacterial infection with Baytril and metronidazole, but if it's yeast that's causing the crop stasis, antibiotics will make it worse. My last one with "sour crop" was cured with worming and antibiotics.

Crop impacted with grain, not grass, I treat by tubing lots of water to flush it through. Never had a grass impaction, just grain.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

From: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html

Answers from The Chicken Vet on Impacted, Sour & Pendulous Crops
byKathy Shea Mormino




Today's question in my series "Answers from The Chicken Vet" comes from several fans: Q: "'What's the difference between impacted, pendulous and sour crops?

*note crop location​

A: Impacted vs Pendulous vs Sour Crops
Although there are several presentations for crop issues in chickens, the root cause, and the actual disease is usually the same. When chickens gorge themselves on long, fibrous foods, their crop (and occasionally gizzard) can become blocked. Sometimes this results in an impacted crop, which is a crop that is full of a tangle of fibre that is firm, dry and relatively hard. Sometimes, the bird will drink a lot to try to help pass the blockage....this will result in sour crop, which is a crop full of watery, half-rotten, acidic soup that actually smells worse than it sounds. Sour crop may also be associated with fungal infection, although there is some question about whether the fungus causes the poor emptying of the crop, or is a result of it. Finally, if the crop (which is basically a sac of smooth muscle) becomes damaged, the muscle will fail, and the crop loses its form and tension. Unfortunately, it also loses much of its function. This is what results in “pendulous crop”....the sac is saggy and enlarged.

The main factor in crop problems is prevention. DON’T give your hens access to long, lush, springy grass, twine or other long, stringy things that they can eat. DO make sure that there is plenty of good, palatable water near where the hens will be foraging. If you yard is large, and you have some “bully” birds, it is a good idea to provide a few “drinking stations” where timid birds can get some water while they are feeding.

These problems are more prevalent in the spring, when the grass is lush, and less likely to break when the hens peck at them. This is especially true when the hens are coming into lay, and have large appetites that may cause them to gorge themselves when they get the chance. You should cut your grass fairly short before releasing your hens for the first time in the spring, and if the cuttings are long, rake them up. Naturally, keeping strings and twine away from the hens is a good idea.

Treatment for crop disorders involves 1) emptying them as appropriate and 2) treating for secondary infections if necessary. Sour crop can be helped by holding the bird face-down, at about a 60 degree angle, and massaging the crop towards the throat....the stinky mess should come out like vomit, and reduce the swelling. Be sure to let the hen breathe between bouts of massaging, and keep her inside for a couple days after, feeding soft foods and adding a little bit (1tbsp/gallon) of baking soda to the drinking water to combat the acidity. Do NOT use cider vinegar to treat this, as it only adds to the acid burden. Treatment with an anti-fungal agent might be of value, but often, once the sour crop is dealt with and the hen is back to eating well, it is unnecessary.

Impacted crop can be treated by flushing the crop with water to help soften up the “ball”. Using a syringe and tube, put water gently into the esophagus, behind the opening at the back of the throat that goes to the lungs. Gently massage the crop several times per day, softening the mass. Adding some vegetable oil may help a little, but you will usually get reasonable results from water alone. I would NOT recommend surgery on your own....if you cannot get the impaction resolved through massage, water and oil, contact a vet to help you out....gastrointestinal surgery has a HUGE potential to go horribly wrong in an amateur’s hands.

If the crop becomes pendulous, there is little you can do to help. Feeding very digestible food will help her health, massaging the food through the crop and allowing it to empty fairly regularly will help as well, but the crop will seldom return to normal. This problem is considered to be fairly heritable, so hens with pendulous crops should likely not be used for breeding.

Dr. Mike Petrik, DVM, MSc
The Chicken Vet

 

[cafarmgirl]

Interesting. My vet told me to give vitamin B while giving Corid, said that the Coccidiosis uses up the vitamin and needs to be replenished. She said it wasn't feeding the Cocci, the Corid is killing that, she just wants me to feed the bird what it needs.

The active ingredient in Corid, amprolium, works by mimicking vitamin B, thereby starving the protozoa. It does not kill the cocci protozoa in the same way that antibiotic's kill bacteria. So if you also flood the bird with added vitamin B besides what it gets from it's normal feed at the same time your are trying to let the Corid do it's job you are really not helping. The birds will not become deficient in vitamin B in the short time it takes to treat for coccidiosis nor do the protozoa use up all the vitamin B in a birds gut before treatment. It's normal for birds to have low numbers of cocci in their gut at any time, it's just when there's an overgrowth that it's a problem. It's fine, and a good idea, to supplement with additional vitamins after running a course of Corid.

 

[11mini]

If the crop is not impacted I usually start by de-worming with Safeguard and treating for a bacterial infection with Baytril and metronidazole, but if it's yeast that's causing the crop stasis, antibiotics will make it worse. My last one with "sour crop" was cured with worming and antibiotics.

Crop impacted with grain, not grass, I treat by tubing lots of water to flush it through. Never had a grass impaction, just grain.

-Kathy

I don't think there is any blockage her crop is empty every morning. I also do not notice any bad smell/breath. There is 3x as much poop under her as any of the other two birds every morning. I did already run a course of safeguard for 5 days but I might not have given her enough, only .5ml per day. I stopped because I discovered she was molting (a lot of her feathers were already pulled out by a rooster at her previous home). I just started the corid yesterday gave her .4ml of 9.6% liquid by mouth.

 

[KsKingBee]

The active ingredient in Corid, amprolium, works by mimicking vitamin B, thereby starving the protozoa. It does not kill the cocci protozoa in the same way that antibiotic's kill bacteria. So if you also flood the bird with added vitamin B besides what it gets from it's normal feed at the same time your are trying to let the Corid do it's job you are really not helping. The birds will not become deficient in vitamin B in the short time it takes to treat for coccidiosis nor do the protozoa use up all the vitamin B in a birds gut before treatment. It's normal for birds to have low numbers of cocci in their gut at any time, it's just when there's an overgrowth that it's a problem. It's fine, and a good idea, to supplement with additional vitamins after running a course of Corid.

Thank you, that is a very well explained explanation! It may also be why the cocci seems to linger, I am doing the preventative dosing now and will follow up with a fecal exam in two more weeks. I think I will halt the vitamin B until the exam.

 

[Fancychooklady]

The active ingredient in Corid, amprolium, works by mimicking vitamin B, thereby starving the protozoa.  It does not kill the cocci protozoa in the same way that antibiotic's kill bacteria.  So if you also flood the bird with added vitamin B besides what it gets from it's normal feed at the same time your are trying to let the Corid do it's job you are really not helping.  The birds will not become deficient in vitamin B in the short time it takes to treat for coccidiosis nor do the protozoa use up all the vitamin B in a birds gut before treatment.  It's normal for birds to have low numbers of cocci in their gut at any time, it's just when there's an overgrowth that it's a problem.  It's fine, and a good idea, to supplement with additional vitamins after running a course of Corid.

That is my understanding of it. By starving the Protozoa of thiamine you destroy it's ability to absorb nutrients and it starves to death. If you give B1 supplement whilst treating you will negate treatment . However it is advisable to administer a good multi vitamin after treatment, as thiamine deficiency can cause ataxia and all sorts of neurological problems.