What breed and gender are my 7 week old chickens?!

[drumstick diva]

Excellent information and advice from Rachel Taylor

 

[Courtney Jane]

Coccidiosis isn’t rare and once treated they are fine. I have mine medicated starter feed and I ended up having to treat for coccidiosis. It’s not to late. I don’t know about mixing it in food but with water if the corid is mixed in the only water available then their normal intake will give them enough. They don’t need to drink the whole gallon or even near it a day. It just the mixing ratio

The ratio is so small, 15ml in 10L. So with the porridge I mixed only 0.5ml with about 250ml of porridge and they've eaten half of that so hopefully that's enough for today. I'm checking up on them constantly hoping they haven't dropped dead on me! The amount of medicine seems so small I don't see how it helps but I know the bottle has that dosage for a reason.

 

[rebrascora]

Surly not, I'm sure they wouldn't have given them to me otherwise. I'm just wondering what they fed them before I got them. They had a lot of chickens so I'm sure they're familiar with the disease and that they have to feed them medicated chick starter to prevent it. Do you think I should mention to them that mine got sick? I'm curious as to wether the rest of the flock at their place is infected. If I need to swap my boys for girls at some point what if they won't take them back knowing that they have had the disease. That's if they even survive! I just gave them their first dose of medicine, mixed some in their porridge knowing that they'd eat it. I can't monitor how much water they're drinking so how am I supposed to know they're getting enough if I put it in the water?

Coccidia are micro organisms that live everywhere in the environment but thrive in the gut of animals that live on the land and ingest their oocysts (eggs). There are different strains and young animals develop resistance to it as they get older. Chicks raised by a broody hen have gradual exposure to it from day one. They also ingest some of the broody hen's poop which gives them good gut bacteria to help balance their gut. These two things help the chicks to be resistant to coccidiosis. If you move those chicks or even grown hens sometimes to a new home where the strain of coccidia are different, their bodies do not know how to deal with the new strain and they are often a bit stressed from the change of environment/routine (moving from a large flock with many adults and perhaps their broody mother and/or siblings to a small flock of 3 will be a big shock to their system regardless of how lovely their new home is) and stress suppresses the immune system making them less able to deal with the new strain of coccidia. It is therefore always a good idea to have Corid on hand when you move birds to a new home and medicated feed is often not enough to cope with an outbreak.

The dosage is 2 teaspoons to a gallon of the liquid Corid or 1.5 teaspoons of the powder. If you have the liquid you can give them a couple of drops of the undiluted Corid directly into their beak to get the process started, particularly if they are not eating and drinking much. Go easy with oatmeal as it is not good for them, much as they love it. Scrambled egg is better.

Just wanted to clarify that this does not in anyway reflect on the people who supplied you with these chicks. It is just simply as a result of moving them to a new home.

Hopefully you have caught it in time and the Corid will do it's work. The birds will develop resistance to this strain too once they recover from this outbreak and there should be no problem with them returning to their original home if I am correct that they are males, but any replacement birds you get will also be vulnerable to an outbreak so keep the Corid on hand.

 

[Courtney Jane]

Coccidia are micro organisms that live everywhere in the environment but thrive in the gut of animals that live on the land and ingest their oocysts (eggs). There are different strains and young animals develop resistance to it as they get older. Chicks raised by a broody hen have gradual exposure to it from day one. They also ingest some of the broody hen's poop which gives them good gut bacteria to help balance their gut. These two things help the chicks to be resistant to coccidiosis. If you move those chicks or even grown hens sometimes to a new home where the strain of coccidia are different, their bodies do not know how to deal with the new strain and they are often a bit stressed from the change of environment/routine (moving from a large flock with many adults and perhaps their broody mother and/or siblings to a small flock of 3 will be a big shock to their system regardless of how lovely their new home is) and stress suppresses the immune system making them less able to deal with the new strain of coccidia. It is therefore always a good idea to have Corid on hand when you move birds to a new home and medicated feed is often not enough to cope with an outbreak.

The dosage is 2 teaspoons to a gallon of the liquid Corid or 1.5 teaspoons of the powder. If you have the liquid you can give them a couple of drops of the undiluted Corid directly into their beak to get the process started, particularly if they are not eating and drinking much. Go easy with oatmeal as it is not good for them, much as they love it. Scrambled egg is better.

Just wanted to clarify that this does not in anyway reflect on the people who supplied you with these chicks. It is just simply as a result of moving them to a new home.

Hopefully you have caught it in time and the Corid will do it's work. The birds will develop resistance to this strain too once they recover from this outbreak and there should be no problem with them returning to their original home if I am correct that they are males, but any replacement birds you get will also be vulnerable to an outbreak so keep the Corid on hand.

Thanks that is very useful information! I did a lot of research prior to getting the chickens but have learnt so much more from here! I read about foods they can't have but was unaware oatmeal was bad for them (they've been having it every day since I got them! ) so I will go easy on that from now on. It's been hot here so they're drinking plenty of water so I'll put it in their water from now on. I better mention I didn't get corid, the store only had one called coccivet and the owner said it was the same sort of thing (it was not cheap either!) only had it in a large bottle so I have so much now.

 

[rebrascora]

As long as the active ingredient is Amprolium, it is the right stuff. It is sold in smaller quantities for pigeons in some countries but usually it is found in the farm stores in bulk for cattle. All the same stuff, just different target group and hence size.

 

[andreanar]

Ive never heard of Coccivet, but it has Amprolium in it so Im sure its fine. Keep the medicated water the only water source they have. Coccidosis can move fast. I went from fine to a dead pullet in 18 hours. You've gotten them on treatment so they should rebound.

 

[Courtney Jane]

As long as the active ingredient is Amprolium, it is the right stuff. It is sold in smaller quantities for pigeons in some countries but usually it is found in the farm stores in bulk for cattle. All the same stuff, just different target group and hence size.

Yes that is the active ingredient so hopefully it's all good. I feel they've had a decent amount of it today. When do you think I'll see results? If I check under their perches in the morning and see no improvements in the bloody droppings does that mean it's not going to work? Or do I need to wait a few days to see if it gets any better? I also gave the coop a bit of a scrub, sprayed some citrus infused vinegar around, let the box air out and put some parts in the sun to disinfect.

 

[Courtney Jane]

Ive never heard of Coccivet, but it has Amprolium in it so Im sure its fine. Keep the medicated water the only water source they have. Coccidosis can move fast. I went from fine to a dead pullet in 18 hours. You've gotten them on treatment so they should rebound.

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear about your loss :/ I hope my case doesnt turn out that bad. I am so worried. They seem totally fine though, still eating/drinking and moving around.

 

[andreanar]

If they are still active, that's a good sign. I usually see improvement by 3-4 days of treatment.

 

[Chickassan]

Yours aren't super tiny that is a big plus! Cocci is much harder on fuzzies but yours are feathered so they have a little age on them to build up their internal systems. Looks like you have them out and about eating soil as well, also very good. They'll build resistance to cocci strains you may have on your property by doing that.