help!3 chicks died!

[petal]

We have lost 3 chicks this weekend, they started being huddled and lethargic - one had bloody diarreoah, am I right in saying its coccidioisis? I looked up coxoid for their water, does anyone else have any experiences of this?

[Suechooks]

So sorry to see that Petal. Sorry but have no chick knowledge. I'm sure Richmond or Bramble will be along soon and you'll get the advice you need. From what I've read it sounds like Cocci but there may be other things too.

[moola]

you need coxoid - you can order it over the internet. In the meantime you need to completely clear out their rearing area and wash it down, disinfect. If you have any healthier looking chicks you can separate these - they may stand a better chance.
It is very infectious but doesn't usually knock down older chickens - mainly chicks and growers. If your chicks are outside then do not put any chickens back down in this area until it is thoroughly disinfected.

Oregano and chopped up boiled egg as a booster may help in the meantime. You need to give them warmth as well but don't overdo - it. Maybe just bring them indoors to an unheated area if they are growers otherwise if they are chicks and still on heat then keep them as is, maybe lowering the lamp a little.

Some agri places or your vet may stock coxoid - it is non prescription.
It tends to work very quickly - you should see an improvement in 24 hrs.
Cocci in chicks is very common - so don't beat yourself up about it - even experienced breeders deal with it. It is treatable.

I hope this helps and your little ones survive

[RichmondHens]

As Moola says, separate the infected chicks immediately. Keep an eye on any others. It is vital all the chicks are kept very clean and dry. How old are they? Keep drinkers and feeders as clean as possible. Also are they on feed with ACS in? This will help as preventative for your other chicks, but you will also need medication eg Coxoid or a preparation from your vet. Do not let egg layers have access to the ACS feed though.

As a general rule, if you have poorly birds on the premises, always attend to them last, to prevent carrying bugs to the unaffected pens. Always visit and attend to your healthy ones first, before seeing to the sick ones.

Hope the chicks pick up soon.

[Bramble-Poultry]

if it is cocciodiosis, it loves cold and damp (pretty typical of what we have had) sp gpp dhusbandry around the remaining birds and wash all your drinkers and feeders between the runs each time you feed and water to stop spread of infection. Wash down paths etc between runs with ***** fluid. ***** will even kill off bird flu so its worth keeping in.

As Richmond say, if tehy are chicks swicth over to a chick crumb with ACS in it as this will act as a preventative. If they are off chick crumb, then speak to your vet ASAP about getting a coccidiostat for the flock.

Treat as a flock as cocciodsis is contagious so treat the whole and that way it will stop its spread. If you have friends taht have chickens that you go and see, make sure that you wash yourself and have a clean set of clothes when you visit your friends as they wont want a dose of this. Its rare that it transfers this way from one holding to another, but no point taking risks.

Its more common tham you think, and many people might not evn notice it in a very large flock if one or to pop off. We always feed ACS feeds here as we do tend to suffer from the rain here so anything to help is useful.

Good luck with the rest and let us know how you get on.

Mike

[petal]

thanks for advice, I went to see frank at thornes today and he has told me to collect baycox from vet tomorrow, in the meantime separate them and disinfect areas, feed live natural yoghurt as coccidiosis hates it, We have 8 chicks in cage on top of tumble dryer who are really perking up after I gave them syringe of watered down yoghurt. Frank also gave me sack of medicated chick crumbs as the one I had bought wasn't. fingers crossed...

[HayleyB]

Oh dear Kirsty how awful for you {{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}

[moola]

petal - sounds good. Lots of tlc and keeping a close eye on them does wonders. Just be super clean and careful.
btw - I think that if you feed ACS based chick crumb then you cannot give coxoid - but if you are going down the baycox route then I guess it doesn't matter - do check though.

I would also add that you need to be careful of the weather conditions when you put them out eventually. Chicks that have cocci need to be kept dry - they don't tend to do very well with wet/coldness .

[Nicos]

eeee...dear me..I'm following this with great interest...fingers crossed for your other chooks

[Eco-Chic]

Hoping all goes well Petal.

[di]

All the best Petal.xx

[MaureenHall]

How old were the chicks Petal? I've got 10 that are just over 3 weeks and they're going to be cooped up all day today cos I'm not going to be at home - it gets a bit "sweaty" in the converted vivarium they're living in They all look healthy and happy though. So sorry about your little ones, and fingers crossed for the others

[petal]

its the 3 weeks and under that are getting this, we lost a lovely welsummer cross today. Vet has some stuff she has ordered especially - we pick it up in the morning, in the meantime they are all getting hard boiled mashed egg mixed with live yoghurt as the vet says that makes it difficult for the cocci and gives them a boost. Its sad but a learning curve at the same time.

[frias]

Sorry to hear you've lost another one too. Fingers crossed for the remainder.

[moola]

Sorry about your loss Petal. It is the way with chook keeping - it is very much a learn on the job type of thing....until you've experienced the dips (such as cocci/redmite/prolapses etc) then I really think most people operate in slight roseytinted glasses kind of world (chooks have that effect ). But once you've got through this, you will know exactly what to do and how to handle things if cocci rears its ugly head again. I have a bottle of coxoid in my animal medical cupboard - I find it very reassuring to have to hand. It does the job well, esp when you spot a cocci flare up quickly.
My dogs had canine cocci a few months back - Isospora ..... my previous experience with handling cocci in chicks really helped me out. We knew just HOW clean and careful we needed to be and managed to treats our dogs (inc a young pup) and stop any cross contamination. ....a tense hard week though