First time in 20years, suspect Coccidiosis 5 week old chick

[SandyRiverChick]

Poor little Buff is lethargic, seems cold, puffed up. She is in with 4 others same age and they seem fine. I moved them a few days ago from brooder to their own room in coop away from Big's. They've from Priviett, on Medicated starter, Merek vacc but not Coccyvac. I started Corid in water for all 5 and a drop in little Buff's mouth yesterday. I don't see bloody poo..... Unfortunately before I suspected Coccidiosis, I gave everyone some Nutridrench. Took away when I started the Corid but I bet that canceled it out for day. Is there anything else I should be doing? I've wondered why I was so lucky to never have any of this issues over the years yet read how common they are. It's now my turn..... TIA for any advice

 

[nuthatched]

Any bloody stools?

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Any bloody stools?

No. Could it be something else?

 

[nuthatched]

No. Could it be something else?

If they're on medicated feed, they should be ok for coccidiosis. It could be something else? Is she pooping at all?

 

[SandyRiverChick]

If they're on medicated feed, they should be ok for coccidiosis. It could be something else? Is she pooping at all?

I have not seen her poop at all. I'm going to go hang out with her a while to determine. It should be easy because she is the only one still getting under the Mommy Hut while the others will only go on top. I'll report back, thank you!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I have not seen her poop at all. I'm going to go hang out with her a while to determine. It should be easy because she is the only one still getting under the Mommy Hut while the others will only go on top. I'll report back, thank you!

I just checked and everything is the same. I took a pic of her but she looks exactly as the one above. The poo from under mommy looks like mostly water/white, no blood. And no bloody poo from the others anywhere. I put alot of shavings around to soak up poo so it's hard to even find much to look at. Other 4 seem perfectly normal, not puffed up like her. Is there anything bad that can come from continuing to treat with Corid water IF this is not Coccidiosis? Robbing them of vitaminB ?

 

[coach723]

Corid is very safe, if in doubt I would treat. Blood is not always present, only some strains will produce blood. Runny or mucousy droppings are also a symptom as well as lethargy, sitting puffed up, not eating/drinking well.
To make sure, correct dosing for Corid is 1.5 tsp of the powder, or 2 tsp of the liquid per gallon of water, make sure it's the only water they have access to, and make fresh daily.
You can also give the sick one, or any others that are showing symptoms an oral dose once a day, instructions for that are here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/
The oral dose is in addition to the regular treatment in the water.
The Corid will do no harm if it's something else. If you are concerned you can supplement the vitamins after treatment is complete, probiotics after treatment can sometimes be helpful also. If the chick is not drinking well on it's own then I will often syringe the regular corid/water mixture to it several times a day.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Corid is very safe, if in doubt I would treat. Blood is not always present, only some strains will produce blood. Runny or mucousy droppings are also a symptom as well as lethargy, sitting puffed up, not eating/drinking well.
To make sure, correct dosing for Corid is 1.5 tsp of the powder, or 2 tsp of the liquid per gallon of water, make sure it's the only water they have access to, and make fresh daily.
You can also give the sick one, or any others that are showing symptoms an oral dose once a day, instructions for that are here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/
The oral dose is in addition to the regular treatment in the water.
The Corid will do no harm if it's something else. If you are concerned you can supplement the vitamins after treatment is complete, probiotics after treatment can sometimes be helpful also. If the chick is not drinking well on it's own then I will often syringe the regular corid/water mixture to it several times a day.

Thank you so much! I'm doing precisely what you've advised. I'm also looking for the most safe/natural disinfectant that will actually kill coccidia.... My coop section that the tweens are in is indeed my oldest and though it is very clean, who knows what they found in cracks and corners so I want to give it a safe, deep cleaning. Any suggestions there? I'm looking at Virkon S but it can't get here for a week. Does peroxide kill coccidia? I understand that bleach and many other cleaners do not....

 

[coach723]

It's really impossible to completely eradicate coccidia from the environment. What I do is when raising new chicks in a brooder I give them a large plant saucer of soil from my yard (not the chicken run) to dig, scratch, peck and dustbathe in every day. The saucer makes it easy to clean, dump and replace with fresh soil. This exposes them to all the microbes in the soil naturally (just like if they were raised by a broody hen outside) and gives their immune system a chance to build up resistance naturally. Birds that are exposed gradually have a better chance of building resistance without becoming sick. The immunization works the same way, it's sprayed on usually and they peck it off each other, ingesting it. Every birds immune system is different, so some may be exposed and not show symptoms, others may be sick if the coccidia numbers are too large for their immune system to handle. I always have Corid on hand, to treat if needed, but I've not had to treat for many years now. Medicated starter has a very small dose of the medication and can help prevent an outbreak, but it's not a 100% thing. Once they show symptoms you have to treat with the full strength medication. Wet, warm periods where the ground stays wet can cause a coccidia bloom in the environment that makes higher numbers of them available to infect the birds. I just try to keep droppings from building up in the area's the birds are confined to as best I can. Keeping feeders and waterers clean and free of droppings will also minimize spread. Chickens being chickens, there are always going to be some droppings around. I don't use medicated starter as I prefer to only treat them if needed.
There is a very good video here (geared more towards commercial production, but still good) that explains well how coccidia infects the birds and how prevalent it is in the environment, post #1: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coccidiosis-video-worth-watching.1262022/#post-20259051

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I give them a large plant saucer of soil from my yard (not the chicken run) to dig, scratch, peck and dustbathe in every day.

I do too! I use empty plastic lettuce, spinach tubs, filled with sand that I have sifted rocks out of from my super sandy soil (live on a River.) They love it and toss it around everywhere but the high plastic walls of the lettuce tub have made cleanup easier for me. Do you think that there is a chance that by doing this, I have introduced to much Coccidia? Years ago I did not use Medicated and then about 3 years ago I switched to medicated for no good reason really, just that the feed store was pushing it since the chicks they get from Privett are only Marek vaccinated. I'm starting to wonder if I should get chicks that have both vaccinations going forward... ??