Coci can come just from the mud in your yard. I have to watch my chicks very closely to catch signs early so I won't lose them. Currently treating a batch now in the brooder that's about two weeks old. Will need to treat my bantam pen as well because my Easter hatch babies just went out there. Coci also comes in several verities so you may have to treat several times.Not that I'm scared of my chickens, I love them dearly. But this year has been the hardest years thus far in my chicken keeping and breeding journey. I've learned a lot about bio security, the hard way, I might add, and at this point I think I may be going a little insane.
There are a few breeds that I've wanted for quite some time but honestly just couldn't find the funds to purchase quality stock. Then came Mother's day this year. And I was gifted a few chicks in each breed I've wanted from quality breeding lines. We got day olds but those little chirps came at a pretty penny! 2 true Ameraucana bantams in self blue, 2 mottled Houdans, 3 Serama's, about 6 crested cream legbars, and I got about 30 silkies in chocolate, chocolate mottled, mauve, mauve mottled, chocolate paint, lavender, and black mottled. As well as white, black, and blue. And 4 showgirls chocolate mottled, chocolate, mauve, and black satin. I was thrilled.
Then came the nightmare coccidiosis that seemed to defeat me no matter what I did. Everything under the sun I tried and they just kept dying. Not even sure I'm out of the woods yet, but they aren't dying in such large numbers anymore. Two days with one death instead of a day of 12+ deaths. It mostly ripped through the silkie and bantam Cochin brooder, but the showgirls and silkies seemed to take the hardest hit. It hasn't gotten to my brooder of mothers day chicks. And I'm trying my hardest to keep that from happening.
But now I feel super paranoid. And terrified to touch or interact with them at all. And that is normally something I thoroughly enjoy doing. I like having chickens as pets And I feel sad that I am too scared to involve myself with them for fear they will die too. Not to mention they were so expensive who knows when or if I would be able to replace them? Does anyone else feel completely neurotic about biosecurity? I mean down to teeny tiny little detail? And scared to touch their baby chicks? Am I the only one who does this?
I never was this way prior to coccidiosis 2024. But I'm certain this will leave a lasting scar for the remainder of my chicken raising and will forever alter my management practices. Has anyone else had to learn a terrible lesson the hard way like this? I'd love to hear about it. How did it change you and your farm and management practices? Do you find yourself thinking things through in ways you never imagined prior? Like issues of tracking and cross contamination?
Anyways....hope I'm not alone. And anyone that can throw a prayer this direction for my little babies here, it would be greatly appreciated!
Also would love to hear tips on how you prevent sickness in your chicks/adults and things you used to do but wouldn't dare to now
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