3 full days of coccidiosis treatment in highest dose of Corid. Still blood in poop

[It_is_I_Rae]

My 10 week old pullets have coccidiosis and have been on the highest dose of powder amprolium (1.5 tsp a gallon) for 3 full days but I still see some blood in their poop. They seem to be acting fine otherwise, they're all eating and drinking and acting like themselves. Is this normal?

Also are they at risk for becoming anemic and should I give them some sort of iron supplement?

 

[Sauron1]

When we treated our birds, it took weeks of Corid. Just hang in there!

 

[It_is_I_Rae]

When we treated our birds, it took weeks of Corid. Just hang in there!

Do they have to be on it without any breaks for weeks or intermittent treatment

 

[Sauron1]

Do they have to be on it without any breaks for weeks or intermittent treatment?

I don't know. maybe @sourland does.

 

[FoxySonia]

3 days is not long enough. Might need to treat for 10 days with the outbreak dose.

I recently treated 2 of my 5 month old bantam Polish pullets for 10 days with the outbreak dose, since 5 days wasn't enough, and then maintenance dose, since they're back with the rest of the flock and they have been on the maintenance dose for the past week.

After spotting bloody poop from 1 slightly lethargic 2 1/2 month old Appenzeller Spitzhauben pullet, I treated all my chicks (some 2 1/2 month old, some 3 1/2 month old) months old) with Corid 20% powder when they were still living in their indoor brooder tent. I gave them the outbreak dose for 10 days, the moderate dose for 9 days, and finally the maintenance dose for 2 weeks, by then they were all living in their outdoor enclosures and enjoying the yard. That was less than 2 months ago, so I was surprised when the 2 bantam Polish pullets got sick. Previous to them getting sick 1 of my Old English Game bantam cockerels became lethargic but after 2 or 3 days he was back to normal, so he was able to fight it off without medication. A few days after the 5 month old bantam Polish pullets started treatment, another pullet, this time a 4 month old Appenzeller Spitzhauben, became lethargic, so I started her on the outbreak dose while the rest of the flock continued on the moderate dose. Only 1 of the bantam Polish pullets had a bit of blood in her droppings, but both became very lethargic and loss appetite. For first week of treatment I had to give them the medicated water using an oral syringue. I kept them indoors and treated them for 10 weeks with the Corid outbreak dose before they were reunited with their flock after they had fully recovered, by then the flock was drinking the maintenance dose.

But now another bantam pullet seems to not be feeling well, even though all have been drinking the Corid maintenance dose. She's a 5 1/2 month old Old English Game bantam. I'm starting her on the Corid drench today.

I've been reading some of the posts here and articles online on treating cocci, trying to find what's the best way to treat it, and learned the following:

Corid (Amprolium) is a thiamine blocker, it does not outright kill coccidia, it starves them of thiamine which leads to their death, but won't kill their eggs (oocysts) or prevent coccidiosis. A vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency can be created by using amprolium (Corid) too often, so vitamin B1 supplementation should be given after treatment is completed.

Sulfadimethoxine (Albon) is a sulfonamide antimicrobial used to treat coccidiosis and other infections in small animals (including goats, cats and dogs, off label), but like Corid, it won't kill coccidia outright, but will treat infection and inflammation from the damage the coccidia causes to the lining of the intestines.

Here's a few comments from another member of the forum (sorry don't know her name, when I copied the comments it didn't copy her name, if I find it I'll add it here):

"That med is a three-in-one med. It will treat the coccidia, the inflammation that caused the bloody stools and bacteria that attacks when the intestines get inflamed. So, there's no need for the Corid, too. Save the Corid to follow up with a week after you give the last dose of the sulfa.

"The chick with the closed eyes may be suffering from coccidiosis the worst. Without the sulfa to treat the cause of the early blood in the stools and the bacteria that is probably still making it sick, it could die. Corid alone does not treat these things. It only blocks thiamine that coccidia feed on."

"Take away all water except for the treated water. If all the chickens don't drink a full gallon per day of water, mix half that (half a teaspoon of sulfa to half a gallon of water) or whatever amount you think they will drink in a day. After five days, wait a week and then treat with Corid for another five days."

There are newer medications that kill coccidia outright: ponazuril and toltrazuril (both actually being farm animal products which can be compounded into concentrations more appropriate for dogs and cats).

Coccidia eggs (oocysts) are resistant to many disinfectants and may survive more than a year in the environment. Coccidia can withstand freezing. To treat housing, most disinfectants do not work well against coccidia; incineration of the feces, and steam cleaning, immersion in boiling water or a 10% ammonia solution are the best methods to kill coccidia.

Good husbandry practices are the best preventive measures against coccidiosis. These include measures such as removing manure, not feeding off the ground, not letting animals jump into feeders, cleaning feeders and waterers regularly, etc., and practicing good biosecurity (easier said than done). But even with keeping clean housing and clean feeders and waterers our animals can become infected with coccidia, since we can't completely eliminate wildlife (such as wild birds) from their environment.

Drugs used to treat coccidia include amprolium (Corid), decoquinate (Deccox), monensin (Rumensin), lasalocid (Bovatec) and sulfadimethoxine (Albon). Some of the medications are approved but some are used off label.

Here are comments from another member of the forum (sorry I don't remember her name, if I find it again I'll add it here), which I copied from another thread on how to treat for coccidiosis:

"A good med to treat ongoing coccidiosis with bloody stools. No prescription needed. https://www.jedds.com/shop/trimethoprinsulfa-100-g-medpet/

"Endocox powder from Jedd's is the drug toltrazuril, which actually kills coccidia rather than just setting it back until the chick's immune system grows enough to overcome it. Both Corid and sulfa drugs are coccidiostats which slow the coccidia down and set it back...which definitely has its place as we want the birds to develop resistance as they grow. But when there's a severe case or outbreak, I'd rather wipe it out and let the chickens recover and grow some, and that's where toltrazuril comes in as a coccidiocide. Dog breeders and some livestock raisers have been using toltrazuril for a long time and I've been surprised at how few chicken people seem to know about it....until I found that pigeon and other bird raisers do use it. It's extremely effective."

"I knew about the toltrazuril from the dog show/breeding world where it was an amazing advance over using Albon (sulfadimethoxine) to set it back but it took me quite a while to think of whether it could be used on chickens and then to find some references and that it was available in powdered form on bird supply websites. It can be very frustrating trying to figure out what to treat for, when, and what to use. Coccidia is frustrating because some say to keep things very clean while others say to brood chicks on used bedding so they'll "develop resistance." I haven't had much luck with developing resistance because coccidiosis can be so deadly."

"One teaspoon per one gallon of water for five days. The directions are right on the package. Treat the entire flock because others may be getting infected with bacteria as we speak."

I will be getting Albon and Endocox soon. I hope your girl gets well soon. Please keep us updated. Good luck.

 

[It_is_I_Rae]

3 days is not long enough. Might need to treat for 10 days with the outbreak dose.

I recently treated 2 of my 5 month old bantam Polish pullets for 10 days with the outbreak dose, since 5 days wasn't enough, and the maintenance dose since they're back with the rest of the flock and they have been on the maintenance dose for the past week.

After spotting bloody poop from 1 slightly lethargic 2 1/2 month old Appenzeller Spitzhauben pullet, I treated all my chicks (some 2 1/2 month old, some 3 1/2 month old) months old) with Corid 20% powder when they were still living in their indoor brooder tent. I gave them the outbreak dose for 10 days, the moderate dose for 9 days, and finally the maintenance dose for 2 weeks, by then they were all living in their outdoor enclosures and enjoying the yard. That was less than 2 months ago, so I was surprised when the 2 bantam Polish pullets got sick. Previous to them getting sick 1 of my Old English Game bantam became lethargic but after 3 or 4 days he was back to normal, so he was able to fight it off without medication. Only 1 of the bantam Polish pullets had a bit of blood in her droppings, but both became very lethargic and loss appetite. For first week of treatment I had to give them the medicated water using an oral syringue. I kept them indoors and treated them for 10 weeks with the Corid outbreak dose before they were reunited with their flock after fully they had fully recovered.

But now another bantam pullet seems to not be feeling well, even though all have been drinking the Corid maintenance dose. She's a 5 1/2 month old Old English Game bantam. I'm starting her on the Corid drench today.

I've been reading some of the posts here and articles online on treating cocci, and learned that Corid (Amprolium) is a thiamine blocker, it does not outright kill coccidia, it starves them of thiamine which leads to their death, but won't kill their eggs (oocysts) or prevent coccidiosis. A vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency can be created by using amprolium (Corid) too often, so vitamin B1 supplementation should be given after treatment is completed.

Sulfadimethoxine (Albon) is a sulfonamide antimicrobial used to treat coccidiosis and other infections in small animals (including goats, cats and dogs, off label), but like Corid, it won't kill coccidia outright, but will treat infection and inflammation from the damage the coccidia causes to the lining of the intestines.

From comments from another member of the forum (sorry don'tknow her name, when I copied the comments it didn't copy her name, if I find it I'lladd it here):

"That med is a three-in-one med. It will treat the coccidia, the inflammation that caused the bloody stools and bacteria that attacks when the intestines get inflamed. So, there's no need for the Corid, too. Save the Corid to follow up with a week after you give the last dose of the sulfa.

"The chick with the closed eyes may be suffering from coccidiosis the worst. Without the sulfa to treat the cause of the early blood in the stools and the bacteria that is probably still making it sick, it could die. Corid alone does not treat these things. It only blocks thiamine that coccidia feed on."

"Take away all water except for the treated water. If all the chickens don't drink a full gallon per day of water, mix half that (half a teaspoon of sulfa to half a gallon of water) or whatever amount you think they will drink in a day. After five days, wait a week and then treat with Corid for another five days."

There are newer medications that kill coccidia outright: ponazuril and toltrazuril (both actually being farm animal products which can be compounded into concentrations more appropriate for dogs and cats).

Coccidia eggs (oocysts) are resistant to many disinfectants and may survive more than a year in the environment. Coccidia can withstand freezing. To treat housing, most disinfectants do not work well against coccidia; incineration of the feces, and steam cleaning, immersion in boiling water or a 10% ammonia solution are the best methods to kill coccidia.

Good husbandry practices are the best preventive measures against coccidiosis. These include measures such as removing manure, not feeding off the ground, not letting animals jump into feeders, cleaning feeders and waterers regularly, etc., and practicing good biosecurity (easier said than done). But even with keeping clean housing and clean feeders and waterers our animals can become infected with coccidia, since we can't completely eliminate wildlife (such as wild birds) from their environment.

Drugs used to treat coccidia include amprolium (Corid), decoquinate (Deccox), monensin (Rumensin), lasalocid (Bovatec) and sulfadimethoxine (Albon). Some of the medications are approved but some are used off label.

Here are comments from another member of the forum (sorry I don'trember her name, if I find it again I'll add it here), which I copied from another thread on how to treat for coccidiosis:
"A good med to treat ongoing coccidiosis with bloody stools. No prescription needed. https://www.jedds.com/shop/trimethoprinsulfa-100-g-medpet/

"Endocox powder from Jedd's is the drug toltrazuril, which actually kills coccidia rather than just setting it back until the chick's immune system grows enough to overcome it. Both Corid and sulfa drugs are coccidiostats which slow the coccidia down and set it back...which definitely has its place as we want the birds to develop resistance as they grow. But when there's a severe case or outbreak, I'd rather wipe it out and let the chickens recover and grow some, and that's where toltrazuril comes in as a coccidiocide. Dog breeders and some livestock raisers have been using toltrazuril for a long time and I've been surprised at how few chicken people seem to know about it....until I found that pigeon and other bird raisers do use it. It's extremely effective."

"I knew about the toltrazuril from the dog show/breeding world where it was an amazing advance over using Albon (sulfadimethoxine) to set it back but it took me quite a while to think of whether it could be used on chickens and then to find some references and that it was available in powdered form on bird supply websites. It can be very frustrating trying to figure out what to treat for, when, and what to use. Coccidia is frustrating because some say to keep things very clean while others say to brood chicks on used bedding so they'll "develop resistance." I haven't had much luck with developing resistance because coccidiosis can be so deadly."

"One teaspoon per one gallon of water for five days. The directions are right on the package. Treat the entire flock because others may be getting infected with bacteria as we speak."

I will be getting Albon and Endocox soon. I hope your girl gets well soon. Please keep us updated. Good luck.

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Thank you for sharing, all of this information. My pullets have luckily recovered since after over a week (maybe even 2 weeks) on Corid but this is very helpful to know for future reference. I hope your sick chickens feel better soon as well.