Questions about corid/coccidiosis

[clickchicks]

One my pullets (aprox. 3 months old) has been acting a little less perky than the others. She's mostly normal, eating and drinking and active but a little more sleepy than the other hens; I'll sometimes see her up on the roost perch when I walk into their run (she jumps down to beg for treats like the rest of them but she's the only one that seems to stay perched like this).

I called the farm I got her from and they recommended I do a course of corid just to be on the safe side. Couldn't find any locally and had to order some. It arrived today and I'm adding it to their water. I noticed a bloody poop this morning when I did a sweep. The poop was solid but the top definitely had blood on it. I know they can shed intestinal lining and I guess its possible that's what it was, but I really don't want to take any chances.

So here's my questions:
-This hen had previously had the coccidiosis vaccine; does the corid nullify that?

-Also, its going to be raining here for the next week. I know coccidia breeds aggressively in warm, wet conditions which is what we're about to have. Is there anything special I should do? I'd hate to treat then have them get reinfected.

Thank you!

 

[free range possum]

One my pullets (aprox. 3 months old) has been acting a little less perky than the others. She's mostly normal, eating and drinking and active but a little more sleepy than the other hens; I'll sometimes see her up on the roost perch when I walk into their run (she jumps down to beg for treats like the rest of them but she's the only one that seems to stay perched like this).

I called the farm I got her from and they recommended I do a course of corid just to be on the safe side. Couldn't find any locally and had to order some. It arrived today and I'm adding it to their water. I noticed a bloody poop this morning when I did a sweep. The poop was solid but the top definitely had blood on it. I know they can shed intestinal lining and I guess its possible that's what it was, but I really don't want to take any chances.

So here's my questions:
-This hen had previously had the coccidiosis vaccine; does the corid nullify that?

-Also, its going to be raining here for the next week. I know coccidia breeds aggressively in warm, wet conditions which is what we're about to have. Is there anything special I should do? I'd hate to treat then have them get reinfected.

Thank you!

Blood Is a very serious matter! I personally prefer Terravet, or a oxytetracyclin by any brand name, as it catches respiratory and digestive issues and is more broad spectrum for the many issues such as stress (weather, social or diet wise) with a shorter dose time. If she has been with them all this time, I would dose the communal water. Once of prevention vs pound of cure. I boil rosemary and oregano and add to their water and a little vinegar. This time of the year, feed companies also change their ingredients by what's available, and if she isn't getting sun if fluffed up on roost she isn't getting vitamin d, which she needs to use vitamin d, and that spiral can get worse.check for mites and deworm to help reduce parasite burden of flock (fenobenzal) But, if she is only one this way, I would seriously check inside her mouth for yellow crusty stuff and every day also check her feet for bumblefoot. Amazingly, this can occur even in free range flocks and it's similar symptoms. Some breeds are especially susceptible to bumblefoot. Heavy breeds, hens over weight. Buff orphingtons, easter eggers (light colored chickens) with light legs. Interestingly enough, Javas, Jersey giants, black breeds as well as white leghorns seem to not have this issue. A lot there to look at, but something specific is making her not behave like her flock sisters so check that out daily. As stupid as it sounds, any time one seemed to be by itself, it only gets worse if not addressed. It NEVER hurts just to boil and crumble some eggs, wetter chickens , ducks etc. No matter how old the bird and offer it to the girl. It is already designed with perfect minerals etc for the digestive tract and like a chicken noodle soup for us. Just saying! Hope it helps and keep trying. There are lost of us that love our birds and want all our "gurls" happy. Healthy and gossiping! Possum

 

[azygous]

Sounds like your pullet has a good chance of having coccidiosis. There are nine different coccidia that affect chickens. The vaccine may not cover all strains.

Blood in poop is a scarlet or ruby red. Intestinal lining is a red-orange, more rust color than red.

Corid doesn't do anything other than block thiamine, a B vitamin that coccidia feed on. It will not "cancel" the vaccine.

The good news is that your pullet will be resistant to the coccidia that made her sick after she recovers. However, it's always possible for a different strain of coccidia to be imported on the soles of shoes, trucked in top soil, and borrowed garden equipment. You always need to be vigilant.

 

[clickchicks]

Blood Is a very serious matter! I personally prefer Terravet, or a oxytetracyclin by any brand name, as it catches respiratory and digestive issues and is more broad spectrum for the many issues such as stress (weather, social or diet wise) with a shorter dose time. If she has been with them all this time, I would dose the communal water. Once of prevention vs pound of cure. I boil rosemary and oregano and add to their water and a little vinegar. This time of the year, feed companies also change their ingredients by what's available, and if she isn't getting sun if fluffed up on roost she isn't getting vitamin d, which she needs to use vitamin d, and that spiral can get worse.check for mites and deworm to help reduce parasite burden of flock (fenobenzal) But, if she is only one this way, I would seriously check inside her mouth for yellow crusty stuff and every day also check her feet for bumblefoot. Amazingly, this can occur even in free range flocks and it's similar symptoms. Some breeds are especially susceptible to bumblefoot. Heavy breeds, hens over weight. Buff orphingtons, easter eggers (light colored chickens) with light legs. Interestingly enough, Javas, Jersey giants, black breeds as well as white leghorns seem to not have this issue. A lot there to look at, but something specific is making her not behave like her flock sisters so check that out daily. As stupid as it sounds, any time one seemed to be by itself, it only gets worse if not addressed. It NEVER hurts just to boil and crumble some eggs, wetter chickens , ducks etc. No matter how old the bird and offer it to the girl. It is already designed with perfect minerals etc for the digestive tract and like a chicken noodle soup for us. Just saying! Hope it helps and keep trying. There are lost of us that love our birds and want all our "gurls" happy. Healthy and gossiping! Possum

Thank you so much for all of the info, its so helpful. I'll do another check for things you've mentioned. I've only got 4 pullets, so I've been doing a quick check of basic things like feet each day. So far all good, but I'll check her mouth to see if anything looks off and do a mite check.

Does the oxytetracyclin also cover coccidiosis or can it/should it be used alongside the corid?

They have been confined to their coop (which is more of a coop/run combo, its an 8x8 enclosed area but also has a roosting area/nesting boxes in the back) and I've just recently been letting them out to graze a bit. They get sunlight in the run, but are getting a couple of hours of sunlight each day when I let them out. I also wonder if maybe she ate something odd while grazing.

She's been eating like a champ but I'll gladly add some boiled egg.

Sounds like your pullet has a good chance of having coccidiosis. There are nine different coccidia that affect chickens. The vaccine may not cover all strains.

Blood in poop is a scarlet or ruby red. Intestinal lining is a red-orange, more rust color than red.

Corid doesn't do anything other than block thiamine, a B vitamin that coccidia feed on. It will not "cancel" the vaccine.

The good news is that your pullet will be resistant to the coccidia that made her sick after she recovers. However, it's always possible for a different strain of coccidia to be imported on the soles of shoes, trucked in top soil, and borrowed garden equipment. You always need to be vigilant.

Thank you! Very helpful. The blood was bright red and thin, which I feel like is for sure blood.

 

[clickchicks]

Also I realize this is probably a question I should just call my vet and ask, but does anyone have experience or know if a regular cat/dog vet can do a fecal for chickens? Is the test different?

One of my dogs is going in for bloodwork this week and I wonder if I can have a fecal done just to rule that out.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would ask anout the fecal. Any vet is trained to do a fecal float, but it seems a lot of vets send them out to another lab, from what some post here. Call ahead to see if they will do one, and take some collected fresh droppings in a freezer bag.

 

[clickchicks]

Well, no go on the vet. They did refer me to a vet that treats poultry, so that's probably my next step to see if they can at least do a fecal.

Would anyone be willing to give an opinion on these poops? Fully recognize that these pics aren't the greatest in the world.

This one I found while doing the morning cleaning. This doesn't look anything like the other bloody poop I found, and it was the only one like this. Is this intestinal lining?

Here's a couple of poops from the pullet who I've been worried about:

Taken maybe 20 mins apart. I also caught her making a small poop that could have been cecal, but seemed lighter. Worms? Stress? Also maybe the coccidiosis? The corid was added to their communal water yesterday.

 

[Eggcessive]

The top picture has intestinal shed, and the last 2 have part cecal, part regular dropping. But the cecal is very yellow/gold, so I would keep an eye on it.

 

[azygous]

Isolated poop samples aren't definitive. As @Eggcessive suggests, watch it. If you see a trend, then that will be cause to evaluate it further. I suggest calling around to different vets to see if anyone will run a fecal float for you. My large animal vet ran a sample for me for $25 and did it in an hour while I was shopping.

Intestinal shed is normal in small amounts and limited to very occasionally. If it happens in every poop in large amounts, it can signal a bacterial infection may be present in the intestines. This happened with my eleven-year old SLW hen Lilith last winter. Her every poop was loaded with shed lining and she behaved sickly. A round of an antibiotic cured her.

 

[LaurenDickens]

@clickchicks

Not sure what part of town you're in, but for future reference, Callahan's General Store off of 183 by the airport stocks Corid!