# Sick chicken and need some advice!



## calihaney1320 (Sep 21, 2016)

Hi all, I'm a new to the chicken world. My daughter ( 4 yr old) is all about having a farm, as am I ! Lol but we figured chickens would be a good starter. Well my sister in law bought her two polish frizzles in July for her birthday. Bloom and Stella. We had gotten a new puppy and in a fecal exam came up he had cocci. Had to of came from the chickens. Well a few weeks later stella passed away. I had noticed she was kind of sleepy and not as perky the day before but didn't know something was wrong. So we got an Easter egger from my sister in law. All has been great. Except last Sunday I noticed bloom was not acting himself and was acting lethargic and off balance. He has had runny poop and I noticed he had blood in it before but I read he had to build up an immunity to the cocci. Well my sister in law brought over some corid and they have been on that since Monday. He is only pooping mucus now and lays around the majority of the time. He is drinking and eating. But other then that he lays around and barely moves. I have now dusted the coop again and the birds. And I noticed that he was I guess opening his mouth like clearing his throat I guess you could say? Does anyone have any advice on what to do or what is wrong? I don't want my other girl getting sick and I'm new to all this. Thank you ! Sorry it was long !


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Generally speaking, cocci are species specific. There's only one type of cocci that I know of that is zoonotic and it would require further testing and identification in regards to your puppy contracting cocci from chickens. The bottom line is it's likely the puppy was infected by its mother.
All animals have cocci. It's when it gets out of control is when there is a problem and treatment is necessary.
How old is Bloom, and how old was Stella when she died? How old is your EE? 
There are 9 types of cocci that can infect chickens. There are 2 types of the 9 that are bacterial rather than protozoal and corid wont have an effect on the bacterial cocci. Sulfadimethoxine or sulmet will treat the two types of bacterial cocci. Sulmet is harsh on their system though, but will work.
Another consideration rather than cocci in your chickens, would be worms. I recommend that you gather fresh fecal samples from Bloom and your EE and take them to the vet to see if worm eggs are present. Cocci will show up on the microscopic slide as well as worm eggs. If the slide is loaded with cocci rather than just a few cocci, then treatment with a sulfadimethoxine or sulmet will be needed since you've already used corid. It's also possible for both cocci and worm eggs be present on the slide.


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## calihaney1320 (Sep 21, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. Bloom should be between 15-20 weeks and Stella would have been I would say between 10-12 weeks? And Flora (EE) is maybe between 25-30 weeks. She has no symptoms and her poop is normal.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

dawg's suggestion to take the samples to the vet is a solid one. I used to do it for mine and it goes a long way in helping determine what might be going on and how or what to treat with.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I hope things look up for you. Losing chickens is hard, especially pets.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

calihaney1320 said:


> Thanks for the reply. Bloom should be between 15-20 weeks and Stella would have been I would say between 10-12 weeks? And Flora (EE) is maybe between 25-30 weeks. She has no symptoms and her poop is normal.


Just a little more info for you. Cocci are everywhere. If you bring in birds from different places and put them on your soil, it's possible they couldve introduced a different strain of cocci that your existing flock didnt have resistance or immunity to that particular strain. The opposite can happen to a newly acquired bird as well. Cocci contaminated soil from an existing flock can infect newly introduced birds as well. This is why it's best to get birds from the same place, not different places. 
Also for future reference; large roundworms can infect chickens at 5 to 6 weeks old and cause the most internal damage within 5 months. There are many types of worms that chickens can get, they are everywhere in the soil and every type of soil imaginable. If you see worms in feces, internal damage has already occured. Take fecal samples to a vet.


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## calihaney1320 (Sep 21, 2016)

Thank you for all the information! I don't know very much and am learning as I go. Bloom has perked up some today and I have not seen his runny poop. So hopefully the corid is working tomorrow will be the 5th day of treatment.


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