need turkey coccidia advice?

[patandchickens]

I posted over on BYC too but would like to hear what y'all would suggest too.

I do not generally buy adult birds, but "oops" I came home saturday with a pair of Ridley strain bronze turkeys maybe 4ish months old, from a very reputable breeder. However, possibly b/c of the circumstances of the few days before their sale, they seem to have a touch of coccidia not noticeable til I took them home. (I have not had a fecal done, I am just assuming that's what it is).

The birds themselves seem fine, not droopy or ruffled or anything. But their poo in the crate on the way home was a bit wet and very slightly blood-tinged; yesterday and their first poo of this morning it was a bit more so, distinctly a bit bloody and diarrhea-y. However their poos in the past six hrs or so have all looked pretty good to me, well formed with correct color and no visible blood.

I have been putting ACV in their water since they arrived, and will start feeding them medicated feed today (feedstore was closed yesterday).

Would you just continue that for the time being, or I do *have* some Sulmet I could give them, would you go ahead and do that now? This is my first experience with cocci, and as I've heard birds can go downhill very fast I am a bit wary. OTOH I don't want to hit them with Sulmet just on a whim, you know?

Also, as long as the birds themselves seem ok, it's all right to have them in an 8x8 outdoor tractor-type pen, right? With a tarp on the top and 3 sides for shelter? Even if it rains a little tonight?

Thanks for any opinions,

Pat

 

[Dace]

I have no idea but wanted to send some good wished for healthy birds your way Pat!

 

[BeccaOH]

The stress of moving a bird to a new home can do a lot to effect the look of their poo. I'd be inclined to watch and wait for a few more days.

 

[rebecca100]

I agree if they do have coccidia it will be very apparent in a few days and then I would treat it immediatly. I just got some chickens with it 2 weeks ago and it took about 3 days for it to show up. If you are worried then it wont hurt anything to treat them now though. At worst you wasted some antibiotic.

 

[freemotion]

Blackbird posted an herbal coccidia recipe recently.....where was it, Merle?? We were talking about goats at the time.

I found it on his journal and here it is:

"Coccidiosis Wormer

1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp slippery Elm bark
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup water

Put water in pot on stove until it boils, mix in all ingrediants, turn off stove, let steep 20 minutes, strain liquid off.

Dosage

kid goats;
Give 6-10 cc twice a day for five to seven days per every two months of age. So a 4 month old would be getting 12-20 cc, 6 month old 18-30 cc and so on. Apply directly into mouth.

adult rabbits;
I made this dosage up, but it worked for me. 1 cc in water and 1 cc in food once a day for two days. Follow up in a week with 1 cc in food and 1 cc in water.

Very simple recipe. I still have some in the fridge, I'm not sure how well it stays affective but I've used some that was several months old and it was affective enough on a rabbit to save it.

Last edited by Blackbird (09/18/2009 11:28 am)"

 

[Blackbird]

That would be it!

However, as I stated before, I have never used it on birds before.

But, that will soon change. One of the pigeons I got at the swap seems to have come down with it so I'm going to be administering him tonight.

If it is coccidiosis, it can kill the animal in a matter of hours, it rarely seems to, usually takes 2-3 days unless an extreme case.

Usually the animal will seen very lethargic, their weight will drop rapidly, usually stay or sit in one area without moving, and they'll usually go off feed.