Hi Everyone
This is my first posting. I am concerned at traces of blood I saw in a poo.
I have had two chickens from eggs, they are now 12 weeks old. They have never had any vaccinations. They were on chick crumb for about 8 - 9 weeks (non-organic) I was told this had chemicals in it that would help prevent coccidiosis until they built up their own immunity. They are now on the "Smallholders Range" of growers pellets. These are organic non-GM.
The chickens are free-ranging in the garden during the day eating grass, insects and herbs etc. The two sources of water provided by me both have (recently added) organic cider vinegar. This has not put them off drinking at all. They do have access to other water e.g a pond and the dog bowl.
The birds, a young bantam cross cockerel (crowed at 7.5 weeks old) and a cuckoo maran (who may also be a cockerel) are in an indoor rabbit cage at night, so I saw the poo and checked it, it was definitely blood and seemed to be the only one with blood in it. I have checked poos in the garden (its a dirty job, but someone's got to do it) and cannot find any others with blood as yet.
Both birds are active, strong and healthy looking, well feathered, bright red combs and wattles and are eating well. We had hoped to keep the chickens on an organic diet, without vaccinations, but their health and safety has to come first.
Please can someone advise me on what the likely cause is and what the treatment should be. My obvious fear is coccidiosis, but their apparent healthiness contradicts the symptoms I would have expected. These are my first chickens, so I'm grateful for any help .
Thank you,
Mich