Cocci confirmed, I have a few questions

[mamichi]

My girls have cocci and 3 out of the 10 are showing symptoms. Right now I have the 3 away from the rest of the flock. One is pretty bad off, but the other two are alert. All 10 are being treated with Corid. My question is- Do I have to keep the two who have bloody stools, but are alert, separated? If so, for how long?

Also- Am I suppose to give the coop/run a thorough cleaning because of the cocci? As in clean out all the bedding in the coop even though we are using the DLM?

Also- Can my girls get cocci again once they are healthy? I am thinking they picked it up free ranging since their coop/run is extremely dry and they drink out of water bottles (with no chance of contamination of poop). Would hate to think I shouldn't be letting them loose.

OH, and one last question- My girls are about 18 weeks old and not producing eggs yet. They are BOs. Providing the sick ones make, will they produce eggs OK?

thanks all,
M

 

[pips&peeps]

You should keep the sickest ones seperated so they don't spread more cocci oocytes to infect the others.

Yes, clean the coop and most common area they spend time in with oxine, it will kill the oocytes.

They should be fine when the recooperate.

How much corid/amprolium are you using per gallon of water. Peter Brown recommends 9.5cc per gallon for 7 days.

Yes, they can get reinfected if the oocyte load is high and they get run down.

 

[threehorses]

Personally I would keep those three separate, yes. Mainly because this allows them to rest and not be bumped into and pushed about by the other more vigorous babies.

And yes - you should clean the entire coop, replace the bedding, and most importantly make sure everything is quite nice and dry. Environment plays an important role in actual coccidiosis. Warmth and moisture, together, encourage the infectiousness of cocci. Try to also eliminate all possibility of fecal/food/water contact. Raise the waterers to back-level so that the babies are less likely to stroll through their waterers with poop on their feet, and less likely to poop into the water. Same with raising the feeders. (This information is more for others as you say you're using water bottles.)

Something else I highly recommend both as part of coccidiosis treatment as well as prevention is the use of probiotics. Probiotics are non-medicinal sources of live lactobacilli, the bacteria that also beneficially colonizes the digestive tract of birds. These beneficial bacteria, by action of competition, help to crowd out pathogenic organisms and keep the gut more resistant to illness. I always like to use probiotics with any growing chickens, and alway use during stress/diet changes/illness/medication/heavy laying/first time laying.

Unless you're medicating with a medicine that ends with -mycin or -cycline, providing probiotics can be as simple as giving the birds a little non-flavored plain yogurt. You can do so either on its own (mine love it) or as part of a small amount of damp mash, quickly eaten, then replaced by their free-choice crumbles. For the latter, mix a little yogurt with water and then stir that into a small amount of crumbles. Let absorb (10 minutes) til damp, not too wet. They see it as a treat. Corid and yogurt are fine together.

And yes - once your birds overcome the very common coccidiosis, they will be fine. In fact, they will be practially immune to that species of cocci for their adulthood (barring very heavy challenges with that same species). There are 9 species total, but three that are most common.

Another hint - use the yogurt when your girls' combs start to grow and turn red (when you'll be switching tolaying feed as well). Use it weekly at that point. That will not only help them weather their diet change, but provides a little extra calcium and D3 to help their calcium levels. Also be sure at about this time to start offering free choice oyster shell in addition to the free choice grit they should be getting. And keep their diet 90% age-appropriate complete crumbles or pellets, and the other 10% can be more of the same, or grains, treats, etc. That also helps prevent calcium-related laying issues and keeps the protein high enough for egg making.

Good luck with those gals! Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

 

[Krodsorin]

excuse me, but what are oocytes?

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Oocysts. They're the spore form of the cocci that cause coccidiosis. They're thick walled and survive for a while in the right environment, and are shed by the cocci within the birds.

For lack of a better way of saying it, it's like a cocci egg.

In the right environmental conditions (heat, moisture) the oocysts "sporolate" and become infective. That's what is most often picked up by chickens and, in enough numbers, cause coccidiosis.

They're "killed" by freezing, extreme dryness, or extremely high temperatures.

 

[dlhunicorn]

pips&peeps :

....Yes, clean the coop and most common area they spend time in with oxine, it will kill the oocytes.

Oxine will not kill the oocytes
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/coccidiosis.html
from an excellent article from ATTRA:
"...Knowing how coccidia develop helps to understand and control the disease. Coccidiosis is caused in poultry by a one-celled parasite of the genus Eimeria. The life cycle of Eimeria takes about four to seven days to complete. It begins when active “oocysts” are picked up by the bird and swallowed. An “oocyst” is a capsule with a thick wall protecting the parasites. They “sporulate” or become infective if moisture, temperature, and oxygen become conducive to growth. After a bird eats the oocysts, coccidia imbed in the intestinal lining and multiply several times, damaging tissue.
Coccidia are parasites, so they get their nutrients from the chicken host. The multiplications eventually stop, usually before causing death of the bird. The bird sheds the parasite in its droppings. These new oocysts can infect other birds....Coccidiosis goes hand-in-hand with gut diseases, because it damages the gut and allows bacteria to enter and cause secondary infections.....Management has always been important to coccidiosis control, especially before drugs were available. Management focuses on reducing the number of coccidia to keep infection at a minimum until immunity is established....A small-scale, low-density production system can allow a low level of exposure to coccidia, which permits the chick to develop immunity without triggering the disease. However, birds may not pick up enough parasites to cause immunity, or they may be overwhelmed by too many. In addition, immunity is only species-specific. Exposure to one type of coccidia will not protect a chicken from the other six types that can infect it. ....

Sanitation
Disinfectants are not effective against coccidia, so sanitation focuses on good hygiene and removing infected droppings.
•Put waterers and feeders at a height level with the backs of the birds, so they cannot defecate or scratch litter into them. Keep birds from roosting on the feeders with anti-roosting wire. Suspend waterers or put them on wire-covered platforms to help keep them clean.
•Clean the waterers and feeders frequently.
•Keep older birds away from chicks, since old birds are carriers....

Natural Treatments
Keeping birds in general good health is always important. Some small producers provide raw milk, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, or probiotics to birds, believing that beneficial microbes will prevent or treat coccidiosis. Actually, coccidia do not compete with bacteria in the gut; therefore, beneficial bacteria and other microbes will not eliminate coccidial development. However, anything that improves the overall health of the gut and the bird can help reduce the impact of coccidiosis. Also, a population of beneficial bacteria is always better than pathogenic bacteria, since coccidia weaken the gut wall, and bacteria may pass through. In short, feeding dairy products or probiotics will not stop the coccidia through “competitive exclusion” but does provide nutrients or beneficial bacteria that are useful in any situation.

Producers sometimes give diatomaceous earth (DE) to the birds in the belief that the sharp edges of the fossilized diatoms will damage the parasites and reduce coccidiosis; however, there is no scientific data to support its use...."

ETA: Ammonia also kills oocytes ( make your your birds are WELL away as it must be a high concentration and alow time for for the gas to dissapate afterwards (this is why I have multiple coops at opposite ends of my yard)​

 

[pips&peeps]

Oxine will kill cocci oocytes!

I just called Biocide International whom manufactures the product and they put me in touch with their animal health specialist who confirmed that yes, when mixed at the proper rate for sanitizing it does kill oocytes.

 

[dlhunicorn]

I find that fantastic news! ... However I would like to see that in print ... did you ask if they have a web address where I can see this confirmed?

 

[georgialee]

Make sure you keep a close eye even on the seemingly healthy ones. I just went through this with some chicks and one that I thought was perfectly healthy died within a couple of hours.

 

[greenfingers]

As for your hens laying at 18 weeks - I also have Buff Orpingtons, and they just started laying!!! Good hard shells, but the eggs are small - seem to be getting larger as we go along. My girls (and roo) are about 8 months old.