Coccidia... signs? Symptoms?

[Bluemonster107]

I was on a search in the forum on if quail eating sand was okay and ran across an old post regarding coccidia... I have no idea what this is... newbie... so I went to google ... still not clear... reaching out to actual people here.
How do I know if my quail have coccidia? What would the poop look like? Is it something I’m supposed to give them to prevent? How do they even get it?

 

[el dorado quail]

Think it's supposed to make their poop real runny. They get it from unclean conditions I think. Like living in a poopy place

 

[anderstr196]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coccidiosis-prevention-cure-and-natural-healing.64404/

Theres an article about it and how to prevent it

 

[Bluemonster107]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coccidiosis-prevention-cure-and-natural-healing.64404/

Theres an article about it and how to prevent it

That is the most informative post so far... so thank you! That was very helpful

 

[le_bwah]

Coccidiosis is caused by coccidia, a single-celled parasite that causes inflammation and bleeding in the intestines of many different species. Birds can get it from eating contaminated dirt or bedding, and also from eating the poop of infected birds. In my experience, symptoms are generally:

• Watery poop AND/OR blood in poop (it'd be pretty obvious)
• "Droopy" chicks—lethargy and lack of muscle tone

You can dose with Corid, both preventatively and as a first line treatment. A general treatment dose for chickens is 2 teaspoons per gallon for 5 days, then 1/2 teaspoon for 7 days. I dose my birds at about half that due to smaller body size.

You can't actually overdose them short-term because of the way the drug works. It blocks the uptake of thiamine by the parasites—which keeps them from reproducing—but won't hurt the birds in the time it take to treat.

 

[Bluemonster107]

@le_bwah ... is a treatment of corid something you would recommend when moving flock to outdoors? Or is it one of those things you don’t treat unless there is symptoms? Strictly in your experience

 

[le_bwah]

@le_bwah ... is a treatment of corid something you would recommend when moving flock to outdoors? Or is it one of those things you don’t treat unless there is symptoms? Strictly in your experience

Strictly in my experience, it doesn't hurt to treat a week or so after introduction to a potential source of infection. It's actually okay if birds wind up getting a little "sick," because it's the only way to prime their immune defenses against a more severe infection.