Coccidiosis is TERRIBLE here; are any breeds more resistant?

[crtrlovr]

Title pretty much says it all. Even with feeding medicated chick starter routinely (per veterinarian recommendation after losing a duck and multiple chickens to multiple strains of cocci), I am STILL losing chickens, the latest being a sweet, docile 3 year old Buff Orpington. They lose weight although they are still eating well, including occasional scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, BOSS, etc. along with their daily 2 scoops of scratch scattered in the run. It breaks my heart, and I am very frustrated because I've used Corid in the water when I'd find a rusty-brown, runny poo (not cecal, I do recognize the difference) because it can be tough to figure out who it came from if you don't happen to be standing there when it is eliminated. I lost a sweet young (less than 1 yr.) OEGB BB red roo a few days ago, and today lost a BO I didn't even know was sick until this morning. Yesterday everyone was out and looked fine (obviously this didn't happen overnight, but there were not obvious signs -- I should pick them up and handle them more often so I'll notice such extreme weight loss), and this morning she was having trouble breathing & was half sitting, half lying. I brought her into the house and was scrambling some eggs to get some protein into her, and she died before I could get them cooked. Are there any breeds more resistant to this wicked stuff? Are there any suggestions / treatments other than Corid or Sulmet? I have a black Australorp who was acting a bit lethargic, and I brought her in & started her on the Sulmet. She acts like she feels a LITTLE better, but still has a pale comb and is weak. I've been giving her game bird feed along with scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, etc. and Sulmet treated water. Someone please give me some advice...

 

[silkiechicken]

My only suggestion short of caging up your flock off the soil, is to make sure all the soil/dirt they do have access to is well drained, ideally 6 inches deep of just sand, and as dry as possible.

Other than that... not sure how much more you can do.

 

[crtrlovr]

Thanks -- there is a low "draw" area that bisects the run. During the damp/rainy season (winter/spring, and late fall) the rest of the run is fairly dry, but this area stays boggy and sometimes stinks to high heaven. It is my plan to have some sand hauled in this summer (someone said to wait until it is bone dry to put down the sand for 2 reasons: the sand will be slightly cheaper when it's dry b/c it's sold here by weight, and wet sand weighs more, and if I put it down while the ground is soft, it will just "disappear" into the mud). The run is MUCH too big to scrape off the top few inches of soil, and I'm not sure if it would work anyway b/c I don't know how deep the cocci oocysts are located. (not to mention the probable insane cost). My best estimation (Need to measure it accurately, obviously) is that the run is approx. 150' long and approx. 75' wide (6' high chainlink). Any recommendations as far as the medication goes? I've heard it is best to alternate meds so the organisms don't develop tolerance, but the vet said feed the med. chick starter ALL the time. That's what I've been doing for months now, but it certainly hasn't stopped the losses.

 

[silkiechicken]

With the boggy soil they are on, and the fact they are just pooping out oocysts and eating enough to make them sick, you'll have to find a way to scrape up the muck and dry it up, or don't let the birds onto that area. As for the meds, the med feed probably is not working becuase they are eating enough to make them sick, as the meds only prevent them from reproducing. As for the med given in water, they may be immune to it already if you are using lots of it. It will take time for the population as a whole to become susceptible to the drugs again. In a wet environment like you describe, oocysts can last for months waiting for their host. With a high population of birds in that environment, it is going to be all too easy to grow too many.

 

[RedneckChikns]

You can vax at day 1 and then NOT feed the medicated feed. Im personally the queen of BLEACH!

 

[RedneckChikns]

Just another idea being the "Cheep" person I am...if you cant dig down....layer UP, not a cure all but......sand is a good idea but till you can get the sand try generous amounts of shavings, pine needle bales/straw....or let them free range! Free ranging do so much better than cooped where they keep the cycle of reinfection going. And maybe cut out the meds (except for feed) and then let it run its course, write off your losses and start anew in a different area. Sorry for your losses.

 

[crtrlovr]

Thank you all for your input; I appreciate it greatly! I may have been a bit unclear -- they are not confined to this area all the time, and the entire run is not muddy (right now it's covered with about 6" -- and counting -- of snow). I also let them out into an area of the back yard fenced off with (unelectrified) PermaNet web fencing that covers about 1/2 acre.