Coccidiosis: longterm effects & contagion: 2 questions

[feliciadawn]

Looking for some sage advice here. I recently bought 8 week old old chicks by mail that turned out to be infected with coccidiosis. All of this is explained in other posts. In this post I want to explore what will happen if I manage to get these chicks to recover.

So the summary: I now have 3 pullet chicks, which came from out of state and have never been in my chicken pen, 9 weeks old, confirmed for severe coccidiosis via fecal float test & pathology report. The coccidia were found both in the mid-gut region (moderate) and in the cecum (severe). They were on sulfa meds for a week upon arrival. That resolved issues for a week and then they became symptomatic again. Now they are on Corid.

My questions pertain to what will happen if I manage to heal these chicks.

(1) Let's assume they have E.Necatrix or E.Tenella or both given the location of disease and presence of bloody poo. If the corid eventually "cures" them, are they still going to be shedding the elmeria? If yes, will that put my adult pullets at risk if I integrate them? Or will the other hens be resistant owing to having a free range lifestyle?

(2) Again assume they are no longer symptomatic for elmeria. Will they ever be able eat and lay eggs properly, given that they have very thin intestinal walls (or at least the one necropsied chick had this)?

Thanks much

 

[EmtheFishLady]

Here is what the Merck Veterinary Manual has to say about Cocci in poultry. Hope this helps.

 

[feliciadawn]

Thanks emthefishlady. It seems that the answers to my questions are really not what I wanted to hear. I am afraid I am going to have to cull these poor chicks. It is so sad as I put so much work into them, and I was becoming attached.

 

[EmtheFishLady]

Thanks emthefishlady. It seems that the answers to my questions are really not what I wanted to hear. I am afraid I am going to have to cull these poor chicks. It is so sad as I put so much work into them, and I was becoming attached.

What part of that brought you to that conclusion? Coccidia is fairly common, and can be avoided simply by treating with corid every few months. If it were me, I would simply treat the flock when integrating, and then treat every few months as a preventative/precaution.

 

[Aapomp831]

Thanks emthefishlady. It seems that the answers to my questions are really not what I wanted to hear. I am afraid I am going to have to cull these poor chicks. It is so sad as I put so much work into them, and I was becoming attached.

Coccidiosis is easy to cure, and your adult hens are more than likely immune to it. Most people keep Corid on hand. I would treat everyone, and after a fecal float text comes back negative go ahead and integrate. I don’t think culling is necessary unless the birds are so sickly that they are suffering.

 

[dawg53]

You can "try" the Corid and "assume" that Corid will treat E. Tenella and E. Necatrix, but the fact is that a sulfa drug is needed to treat both. Corid can be used to treat the other 7 strains. Maybe the Corid will work, particularly if other strains are involved, maybe it wont work.

IF you know for fact that they arrived at your location having been infected, what does that tell you about their previous environment?
Coccidia are spread through feces contaminated waterers, feeders, and litter as well as hatching equipment. In order to control it, sanitize feces contaminated feeders and waterers with an ammonia/water mixture. Change litter often and sanitize with the ammonia/water mixture.

Once you are certain the chicks are fully healthy after a period of time, then go ahead and put them with the adult pullets and hens and let them free range. Your other birds should have built up natural resistance to the coccidia. Also, since all of them will be free ranging and not penned up together all the time and kept on the same soil, odds are they wont become re-infected.

Feed the 9 week old chicks non-medicated chick starter feed. This will make the Corid effective if you use it.
As far as whether the chicks/pullets will eventually lay eggs normally; personally I think they will because their innards should be recovered/healed by the time egg laying age rolls around in 9+ weeks or so as long as you keep up with sanitation.

 

[abpatchy]

Coccidia is everywhere. Even if you keep them in an area where there have never been any chickens. Even before you bought these chicks you (well actually your chickens ) had them. Your adult animals are mostly immune to coccidia. As will be those chicks if you get them to survive. Adults just show signs of coccidia if they are weakened by another issue like mites or some other sickness.
You don't need to cull them.

 

[Saaniya]

I know I sounds odd but something I tried naturally and it heal things like magic and it's Moringa olifera and Fennel Seed Essenial oil which help in Coccidiosis strains but in serious outbreak medication is must ..

I believe that Natural stuff is a good route and Coccidiosis is a stubborn thing cocci and other Bacterial Infection that looks like Cocci


But the herbs I tried work well and helped alot

 

[Sueby]

I'm certainly no expert, but did you give them probiotics after treating with the Sulfa? As @dawg53 & others recommended, I gave them buttermilk after treatment because apparently the Sulfa drugs are very hard on their gut, as is the cocci so you may need to get that straightened out.

I teated with corid & then Sulfa & still had blood/intestinal lining in their poop despite having had a negative fecal. 3 days of buttermilk & then 2 days of probiotics/vitamins & finally they have clear poops.

Have you done another fecal to confirm a reinfection?

 

[feliciadawn]

They has sulfa the first week i had them. Then they were better for a week. Now the coccidiosis is back.

Have you done another fecal to confirm a reinfection?

Reinfection was confirmed via necropsy of the sickest chick. I needed to get a full path report to make sure there is no other respiratory disease. That chick was constantly sneezing and chirping as if uncomfortable.

I will get some buttermilk. I tried fermented feed and/or yogurt but they would not eat it. It is hard to get these chicks to eat anything that isn't feed (although they will eat flax seeds.)