Coccidosis Confusion?

[stethomps]

Here is the quick story: My wife watched a friend’s 6 month old Chihuahua (which is the brother of her puppy) last Thurs thru Mon. We received a call from the friend that her puppy was sick, and her vet said it was parvo. I took my wife’s two puppies this morning to our vet, and both were neg for parvo, and were checked for Coccidosis. It was neg, but their was not enough sample to really trust the test, but it seems reasonable, because of the symptoms, that they either have coccodosis & giardiasis, and treatment was started for both. My guess is the vet misdiagnosed parvo with the friend’s puppy?????

I have around 30 chickens of different breeds. Because its summer my birds are in tractors and hutches, but they free range almost daily. I have not noticed any coccodosis symptoms with any of my birds i.e. their droppings seem normal and they are behaving normally.

My original thought was my birds must be carriers, and the stress of the new puppy got the puppies sick??? But dose this make sense? I understand that coccidosis is extremely common, (it is around all of us thru other birds, flies, roaches, etc..) but I think it unlikely that all of my birds would be carriers, and not see any signs of sick birds? Either way, I am going to try to get some sample tested over the weekend.

My Question is: I am planning on going ahead and treat for cocc to be safe. What has worked for you? And, as I guess it matters since it is so common, if my tests do come back positive, and I treat, should I just assume my birds will always be carriers?

Thanks for any help! Coccidosis is just cunfusing.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Coccidiosis is caused by a number of species of protozoa; different types of coccidia infest different species. I don't believe that any of the ones that commonly infest chickens also infest dogs. Merck says "Many species of coccidia infect the intestinal tract of cats and dogs. All species appear to be host-specific. Cats have species of Isospora , Besnoitia , Toxoplasma , Hammondia , and Sarcocystis . Dogs have species of Isospora , Hammondia , and Sarcocystis . Neither dogs nor cats have Eimeria ." (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/21206.htm)
and "Poultry coccidia are strictly host-specific, and the different species parasitize specific parts of the intestine. Coccidia are distributed worldwide in poultry and wild birds." (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/200800.htm)

 

[speckledhen]

I agree. Cocci is species-specific.

 

[stethomps]

Thanks for the information, and I feel allot better for my birds. And I feel allot better that I didnt get our friends poor puppy sick.

Do you think I should switch to medicated feed for a few weeks? Just to be safe...