How Common is Coccidiosis

[TheMinesweeper]

And at what ages is it most common? We have six 1 week old chicks and I just want to be prepared in case it happens. Do I just get the Corid from the feed store? Do I need to constantly change their water every single time they poop in it (which seems like 10 times a day)? I change their water two or three times a day and empty their pine shavings every two days. Is this enough?

I'm using medicated feed but read that it won't work unless they're exposed to[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Coccidiosis. Well, if they have it doesn't that count as being exposed to it?[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks! Hopefully I won't need to ever use the Corid.[/FONT]

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is not an age thing. It’s when they are exposed to cocci.

Cocci lives in the ground. When they get exposed to the ground is when they are exposed. If you keep them isolated in a sterile brooder, they will not have it and start to develop the immunities they need.

The medicated feed does not prevent them getting cocci. It reduces the impact on them while allowing them to develop immunity. Chicks can develop the immunity they need easier when they are young than when they are older.

The problem is not that they have some cocci in their system. They are going to have that whenever they hit the ground no matter what you do. The problem is when the numbers of the protozoa that cause cocci get out of hand. There are different strains of cocci, some stronger than others. And cocci thrives in wet manure. What normally causes a cocci problem is that they eat enough extra cocci from a wet brooder or coop or run that the numbers build up to a dangerous level. Many of us do not feed medicated feed but control cocci by keeping the brooder fairly dry. I don’t obsess about keeping it absolutely bone dry, just be reasonable. Some forms of cocci are strong enough that it can still cause a problem even in a dry brooder or even if you are feeding medicated feed, so you still need to know symptoms and watch for them. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking cocci is impossible if you are feeding medicated feed.

I personally want my chicks exposed to cocci while they are really young in the brooder where I can better control how dry it is and better observe them. One about Day 2 or 3 in the brooder, I take dirt from the run where the adult chickens are and feed that to them. This not only gets grit into their system, it introduces any probiotics the older birds have and any bad bugs they have. As I said, they are going to be exposed to them anyway when they hit the ground. They can better develop that immunity while they are really young and I can better watch them.

I don’t feed medicated feed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed. It will not harm them. It is almost certainly medicated with Amprolium, practically all of them are. Amprolium is not an antibiotic. It will not hurt any probiotics they have in their system. It only affects the reproduction of cocci. But it does absolutely no good unless they are exposed to cocci.

Something I’ve seen several times on here. People feed medicated feed while they are in the brooder and they have never been exposed to cocci so they don’t develop immunity. Then they quit feeding medicated feed when they leave the brooder and hit the ground and are exposed to cocci for the very first time. If the run is really dry, they still often do not get sick, but if it sets in rainy for a few days, they can get very sick.

Hope this helps you understand cocci better. It’s not something you have to obsess about or be paranoid about, just something to know about and watch for. It can be controlled if it ever shows up.