How do I prevent coccidiosis in newly laying pullets?

[Ambrochia2001]

Hello fellow backyard chicken enthusiasts

Other than medication and vaccines,Is there any other way to prevent coccidiosis in a newly laying flock, that hasn't been exposed to the outdoor environment yet? We are just putting the finishing touches on our run (they currently have been in a coop that exceeds the square footage required) . Last year we lost an entire flock on the otherside of our property due to an unknown illness. Its unknown if the flock i am about to free range has been on medicated feed and I am just worried there may be something in our soil that caused the illness

 

[Jener8or]

Chicks are most susceptible to coccidiosis at 4-5 weeks, so they should be well beyond that if they are laying. You could throw in some dirt into their pen to get them accustomed to it.

Acetic acid and acidification and probiotics have been shown to prevent coccidiosis, so you could put some raw apple cider vinegar in their water or mix it in their food (easier with crumble). Here's an article on conrolling coccidiosis with probiotics, acids and prebiotics: https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien... Some of,such as butyric acid and acetic acid.

Oregano also has anti-protozoal properties. Mixing oregano extract into their feed would help them from getting coccidiosis. Here is a study done on broiler chickens and oregano extract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ar... plant-derived phenolic compound,et al., 2020).

 

[Debbie292d]

Hello fellow backyard chicken enthusiasts

Other than medication and vaccines,Is there any other way to prevent coccidiosis in a newly laying flock, that hasn't been exposed to the outdoor environment yet? We are just putting the finishing touches on our run (they currently have been in a coop that exceeds the square footage required) . Last year we lost an entire flock on the otherside of our property due to an unknown illness. Its unknown if the flock i am about to free range has been on medicated feed and I am just worried there may be something in our soil that caused the illness

What I have done to gradually get chicks used to the soil is go get a shovel full of it with the grass/weeds included, and put that in their brooder. It gives them something to do, some grit, plus, they're exposed to a small degree of what's out there.

If these are close to laying, then they should be able to fight off any new strain of coccidiosis they aren't used to, but as long as you have them separated from it for now, I'd try to just get them exposed to it.

Can you possibly burn the area where the other chickens that died lived? That's about the only way to kill whatever it is that's in the soil. If it's a coop, you can spray that with products (Virkon S tablets) that kills everything up to Marek's even, but what's in the soil can't be sanitized other than by burning it, and that's not even fool-proof. If you're sure it wasn't Marek's, you can use Odoban that kills every other chicken disease. I soak my purchased hatching eggs in that just in case.

It just worries me not knowing what's over there.

 

[Ambrochia2001]

What I have done to gradually get chicks used to the soil is go get a shovel full of it with the grass/weeds included, and put that in their brooder. It gives them something to do, some grit, plus, they're exposed to a small degree of what's out there.

If these are close to laying, then they should be able to fight off any new strain of coccidiosis they aren't used to, but as long as you have them separated from it for now, I'd try to just get them exposed to it.

Can you possibly burn the area where the other chickens that died lived? That's about the only way to kill whatever it is that's in the soil. If it's a coop, you can spray that with products (Virkon S tablets) that kills everything up to Marek's even, but what's in the soil can't be sanitized other than by burning it, and that's not even fool-proof. If you're sure it wasn't Marek's, you can use Odoban that kills every other chicken disease. I soak my purchased hatching eggs in that just in case.

It just worries me not knowing what's over there.

Thank you so much for the information and the side of our house that we lost the flock on is feet away from a pond so I don't think burning would be an option.However we built our coop on the other side and I should clarify I didn't mean I was going to free range them,I meant let them out into their run so they won't be exposed to that side of our home.Also I should mention the ones we lost had been at the age where they were about to lay and older ones that we had for years and it took them all out.

 

[coach723]

Honestly, coccidia are everywhere and it's nearly impossible to eradicate them from the environment. I do basically the same as @Debbie292d , and starting from a few days old I provide them with a large plastic plant saucer full of dirt from the yard that they can scratch, peck, dust bathe in. That is easy to dump, clean and replace with fresh dirt every day. Doing that has greatly reduced any outbreaks in my flock, they are exposed to all the microbes gradually and naturally, just like if they were raised by a broody hen, while their immune systems are forming. It's always a good idea to keep Corid on hand, just in case, but I haven't had to treat in many years.
When you have time, this is a very good video on coccidiosis:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coccidiosis-video-worth-watching.1262022/#post-20259051