How to keep down coccidiosis

[victorb17]

We have been keeping everyone locked up due to several hawk and dog attacks. However we have started having rampant coccidiosis. Seems like if you don't loose them to free ranging, you Loose them under lock and key.

I keep everything very clean. Is there anything I can do besides harsh disinfectants?

Thanks.

 

[Triple Willow]

Be sure to keep the ground *covered* with deep litter, put 1 tablespoon of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar/gallon of drinking water and feed your birds fermented feed. I believe those three things are the key. Also, don't stress your birds by overcrowding them.

You can check out these threads:
"The deep litter method"
"Fermented feed for meat birds"

 

[Eggcessive]

We have been keeping everyone locked up due to several hawk and dog attacks. However we have started having rampant coccidiosis. Seems like if you don't loose them to free ranging, you Loose them under lock and key.

I keep everything very clean. Is there anything I can do besides harsh disinfectants?

Thanks.

How old are your chickens? They will usually have built up immunity to the local coccidia strain by 11 weeks to as late as 20. Keeping waterers and feeders free of droppings, and the litter clean and dry are key to prevention. Up to the age of 11 weeks, prevention doses of Corid (amprollium) in the water every 3 weeks should help prevent it. That preventative dose is Corid 1/3 tsp powder (or 1/2 tsp liquid) per gallon of water for 5 days. The severe outbreak dosage is 1 1/2 tsp powder (or 2 tsp liquid Corid) per gallon of water. The problem with waiting for a severe outbreak is that very sick chickens will stop eating and drinking, so they won't drink the medication.

 

[enola]

Coccidia is helped along by stress......
Are you treating them with a medication? If you are what are you using?

I have eliminated coccidia recontamination by fixing all of my waterers so no dirt gets in them. I had a hen that insisted on on roosting on the handle of the waterer. I would clean the waterer every morning (but of course all the hens had gotten their morning drink first).

Every time I had a stress situation......neihgbors dogs, a raccoon attack attempted, hot weather, cold weather, rainy weather.......whatever reason and coccidia AGAIN.

Finally butchered and ate that fat old hen and guess what? No more coccidia outbreaks. Now I have the waterer fixed so no dirt gets in. Giving all the hens a chance to roost somewhere else

 

[Triple Willow]

We have been keeping everyone locked up due to several hawk and dog attacks. However we have started having rampant coccidiosis. Seems like if you don't loose them to free ranging, you Loose them under lock and key.

I keep everything very clean. Is there anything I can do besides harsh disinfectants?

Thanks.

I bet the stress from the dog and hawk attacks is playing a big part in it. Give those dogs some electricity!

...I was just thinking back to last year. A lot of cocci was going around due to the heavy rain in a lot of areas. Keeping the litter dry is very important.

 

[ten chicks]

Have you been using the correct dose amounts,and what product have you been using,example Sulmet only target 2 strains,whereas Corid will target at least 9.

Birds do become immune to the strains they have been exposed to,but keep in mind that cocci is spread by droppings,new birds/wild birds/clothes/shoes/hands/feed utensils/other animal carrying it on feet.


Neglected to mention,use diluted cleaning ammonia when cleaning as bleach does not kill coccidiosis oocysts.

One more thing to consider is that cocci parasite can buildup an immunity to coccidiostat,i have read it is recommended to switch coccidiostats used in spring/fall to prevent this from happening.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Coccidiosis can get real serious. The problem is not that there are some coccidiosis bugs in their system, it’s that the numbers get out of hand. That bug can thrive in warm wet manure like on a wet coop, run, or brooder floor. If you can keep it pretty dry you can really help yourself but that does not always work. Some strains of that bug are pretty strong. Still keep the water clean and the coop and run as dry as you can. If you do have an outbreak, get Corid and treat according to the directions.

I don’t recommend Corid as a regular preventative. You want enough of those bugs to reproduce so they can develop immunity, but if you have an outbreak, use it.

I don’t know a lot about your situation, but if they have been on the ground or exposed to the Coccidiosis bug for three weeks or more, they should pretty much have immunity. The most dangerous time is a few weeks after they are first exposed to the bug.

Immunity to one strain does not give immunity to other strains. Have you brought in any new chickens lately? That’s a real common way to bring in a new strain of Coccidiosis. A wild bird could have flown overhead and dropped a packet containing a new strain or you may have tracked it in on your shoes just from dirt. That stuff spreads really easily.

How sure are you that it is Coccidiosis? Could it possibly be something else? Corid will only treat coccidiosis. It’s not an antibiotic. It will not treat anything else.