Recurring coccidiosis

[Mamawills]

I’ve had a difficult battle with coccidiosis this year in our Polish bantams. This morning we lost the last of our birds we hatched last year. We lost ALL 5 of the birds we hatched last year The pattern is:
- there was an initial outbreak of coccidiosis (confirmed by worm count). We treated and all recovered.
- birds were separated females/ males. I’ve kept high cleanliness and birds are kept indoors due to avian flu in the UK
- before Christmas one of the cockerels looked droopy and unwell. Immediately started treatment again, but we lost the three boys.
- then one of the girls started looking lethargic. We had already been treating as a precaution (separate pens) but she also passed. The other pullet with her had no symptoms and ha been symptom free last two months.
- 2 days ago the last pullet showed symptoms. We immediately started treatment but she passed this morning.

I’m feeling so sad and unsure what to do in the future to protect our chicks. I thought if birds recovered from cocci then they have immunity later in life? Is it common to get recurrent coccidiosis?

Thank your for your help!

 

[abpatchy]

I don't know how you are purchasing your chicks or if you're hatching your own.
The best bet is to vaccinate the chicks when they are between 5 and 9 days old. Keep them on the same bedding for 4 to 6 weeks so they'll keep ingesting their own poop (that's how they build up immunity).
I was fighting with coccidia last year as well. There is medicated feed... but I didn't like it. The result was also not as I hoped for as they are not allowed any other food or treats (at least with the feed in Germany). You can try oregano. That really helps with keeping coccidia in check. There is a liquid oregano oil that you can put in their water. But the best bet is a vaccination thru the water.

Yes, it is common to keep having to deal with coccidia. They live in the dirt, even if you never had chickens on that ground ever. There are some that affect sheep or pigs or horses. Adult chickens usually deal with them no problem. Unless they have another health problem then this parasite can still kill them.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Yes. Sadly some have repeated troubles for many reasons.

Some birds, and bird breeds, are more susceptible to coccidiosis than others. Some strains are stronger than others. And, some birds have permanent scaring in the intestinal tract after the initial bout that lowers their immune system to make them even more susceptible.

Cleaning your area after a breakout is essential. You should disinfect coop with hydrogen peroxide such as Oxyclean after a breakout. This will remove and kill the build up of oocysts, or egg like structures, of the coccidia to help break the cycle as will removing old litter.

Then it is a matter of keeping the numbers of coccidia low enough so the birds can build immunity safely, but in some areas that is hard after the initial population explosion or due to environmental factors.

Keeping the area dry is very essential to remove favorable environment. Coccidia love moisture to grow.

It likely is a multifaceted approach before you are out of the cycle. Sometimes it means being more proactive with meds. Sometimes it means simply getting a different line or breed of birds that is more hardy. Many of the designer breeds have been inbred too much which weakens them.

My thoughts.

LofMc

 

[Mamawills]

I don't know how you are purchasing your chicks or if you're hatching your own.
The best bet is to vaccinate the chicks when they are between 5 and 9 days old. Keep them on the same bedding for 4 to 6 weeks so they'll keep ingesting their own poop (that's how they build up immunity).
I was fighting with coccidia last year as well. There is medicated feed... but I didn't like it. The result was also not as I hoped for as they are not allowed any other food or treats (at least with the feed in Germany). You can try oregano. That really helps with keeping coccidia in check. There is a liquid oregano oil that you can put in their water. But the best bet is a vaccination thru the water.

Yes, it is common to keep having to deal with coccidia. They live in the dirt, even if you never had chickens on that ground ever. There are some that affect sheep or pigs or horses. Adult chickens usually deal with them no problem. Unless they have another health problem then this parasite can still kill them.

Thank you for your reply. I received the eggs from a friend - the parents seem healthy and I'm unaware of any underlying health problems. We are in England and I haven't been able to see any coccidiosis vaccines available for backyard poultry. I'll look up about oregano oil - and interesting to keep the same bedding for 4 to 6 weeks. I've been keeping them super clean!

 

[Mamawills]

Yes. Sadly some have repeated troubles for many reasons.

Some birds, and bird breeds, are more susceptible to coccidiosis than others. Some strains are stronger than others. And, some birds have permanent scaring in the intestinal tract after the initial bout that lowers their immune system to make them even more susceptible.

Cleaning your area after a breakout is essential. You should disinfect coop with hydrogen peroxide such as Oxyclean after a breakout. This will remove and kill the build up of oocysts, or egg like structures, of the coccidia to help break the cycle as will removing old litter.

Then it is a matter of keeping the numbers of coccidia low enough so the birds can build immunity safely, but in some areas that is hard after the initial population explosion or due to environmental factors.

Keeping the area dry is very essential to remove favorable environment. Coccidia love moisture to grow.

It likely is a multifaceted approach before you are out of the cycle. Sometimes it means being more proactive with meds. Sometimes it means simply getting a different line or breed of birds that is more hardy. Many of the designer breeds have been inbred too much which weakens them.

My thoughts.

LofMc

Thank you for your reply. Yes I treated the area with a product called bi-OO-cyst which is supposed to kill the oocysts and have kept the area as clean as possible. The birds haven't really had an opportunity to build up immunity since the original outbreak as they have to be kept indoors now due to avian flu - and I've been keeping their coops clean, dry and disinfected. Perhaps I've kept them too clean!

It may well be the bird breed - I received the Polish eggs from friends and, although the parents seem healthy, they have been line bred for some time now.

Again, thank you for taking the time to reply and sharing your knowledge. Much appreciated!

 

[abpatchy]

Thank you for your reply. I received the eggs from a friend - the parents seem healthy and I'm unaware of any underlying health problems. We are in England and I haven't been able to see any coccidiosis vaccines available for backyard poultry. I'll look up about oregano oil - and interesting to keep the same bedding for 4 to 6 weeks. I've been keeping them super clean!

You can find it here. https://www.amazon.de/-/en/DostoFar...id=1614424799&sprefix=dosto+li,aps,189&sr=8-1

It also works for desinfection of hatching eggs.

The immunization should be available thru a vet. Over here some breeder clubs offer coccidia immunization when they have the Marek's immunization. Maybe a show breeder can help you out.

 

[Mamawills]

You can find it here. https://www.amazon.de/-/en/DostoFarm-Oregano-Extract-Size-250/dp/B07DNDK6W7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4F1P08FU6D0P&dchild=1&keywords=dosto+liquid&qid=1614424799&sprefix=dosto+li,aps,189&sr=8-1

It also works for desinfection of hatching eggs.

The immunization should be available thru a vet. Over here some breeder clubs offer coccidia immunization when they have the Marek's immunization. Maybe a show breeder can help you out.

Thank you for sharing the product. I'll see if there are any breeders who can advise on the vaccine. Many thanks, Erin

 

[Mamawills]

Update: I was able to find a local vet to do a necropsy yesterday. Sadly, although evidence of coccidiosis, that was secondary as poor girl had very enlarged liver and spleen and inflamed intestines with ulceration. Suspected mareks and waiting to find out results

Also vet said birds are very unlikely to get coccidiosis twice unless another underlying infection/ cause.

 

[Chickstarrs]

Cleaning your area after a breakout is essential. You should disinfect coop with hydrogen peroxide such as Oxyclean after a breakout. This will remove and kill the build up of oocysts, or egg like structures, of the coccidia to help break the cycle as will removing old litter.

Then it is a matter of keeping the numbers of coccidia low enough so the birds can build immunity safely, but in some areas that is hard after the initial population explosion or due to environmental factors.

Keeping the area dry is very essential to remove favorable environment. Coccidia love moisture to grow.

My thoughts.

LofMc

Do you disinfect the coop at the start of medication or later? If the chickens are not cured yet, wouldn't they still be dropping oocysts into the clean bedding?

 

[SarahGfa]

My flock hard recurring coccidiosis last year. I think there was a really bad strain going around, even my older hens were sick. I gave them treatments of Corid, Sulfa, Baycox, vitamins + probiotics, basically in weekly cycles. It was impossible to eliminate cocci in my yard so best thing to do was keep the birds strong enough to develop immunity.