That's good news. Hope the Orpington recovers fully. A bad infection damages their intestines, so I would stick to easily disgested foods for her for awhile... chick starter and hard boiled egg comes to mind.
Coccidia is a single celled parasite that produces oocysts (like microscopic eggs or spores) that the birds ingest, allowing new coccidia to grow and produce more oocysts that are spread around in the chickens' droppings, waiting to be eaten.
The oocysts are very hard to kill. It is not unusual for them to survive for over a year or more. There is no disinfectant that kills them completely, including bleach (despite what you may read) but ammonia is said to do the most damage, so if you are cleaning brooders, scrub them well with ammonia and rinse to wash away the oocysts. Then dry it really well, especially in the sun.
Oocyts like damp warm conditions, so keep brooders and coops as dry as possible. Don't allow water to drip and collect on the ground. Keep waterers and feeders at shoulder height to keep infected poop from getting in.
Since yours obviously have it, I would clean and change bedding daily and even wash feet if they get poopy. You want to break the oocyst cycle.
I have always heard that sunlight kills coccidia, but cannot find more than casual references to that. It probably has to do with drying out the ground, making it inhospitable for the oocysts.
Good luck with your chicks. Hope you are through the worst of it.
Coccidia is a single celled parasite that produces oocysts (like microscopic eggs or spores) that the birds ingest, allowing new coccidia to grow and produce more oocysts that are spread around in the chickens' droppings, waiting to be eaten.
The oocysts are very hard to kill. It is not unusual for them to survive for over a year or more. There is no disinfectant that kills them completely, including bleach (despite what you may read) but ammonia is said to do the most damage, so if you are cleaning brooders, scrub them well with ammonia and rinse to wash away the oocysts. Then dry it really well, especially in the sun.
Oocyts like damp warm conditions, so keep brooders and coops as dry as possible. Don't allow water to drip and collect on the ground. Keep waterers and feeders at shoulder height to keep infected poop from getting in.
Since yours obviously have it, I would clean and change bedding daily and even wash feet if they get poopy. You want to break the oocyst cycle.
I have always heard that sunlight kills coccidia, but cannot find more than casual references to that. It probably has to do with drying out the ground, making it inhospitable for the oocysts.
Good luck with your chicks. Hope you are through the worst of it.
