Topic of the Week - Coccidiosis

[dawg53]

I'm sorry for your losses.

I think of you as one of the experts on medications on BYC, so I really value your testimony. And what this suggests to me is that, not only do the usual meds not work anymore, but they may have reached the point where they are doing more harm than good to the birds given them. Surely it's worth trying a different approach, since whatever it is, the results cannot be worse?

Thanks Perris, I appreciate your comment.
You're correct. I know that Amprolium (Corid) is losing its effectiveness in poultry as well as cattle. My vet and I had a conversation about this very subject when this situation occurred.
The rest of the medications with the exception of the Baytril are still viable treating poultry for coccidiosis. I used the Baytril for suspected Ecoli infection and for other bacterial issues. It doesnt work against anaerobic bacteria.
Little did I know nor have I ever dealt with anaerobic bacteria which was the main culprit that I was dealing with. It wiped out the birds ability to fend off coccidiosis, it wiped out the birds immune system.

WITHOUT the anaerobic bacteria, the coccidiosis treatments wouldve wiped out the coccidiosis.
You see, the thing about coccidiosis in poultry (because of their sped up metabolism, simply put,) is that when birds get sick, no matter the cause or reason, you have to hit them hard and fast with whatever medications are needed at that time, in this case treatment with an anti-coccidia drug. If you dont hit them hard and fast, birds will most likely die. If they survive, there could be internal damage, and they might not lay eggs and/or they might even act "off" at times.

Another factor is birds that are penned all the time, like mine, especially chicks without fully developed immune systems are very susceptible to diseases (you know this). Chicks as well as other chickens constantly peck the soil in the pens picking up and swallowing tiny bits of feces, worm eggs, protozoa etc that we cant see. (This is why I worm birds monthly).
Even if a person uses a shovel and broom to sweep and remove feces from chicken pens 4 times a day, there's always the possibility of something happening.

Now that I know about anaerobic bacteria, I wont raise chicks on soil.
I also have Metronidazole on hand if this happens again.
Our environment is like a swamp most of the year; high humidity, heat, deluge rains, a hurricane or tornado thrown in there once in awhile. So I should expect these issues to pop up once in awhile. Now I know about anaerobic bacteria, it can teach an old dawg new tricks. Got it.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I think I may have lost a chick to coccidiosis recently. That or some other failure to thrive thing. My broody hatched her and she was the only one to survive a cursed clutch of eggs. She lived a couple of weeks but she wasn’t seeming to grow. Sometimes I would see her act sleepy and struggling to keep up, but her poops were always normal. I was doing a preventative dose of amprolium every 4 days but maybe it wasn’t enough. My broody ended up abandoning her and she died overnight. It was very sad.

It's highly doubtful that would be coccidiosis. The life cycle of the coccidia are such that, even with the speediest of exposure, growth, infestation, manifestation, you are looking at least at almost 4 weeks for a very early development of coccidiosis as the chicken has to eat the oocyst (think parasite egg), then it has to burrow into the intestine, then grow, burst, be released into the poo, taken up again, until enough infestation occurs to harm the intestines. Two weeks would simply be too early.

Most coccidiosis appearances are at 8 to 12 weeks, with a possibility of early manifestation at 4 weeks...according to my research.

It sounds like it was simply a failure to thrive. Doomed hatches have so many reasons they are doomed from old eggs, to unfortunate exposures (hen forgets the right nest), to genetic weaknesses, to mineral/vitamin deficiencies.

However at 2 weeks...it is certain it wasn't coccidiosis.

LofMc

 

[Lillith37]

I'm sorry for your losses, especially the lone chick.
I've had a rough 2023 and early 2024 raising chicks and young pullets.

The coccidiosis symptoms were all there. Physically hunched with neck drawn in, fluffed feathers, eyes barely open, lethargic, not eating, some had blood in feces and others had milky looking watery diarrhea. I sent one pullet out for a necropsy and it WAS coccidiosis.

A chick was examined and diagnosed with anaerobic bacteria as the cause of death. So, I was dealing with two combined problems in all the chicks and pullets.
I threw everything at these birds; Corid, Toltrazuril, SMZ-TMZ, Sulfadimethoxine and Baytril all to no avail.
The remaining pullets/chicks with anaerobic bacteria were prescribed 1ml Metronidazole mixed with Liqui-Tinic 250mg twice a day for 5 days. Also activated charcoal mixed in feed to provide oxygen in the guts since anaerobic bacteria survives without oxygen.
At first the treatment worked and I saw improvement. However, they were just too weak from not eating and were floundering. I decided to cull them.

I've since put fresh sand in all the pens. I'm not getting chicks anymore. I have a breeder friend that's raises chicks up off the soil and will raise them to point of lay and give them to me. Of course I'll compensate her for feed and her time.
At point of lay, the pullets immune system should be strong enough to deter coccidiosis, and anaerobic bacteria infections.

It's highly doubtful that would be coccidiosis. The life cycle of the coccidia are such that, even with the speediest of exposure, growth, infestation, manifestation, you are looking at least at almost 4 weeks for a very early development of coccidiosis as the chicken has to eat the oocyst (think parasite egg), then it has to burrow into the intestine, then grow, burst, be released into the poo, taken up again, until enough infestation occurs to harm the intestines. Two weeks would simply be too early.

Most coccidiosis appearances are at 8 to 12 weeks, with a possibility of early manifestation at 4 weeks...according to my research.

It sounds like it was simply a failure to thrive. Doomed hatches have so many reasons they are doomed from old eggs, to unfortunate exposures (hen forgets the right nest), to genetic weaknesses, to mineral/vitamin deficiencies.

However at 2 weeks...it is certain it wasn't coccidiosis.

LofMc

Thank you so much for your informative reply! I suspect you’re right. The clutch of eggs was cursed. She was sitting on six. One never developed, two quit before day 14. Then she was kicked off her nest by my top hen DURING HATCH. She went and sat on another nest and I didn’t find her for potentially two hours. One chick had already hatched and was lying there exposed (this is the one that survived for ~2 weeks). One externally pipped but died in the shell. The last one hatched but had an open navel and was flung from the nest and died later in the day.

I’ve honestly never had this much trouble. This particular broody hen has hatched 100% clutches almost her entire career. It was devastating but definitely some lessons learned.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you so much for your informative reply! I suspect you’re right. The clutch of eggs was cursed. She was sitting on six. One never developed, two quit before day 14. Then she was kicked off her nest by my top hen DURING HATCH. She went and sat on another nest and I didn’t find her for potentially two hours. One chick had already hatched and was lying there exposed (this is the one that survived for ~2 weeks). One externally pipped but died in the shell. The last one hatched but had an open navel and was flung from the nest and died later in the day.

I’ve honestly never had this much trouble. This particular broody hen has hatched 100% clutches almost her entire career. It was devastating but definitely some lessons learned.

And that's the sad truth of broody hatching. It can be such a crap shoot some years, even with very faithful, experienced hens...a disastrous year. (This was my year for it too...a skunk got into my hatches wrecking havoc on my first sets).

Hopefully next clutches go better. Generally they do.

LofMc

 

[Rock17]

Can chickens get coccidiosis if they are vaccinated?

 

[Debbie292d]

Can chickens get coccidiosis if they are vaccinated?

Not likely, but of course it can happen.

It's like us with the flu shot. Most avoid getting the flu but for the small percentage who still get it, it's not half as bad as those who didn't get the shot.

 

[Rock17]

Not likely, but of course it can happen.

It's like us with the flu shot. Most avoid getting the flu but for the small percentage who still get it, it's not half as bad as those who didn't get the shot.

Ok

 

[Angela Thomson]

I got a sick hen with coccidiosis right now. I don’t have Corid but I’m getting some tomorrow to treat all of them. Damnit. I hope she makes it through tonight.