Topic of the Week - Coccidiosis

[Dhkoenig]

If you have a lethargic chick or adult chicken, beak gaping, stumbling around, preferring to lie down rather than run around engaging in normal activity, regardless of seeing blood in the droppings, I suspect coccidiosis and treat with Corid. You don't need to have confirmation to treat and the time saved can save lives.

The way to accurately diagnose coccidiosis is to get a stool sample to a vet or an agricultural lab and have a fecal float test performed to see if coccidia eggs are present. But collect the stool samples before you begin the Corid treatment.

Corid (amprolium) is the best treatment as it inhibits vitamin B (thiamine) that the coccidia parasites ( more than one species) thrive on. The best natural treatment, though not a cure, is probiotics that strengthen the immune system and gut culture to exclude the coccidia parasites.

The best way to prevent coccidiosis is to follow good bio-security practices because it can be spread from flock to flock on soles of shoes and borrowed implements. A flock that is immune to its local coccidia may quickly sicken and die when exposed to coccidia from another neighborhood.

Clean water and uncontaminated food are a must. Feeding on the ground isn't a good practice especially on damp soil. Good ventilation to promote a dry, clean environment is crucial. Overcrowding also should be avoided.

Exposing baby chicks to the local soil during the first couple weeks after hatch is an excellent way to inoculate them and help build immunity. Many of us toss a clump of grass still attached to the soil into the brooder for the chicks to eat and scratch at. You may also use medicated feed to help them build immunity to coccidia. Coccidiosis vaccine is also available, but you mustn't use medicated feed if your chicks have received this vaccine.

Coccidia are present everywhere but this doesn't need to threaten your flock as long as you follow good management practices.

Can you eat the hen's eggs while treating their water with Corrid or is there a withdrawal period? Thanks

 

[Shezadandy]

- runny poop, sad bird, bloody poop, lethargic bird, forgets how to eat or walk, death
- You can test for it but as soon as I see a symptom I put them on a low dose of meds
- Corid is the best and basically only treatment, there are treatment charts on BYC and I attached one.
- Make sure to clean up other animals poop as best you can. Keep poop out of their water. And I do a monthly treatment of preventative Corid.


In my opinion I think if is important to treat your birds as soon as they show symptoms. One Fock got coccidiosis and they showed one system, bloody poop, so when they finally got treated it was already basically killing the birds. 2 got chronic cases. One died of a seizure. One forgot how to walk and eat. I wasn’t able to save them all and now I always treat my birds. I never what what happened to their flock to happen to mine.

Absolutely! There is no reason not to treat with Corid the second you suspect and I do each and every time. My least favorite BYC post is the 7pm, all feed stores are closed, my babies are sick what do I do post. I believe there is a different Sulfa-drug out there --- but Corid is certainly the easiest to find and should be sitting in your first aid kit before the first chicken foot ever touches down on your property.

I don't do a monthly preventative treatment myself.

Just mentioning that the microscope technology is there to run your own fecals, whether it's to see if there's a worm infestation, to see if coccidia are running rampant and so forth without waiting for the vet (more common these days) to get back to you. And while microscopes are of course not free, the one time cost to get the testing stuff can be worth it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Can you eat the hen's eggs while treating their water with Corrid or is there a withdrawal period? Thanks

?

 

[Nigel27]

Living in the woods, corid and other meds aren’t available sometimes. I’ve successfully treated coccidiosis in chicks with cinnamon, oregano oil, and garlic. None die once treatment starts.

 

[Show Sebright]

Can you eat the hen's eggs while treating their water with Corrid or is there a withdrawal period? Thanks

It says there is a 24 hour withdrawal. So I wait a day.

 

[casportpony]

Can you eat the hen's eggs while treating their water with Corrid or is there a withdrawal period? Thanks

There is no egg withdrawal in the USA for amprolium (Corid, Amprol, Ampro-med, etc.)

 

[Show Sebright]

There is no egg withdrawal in the USA for amprolium (Corid, Amprol, Ampro-med, etc.)

Oh ok thanks

 

[Banana01]

Living in the woods, corid and other meds aren’t available sometimes. I’ve successfully treated coccidiosis in chicks with cinnamon, oregano oil, and garlic. None die once treatment starts.

Corid (amprolium) is nonexistent where i live, it is not for sale and unavailable. Europe too, i am not sure the availability.

But the sulfa meds are similar to corid, they require isolation and removal of all the fresh water sources. I have a cage i keep the peeps in isolated with medicine.

But as for natural treatments, I talk to chicken keepers that say they dont have any sick chickens by giving onions and garlic mixed with their feed once a week. I dont know if it is a treatment or more of a preventative, but it is definitelt worth a try as a feed supplement because there is a lot of overwhelming evidence it works.

If my chickens could talk to me, they would be saying why arent you giving us more onions and garlic? They abaolutely devour it when i throw it outside, but unfortunately i dont give it very often because of supply issues and time.

 

[Nigel27]

Onion is high in quercetin and garlic high in sulfur, first ive heard of this and it makes sense. Probably has something to do with all of the lit telling us not to feed our chickens onions.

 

[Goosebaby]

Something I tried for my gander that has repeated bouts of gastrointestinal issues “clostridium, giardia, coccidia” that seems to have been a huge help in helping him heal and recover is pancreatic digestive enzymes, “protease, amylase, and lipase.”

It assists digestion and is helping him put on weight, it also has the added benefit of being able to break down biofilm from Candida should that arise.