Walk me through Coccidiosis

[Maleficent265]

I noticed one of my chicks was acting weird and when I picked him up, he shot blood all down my leg which was… neat. So I quarantined him and noticed the rest of my chicks were also pooping blood. I’m assuming it’s coccidiosis and I put corid in their water…

I had corid on hand for just in case type scenarios… but I haven’t actually ever had to use it. So my questions are;

1. Do I need to only treat the chicks? Or should I treat my other coops as well. They’ve interacted with each other but it’s been limited.

2. Will my chicks be carriers of this? A handful of them I had planned on breeding next spring. So I wasn’t sure if it would be passed on to offspring… Do I scrap that breeding group and start fresh.

3. How long do I treat the birds?

4. Can I eat the eggs from the adults while treating them…

5. And how the heck did they get it? I’ve had chickens for a long time and haven’t had this issue.

Thanks guys!

 

[SarahGfa]

Adult birds are usually immune if they have been exposed earlier. If your chicks can recover, they will be immune to the coccidiosis in your yard. but there are many different strains and new birds can bring in new parasites. My adult chickens got infected from coccidiosis carried by wild birds.

 

[RubelliteRose]

Okay… thanks! At what age are they less likely to have it? Some of my 3 and four month birds are good quality Ayam Cemanis.

As Wyorp Rock said, I would just keep a close eye on them. I got chicks for the first time last year. It has been more than 30 years since there were chickens on our property if there ever were, so the Coccidiosis load in our soil was pretty low. Even with placing clumps of grass and soil in the brooder, my chicks didn't become affected until they were 4 months old. We treated them and they have had no issues since then.
Since you have birds up to 6 years old, my guess is that they were all exposed so gradually, they became resistant without developing any symptoms. But still keep an eye on them just in case this is a new strain on your property.

 

[Maleficent265]

It is always there in small numbers. Coccidia can't reproduce by itself. It reproduces in the chicken's intestines and then spreads wherever the chicken poops. It needs a host to reproduce, which makes it a parasite.

A healthy chicken's immune system would destroy the coccidia before it has a chance to reproduce, so the numbers stay low. Does that make sense?

Yes it does! Thank you!

 

[onwingandhoof]

Yes they are cedar… I’ve had chickens for 8 years and have never used anything else. I’m not ruling that out but it just seems odd that this this the batch after YEARS, decides to be special with the cedar. Thank you for pointing that out. I’ll look into that. I hadn’t heard that before.

I lost two so far and the remaining 7 are okay… a couple of my splash look really weak so I’m not too sure about those.

Cedar shavings have damaging effects of plicatic acid on their respiratory systems. The damaging effects of terpenes hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds on chickens livers and the carcinogenic nature of cedar dust can kill them.

 

[SarahGfa]

Do I need to do anything else? One of my chicks I don’t expect is going to live but the others are okay for now.

Baycox works better than corid for really bad cases. I usually give everyone a few days of probiotics in the water after treatment.

 

[SarahGfa]

So is my property infected now? Or could you explain to me how that works? I had young ones out and about earlier this year with no issues and then this batch all of a sudden… so strange. Two just dropped dead.

Coccidia parasites are everywhere, in small amounts. Wild birds carry it, and you can carry it on your shoes or cloths. Healthy birds can fight off small infections, but weak birds (like babies) sometimes can't. If a bird gets very sick, the coccidia multiplies inside the sick bird. The bloody poop is full of millions of coccidia oocysts, and then the property can be infected with a heavy load.

 

[Maleficent265]

Question, are those cedar shavings? I think cedar shavings are not supposed to be used with young chicks due to the aromatic oils. I've seen mixed views on their use with adults, but it looks like most agree that they should be avoided with chicks. That could be why your chicks seem to be particularly susceptible to the coccidia if their systems are already stressed by the shavings.
I hope your babies recover quickly! Here is a page from the Chicken Chick's Blog about Coccidiosis that you can read too: https://the-chicken-chick.com/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken/

Yes they are cedar… I’ve had chickens for 8 years and have never used anything else. I’m not ruling that out but it just seems odd that this this the batch after YEARS, decides to be special with the cedar. Thank you for pointing that out. I’ll look into that. I hadn’t heard that before.

I lost two so far and the remaining 7 are okay… a couple of my splash look really weak so I’m not too sure about those.

 

[SarahGfa]

Is Baycox by prescription only? I'm in Oregon, and I'm having a pretty good outbreak. I want something stronger the Corid.

no prescription needed. You can buy it online. search for 2.5% Toltrazuril.

 

[SarahGfa]

I googled the heck out of it both as "Baycox" and "Toltrazuril" and didn't come up with anyone selling it here. I read it is legal in Canada and Europe, but not here. Not sure if that's old info, or new. I know I could get Baycox from my vet a few years ago.

Do you live in the USA? This is the first google result for me : https://horseprerace.com/toltrazuril-2-5-30cc/