What is coccidiosis??

[Chick15]

Okay, well I was just out with my girls feeding them some rice from our dinner last night (they love it!) and I saw this one poop, and it is kinda hard to describe. It had a small bit that was kinda normal-y and there was blood on it, and then there was like water poop around it. I will take a pic if necessary, but I didn't have the camera down there. So then I came in and looked up "Bloody poop" in the BYC search bar, and most posts about bloody poop were concerning coccidiosis, so I looked that up, but there aren't any pics of it that look like the poop I found. So, what I want to know is:
1. What is coccidiosis, and is it fatal?
2. If it is fatal, then how long does it take to kill a chicken?
3. Does the poop I found sound like coccidiosis? If not, what does it sound like?
4. How do I find out which of them has it.

Oh, and I also found a like a little blood spot on the egg (like a spot of blood, not too big, smaller than a dime, on the shell of the egg.) Can I still eat the egg?

Sorry about all the questions, its my first time with chickens.

ETA: They are about 7 months old.

 

[groundpecker]

All of your questions have been answered already. Do a forum search for detailed information.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Quote:
The blood you found on the egg sounds like a normal broken corpuscle (SP?) I THINK, nothing to be concerned about. The egg is OK, just wash it first.
If you think you have cocci, you need to treat the entire flock, not just one. how long does it take to kill depends on how long they have had it, sopme never show any symptoms until thet are gone, some show blood right away. Let me look for the poop chart and post it

 

[jerseygirl1]

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[Chick15]

Well I gave them Yogurt, because that is supposed to be good for coccidiosis right? Well, they like it a lot too. I have not found any more weird poop, so I think it might have just been like a one off kinda thing.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old are your chickens? Have they been outside on dirt so that they have been gradually exposed to cocci, or have they been kept in a pen? Above right is a google search where you need to look up the "poop page" to see pics of normal poops. Chickens will often shed a bit of intestinal lining that looks bloody but is normal. If they were sick they should be exibiting more symptoms such as being puffed up, acting sleepy, not eating/drinking, among others.

 

[Chick15]

Quote:
They are about 7 months old. They are acting the same as usual, not seeming tired etc. They are outside in a pen, and it used to be grass, but it is dirt now.