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The scourge of chicken farmers, especially broiler owners, is not the advertised bird flu, but a microorganism from the order Coccidia, little known to the general population. In chickens, the disease is caused by microorganisms belonging to the Eimeria family. The popular name “coccidiosis” is common, but in the veterinary reference book, the symptoms and methods of treating this disease should be looked for in the chapter “Eimeriosis of chickens”.
All living organisms, including humans, are susceptible to microorganisms from the order Coccidia. Fortunately, some species of these protozoa are strictly specific and are not able to exist in the body of another host.
But we must take into account that coccidiosis can also be colloquially referred to as cryptosporidiosis in calves, also caused by protozoa of the order Coccidia. A person is susceptible to this disease.
Etymology of chicken eimeriosis
Coccidiosis in chickens is caused by 11 species of Eimeria. Of these, Eimeria tenella, Eimeria brunette, Eimeria necatricx, Eimeria maxima are the most dangerous. Eimeria tenella infects the cecum; other species are parasitic in the small intestine. Chickens from 2 to 8 weeks of age are especially susceptible to coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is also dangerous because it reduces chickens’ immunity to other diseases when affected by Eimeria.Eimeria oocysts are very resistant to disinfectant solutions and cold. But they die when dried out and at high temperatures.
Infection with Eimeria oocysts occurs through contaminated water, feed, litter, grass and soil in the range, and feces. Eimeria oocysts can be introduced by insects, rodents, birds, or people who do not follow hygiene rules. Coccidiosis spreads most quickly when chickens are kept crowded in dirty poultry houses.
The severity of coccidiosis depends on the number and type of eimeria oocysts ingested. With a small number of oocysts, eimeriosis in chickens can be asymptomatic, but with a large number, severe coccidiosis is often fatal. In addition, the severity of the disease will depend on the location of the protozoa, the rate of their reproduction, the metabolism of the chicken and the level of its immunity.
When a chicken enters the body, the walls of the oocyst are destroyed under the influence of bile and the eimeria enters the active stage of existence. Basically, protozoa parasitize in the duodenum, destroying the epithelial cells lining the inner surface of the intestine. Over time, eimeria spread throughout the chicken's gastrointestinal tract. After an acute period of the disease, during which eimeria reproduce asexually in the chicken’s gastrointestinal tract, the protozoa proceed to sexual reproduction - hematogony, and the formation of oocysts. Ready oocysts enter the external environment along with chicken excrement, ready to infect a new host and a new reproduction cycle.
Signs of coccidiosis precede the release of Eimeria oocysts and can only coincide in time if chickens are re-infected with Eimeria.
The life cycle from infection of the host to the start of oocyst release is strictly individual for each type of Eimeria and varies from 4 to 27 days. Eimeria reproduce asexually a limited number of times, so if there is no re-infection, the chicken will recover on its own. This is the basis of the “folk method” of treating coccidiosis with iodine. In other words, regardless of whether the chicken consumed iodine, it would recover within the time period characteristic of the type of Eimeria with which the bird was infected. You don’t have to plant the chicken’s thyroid gland, but just wait until it “goes away on its own.” But this means releasing new parasites into the external environment, which will again infect the chickens.
Here is a wonderful video showing how chickens survive despite the efforts of poultry farmers.
How iodine helps develop immunity against coccidia is unclear. But it is clear that chickens consume 5 years of iodine for an adult in a day or less.
Symptoms and treatment regimens for coccidiosis in chickens
With strong immunity, chickens either do not become infected with coccidiosis at all, or they are asymptomatic. But chickens with weak immunity can get coccidiosis even from a simple change in feed or any other stress. Coccidiosis in chickens, which occurs in acute form for no more than 4 days and often has a 100% fatal outcome, should be treated immediately after signs of the disease appear. That is why you should not experiment with folk remedies, but use proven coccidiostatic drugs and antibiotics.
In chickens, coccidiosis manifests itself as depression, thirst, decreased, and later a complete lack of appetite. Feathers ruffled, wings down. The chickens huddle together, seeking warmth, and do not respond to irritation.
The droppings are liquid, with a lot of mucus and blood. Since the severity of the disease directly depends on the amount of eimeria that have entered the chicken’s body, some individuals may appear healthy. Perhaps they will develop immunity, but it is better to treat everyone. If the chickens are kept crowded and it is not possible to determine the consistency of the droppings by spots on the floor, just look at the cloaca area. In chickens and chickens with diarrhea the feathers or down around the cloaca are dirty and stuck together with liquid droppings.
An accurate diagnosis can only be made after laboratory tests, since the external signs of coccidiosis are similar to borreliosis, histomoniasis, pullorosis and trichomoniasis.
The photo shows Eimeria under a microscope.
Due to the similarity of coccidiosis to other diseases, diagnosis and treatment at home is a lottery. Maybe the owner will guess the causative agent of the disease, or maybe not. However, different diseases are treated differently. While broad-spectrum antibiotics can still be used, coccidiostatics are harmless for other microorganisms. In addition, depending on the purpose of the poultry being raised, coccidiostats of various groups are used:
- preventing the development of immunity to re-infection;
- do not interfere with the development of immunity.
The first is used for chickens, which are soon planned to be sent for slaughter.There is no point in using other drugs; it is enough to simply get rid of the current infection and prevent a new one. The second group is used in breeding and egg farms.
How to treat coccidiosis in chickens
Broilers are sent for slaughter as chicks at the age of 2 - 3 months. In this regard, treatment of coccidiosis in broilers is essentially not carried out. There's no time for it. Instead of treatment, coccidiosis is prevented in broiler chickens using coccidiostats of the first group. Coccidiostats are given throughout the entire fattening period and are stopped 3–5 days before slaughter.
Coccidiostatic drugs and doses in % of feed weight
Pharmcoccid | 0,0125 |
Clopidol | |
Kayden + Stenerol | 25 + 0,05 |
Regicoccin | 0,01 |
Purbeck | 0,05 |
Chemical coccide | 0,0035 |
In addition to coccidiostats, broad-spectrum antibiotics are used, also as a percentage of the amount of feed.
Monensin | 0,012 |
Lasalocid | |
salinomycin | 0,06 |
Treatment of coccidiosis in egg-laying and breeding chickens, as well as in laying hens, is carried out with other drugs and according to a different scheme. On egg farms and breeding farms, coccidiostats of the second group and antibacterial drugs are used instead of antibiotics.
Dose of coccidiostats of the second group as a percentage of the feed and treatment regimen
Aprolium | 0,0125 | 7 – 10 weeks | |
Coccidiovit | 0,1 | ||
Ardilon | 0.05 for prevention | 0.12 for medicinal purposes | |
Coccidin | 0,0125 | ||
Iramin | 0,4 | 2 courses of 10 days each with a break of 3 days | |
Among the antibacterial drugs, sulfadimethoxine 0.01% is used in the feed in three courses of 3–5 days with breaks of 15, 20 and 35 days and sulfadimethoxin 0.1–0.2% in the feed for 3 days with breaks of 2 days. Sulfadimezin is given until the chickens recover.
Prevention of coccidiosis on the farm
Paradoxically, it is easier for large poultry farms to prevent coccidiosis in chickens than for private owners. Treatment of coccidiosis in chickens is complex and not always successful. If Eimeria infection is too severe, treatment may no longer help. Therefore, preventive measures on large farms are aimed primarily at maintaining immunity in chickens. First of all, chickens are provided with a nutritious diet. Here it’s worth thinking about whether chicken eggs from poultry farms are really that bad.
It is recommended to provide optimal conditions for keeping chickens. To do this, chickens are kept in cages with mesh floors and they try to prevent chicken droppings from getting into the feeder or drinking bowl: a cage with external devices.
All poultry farm equipment must be systematically cleaned and disinfected. For disinfection, equipment is treated with a blowtorch fire.
On broiler poultry farms, chickens are given coccidiostats for prophylaxis according to a scheme agreed upon with the farm veterinarian in doses lower than those required for the treatment of coccidiosis in chickens. In farms unaffected by coccidiosis, chickens are vaccinated by feeding a certain amount of eimeria so that they do not cause symptoms of coccidiosis, but form immunity.
All this cannot be observed in private farms, since chickens roam on the street, at best in enclosures. At worst, chickens run around the village, communicating with relatives and rodents. Adult chickens can have coccidiosis but not show symptoms. But when a new batch of chickens appears, the private owner has to urgently treat coccidiosis in chickens.And the main problem is that in young chickens coccidiosis progresses very rapidly. Often, owners lose the entire purchased batch of chickens. The only way out here is to keep the chickens in strict isolation from adult chickens, then there is a chance that the chickens will not get sick.
In contrast to the video above, this is an intelligent video with a detailed analysis of the symptoms of coccidiosis in chickens and a list of drugs for the treatment of coccidiosis in chickens.
Conclusion
It is possible to cure coccidiosis in adult chickens, although it is better to prevent the disease from developing. If the chickens do get sick with coccidiosis, then there is no need to experiment by giving the chickens iodine or other folk remedies. It is better to keep a supply of antibacterial drugs and coccidiostats in the house.
