Coccidiosis problems

[daniel1005]

Hi all,

I took my chicken to the vet last Thursday and the vet diagnosed it with coccidiosis, although she couldn't see any of the parasite in it's dropping there was blood in there and all the symptoms matched up. She gave us Harker's coxoid solution and a general antibiotic just in case it was just a bacterial infection. We have kept her separate and followed all advice etc. Now I have been treating since Saturday with the Harker's Coxoid Solution due to only collecting it on the evening of Friday. She doesn't really drink too much and we could ideally do with a solid form of the medication such as a tablet which I could pop down on myself. I have been looking at Appertex but can't find anywhere to buy it. So I have a few questions, should I switch to tablets? Where would I find them? And what is the expected recovery time? I've read somewhere that it can be 2 weeks of the treatment until back to normal.

 

[daniel1005]

Also,

There is lots of Harkers tablets being sold e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harkers-Coxitabs-Pigeon-Coccidiosis-Coxi-tabs-50-Tablets-EXP-07-2014-/111444673374?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Birds&hash=item19f29ec35e

On the descriptions it say's it treats two types of Eimeria neither of which are the one's which my chicken is infested with. My chicken is thought to have E. tenella. However someone on another website said these harkers tablets for pigeons are also suitable but I don't see how because they aren't directed at the E. tenella.

 

[Marigold]

Hi Daniel, sorry to hear about your poorly hen. Cocci is difficult to eradicate because the oocysts which are shed in infected droppings are extremely hard to kill, even with ordinary disinfectants such as Poultry Shield, consequently they hang around on infected ground for a very long time and will cause re-infection or infection of other birds when they peck the ground. Warm, damp conditions make things worse, like we are having now of course. To disinfect effectively you need Bio-oo-cyst, the only preparation which works in this situation. You are right to keep her separate, but the hygiene routine must be followed in the main run as well, as she will have been shedding infected oocysts in there as well before you noticed anything was wrong. Burn all bedding and throughly disinfect the coop and feeder and drinker. See Poultrykeeper http://poultrykeeper.com/digestive-system-problems/coccidiosis

Of course it's also possible that in fact she doesn't have cocci, and if she's the only adult bird infected, this is possibly less likely as it's usually a disease affecting chicks and younger birds. Adult hens in clean conditions, as I'm sure you keep yours, are usually immune. As the vet has suggested, she may have some kind of gut infection, hence the antibiotic. I think I would just continue with the treatment as prescribed, and keep everything as clean as possible. Let us know how you get on.

 

[daniel1005]

Hi Marigold thanks for the response. So we have been treating her since last Friday and she looks no better. How long would you expect recovery to take?

 

[Marigold]

The trouble with chickens is that they often hide illness, from fear of being picked on by the other birds. So consequently a hen can become badly ill before the keeper realises what's happening, especially if you've never seen the symptoms before. And in the case of coccidiosis, she will have been shedding oocysts in the run before she was removed into isolation, so it's potentially an issue for the other girls, (if indeed this is cocci.)I'm afraid its impossible to say how long she will take to recover - or even whether she will, in fact, make a partial or full recovery. A chickens gut is very complicated and not a very good 'design' in many ways, and infection in the oviduct can spread to the gut, or vice versa, and some infections like bronchitis or Mareks disease can reappear even after you thought the bird was cured, especially at times of stress like moving to a new home, moulting, or coming into lay. Some infections are even carried from the parent birds into the egg, and emerge as viruses in the chicks. Most vets are inexperienced with chickens and play safe by prescribing a general antibiotic plus some other kind of hopefully targeted remedy, as yours has quite correctly done, but illness in poultry is hard to diagnose with any certainty in many cases.
When faced with a potentially infectious or incurable disease, many keepers will cull the bird in the interest of the rest of the flock, or to terminate her suffering. I'm not suggesting you should call time on her yet, but nobody on here could answer your question without actually seeing the bird, and as we are not vets, we can only give general advice based on our own experience. Just keep her quiet and comfortable, keep her pen very clean, and cross your fingers for her. Of course, since you've already contacted your vet and she is one of his patients, you could ring in and report her progress and ask for further advice from a qualified person.
Do lat us know how it goes.

 

[daniel1005]

Hi again thanks for the further response. I've just spent all afternoon doing a big clean and I used the bi OO cyst stuff in the coop and ground sanitizer in the run so to hopefully discard any parasites on/in the soil.

 

[daniel1005]

Also is it okay to use the bi OO cyst disinfectant on feeders/drinkers it only suggests using it in the coop on the bottle?

 

[Marigold]

The main problem is from where the chickens peck on the litter and on the floor, as a result of contamination from droppings. I would use a chicken-friendly disinfectant like Poultry Shield on drinkers and feeders, or run them through the dishwasher if possible.
Let's hope you've successfully protected the other girls. Be particularly careful to do as much poo picking as you can, this will help.
How long have you had these chickens, and how old are they?

 

[Marigold]

Useful article here, Daniel
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/coccidiosis/index.aspx
And this one http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex4616

 

[daniel1005]

Hi Marigold, we are unsure of the age of this hen we rescued her a while back. She's been with us for around a year and she's laid pretty much 4-5 a week until about a month ago, so she must be fairly prime age. 2 of my other hens are 2 years, 2 months and I also have 3 others I rescued in August which are 70 weeks I think. I cleaned one of the small feed containers we use with the Bio O Cyst stuff today do you think it will be okay to use with a good rinse off? Thanks for the articles... her conditions worsened today and I suspect she may have something else major (she has what looks like sour crop as well) I am going to take her to the vets again tomorrow I suspect it may be a PTS job because she is really unwell.

 

[Marigold]

Yes, it's sad, but often when a chicken goes downhill rapidly, its kindest to have her PTS. There's not much that can be done really. Like you, I'm a wimp about doing it myself but it's very peaceful on the vets table.
Yes the feeder will be fine if well rinsed off. The important thing is to reduce the spread of infection if it is cocci, although I'm m not 100'% sure of the accuracy of the diagnosis! at her age, kept in normally clean conditions, and with none of the others being infected. Its much more lilkely in the early days after hatch when the chicks are in a warmer environment and keep spilling water from their drinker, and then pooing in damp litter. At this stage they often self-immunise if the challenge from infection is enough to provoke this but not enough to make them ill. Probably your others have natural immunity anyway. I'm just surprised that the vet said she 'couldn't see any of e parasite in her droppings' because the oocysts are microscopic and hence invisible, so maybe she didn't really know what to look for. I'm sure the droppings could be tested but if the others remain unaffected then probably it wasn't cocci at all. Let's hope so - anyway, you've got a sparkling clean run out of it!