Ammonia for Cocci???

[sonjab314]

I am having an issue with cocci. I have treated once already but I allowed the chickens to free range during treatment which I think was my downfall for successful treatment. I noticed bloody poop in the yard today so here is my game plan....I am going to confine all of my chickens to the coop tonight when they roost and keep them there for the next 5 days while I treat so they have no access to an outside water source. There is windows for ventilation etc etc. Now the quest to clean the coop after the confinement. I read this online about cocci...

" Most disinfectants do not work well against coccidia; incineration of the feces, and steam cleaning, immersion in boiling water or a 10% ammonia solution are the best methods to kill coccidia. Coccidia can withstand freezing."

After treatment I want to spray the floor and about a foot or two up the wall with the ammonia solution and allow it to set for a while then spray it all out. The chickens will not have access to the coop during this time until it is all clean and dry. Any comments or suggestions? I am open to any and all ideas. I'm tired of this stuff.

P.S. Please do not attack my husbandry. It is excellent.

 

[ggrap]

How old are your birds and what are their symptoms? Coccidiosis is not very common in hens, it is mostly seen in chicks of about 2 to 6 wks old.

Cocci is always present in their poop, it is only when the levels get too high that they become sick.

Why do you think this is the problem?

 

[sonjab314]

Quote:
Well I seen my roo who is 1 year old poop red poop the first time. Cocci is the only thing to my knowledge (which is not extensive) that causes bloody poo. These are all right at 1 year old. I found another bloody poop in the yard today that was fresh. Anything else it could be? Other than the bloody poo they are acting completely normal

 

[ggrap]

Worms?

 

[Erica]

Oh dear — I'm sorry for your ongoing difficulties. Disinfecting the coop might be a good idea I suppose, as long as the ammonia fumes are allowed to dissipate. But the trouble with super hygiene is that the birds aren't able to contact the coccidia at all — hence they develop no immunity. The trick is to give the birds limited exposure and gradually increase it — they will have coccidiosis essentially but it will be sub-clinical until the point when they're immune (which can take a couple of months).

I'd say there's nothing wrong with disinfecting the coop, but they may succumb again once let out onto infected ground. Perhaps you could disinfect and also keep up regular (but *not* super) hygiene and gradually increase intervals between completely cleaning out the litter. For active cocci infections you want to clean that floor every 24 hours until the bout passes. After 3-6 days you might increase this to every 48 hours and perhaps also toss in a handful of infected ground (if you earlier disinfected and medicated the birds) to make sure the birds are getting some small exposure. After a couple of weeks you might only change the litter every week or so, and you might start giving the birds limited time on free range (e.g. an hour a day for the first week).

If they were my birds, to give them the best recovery I'd probably put them in wire-floored cages for a week while giving medicated feed (and/or medication). Basically that does the same job as changing the litter every 24 hours but takes less effort.

But remember that at some point exposure will need to be increased — it's possible to have birds at adult age with no immunity if they've never been exposed. The trick is to manage the levels.

I hope this helps.

 

[Erica]

Oh! I missed the ages of the chickens — I agree with others above!

 

[sonjab314]

Will the worms be present to the naked eye in their poo?

 

[sonjab314]

Quote:
Thanks Erica but they free range all day. They like the dirt lol. I did get the info you posted here from speckledhen yesterday morning. I am going to start bringing in dirt from outside and letting the babies play in it while in the brooder. That way I can monitor them at the same time.

 

[dawg53]

Could it be intestinal lining you're seeing? If so, it's normal to shed intestinal lining every now and then, and see some blood. Here's the poop chart:
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, I clean my grow-out coop with ammonia, but as Erica said, the oocycsts are in the soil and they will encounter them when they hit the ground.