where does Coccidia Eimeria come from?

[tpereira]

I’ve read that it is host specific. I’m not 100% sure what that means. I’ve also read this: While poultry, game birds, pigeons, and doves are most commonly affected, coccidia eggs have been found occasionally in parrots, canaries, finches, lories, and budgerigars.

Does this mean that my flock can get coccidia from a dove, a parrot, or pigeon but cannot get it from a squirrel, since it’s host specific? I’m just trying to understand how it all works.

* I have 2 week old black australorps. I plan to free range them in my back yard. Looking to keep them as organic as I can.

 

[azygous]

Coccidia are host specific. Chickens have nine different coccidia strains that are specific to them. Turkeys have their own, and other species have their own, as well. Something for everyone, sort of like Amazon. Eimeria is the name of the family of protozoa that affect chickens.

But Corid treats them all.

 

[dawg53]

Sometimes a sulfa drug is required to treat coccidiosis when Corid wont.

 

[tpereira]

so can chickens only give it to chickens or are they capable of getting it from a pigeon or dove? i’d rather prevent this parasite naturally then giving medication.

 

[coach723]

They don't get it directly from another animal. They get it from ingesting the protozoa oocysts from the ground, while pecking and scratching around, it's spread in droppings. Some environments may have a lot of it, some not as much, it's generally considered to be everywhere. To help prevent illness in new chicks, I start giving them a dish of soil from the yard right away, day one, that they can scratch and peck and dust bathe in, to start exposing them to the microbes in the soil while their immune systems are building, rather than sudden exposure when they are older and move from the brooder to the yard. Gradual exposure will build immunity, when numbers are too large the birds become sick. Once they recover they are resistant to that strain and should not get sick with that one again unless their immune systems are compromised by something else. It is nearly impossible to eradicate it from the environment, so it's best to be aware of the symptoms and be prepared to treat quickly if neccessary. Corid (amprolium) is a chemical, but it is not an antibiotic. There are some studies showing some plant based products for treatment, but they are not readily available to consumers yet. There is one, mentioned in this article on ways to prevent or minimize outbreaks, I have never used it, and I would be reluctant to not have Corid on hand anyway for treatment rather than losing birds:
https://www.fresheggsdaily.blog/2013/11/coccidia-coccidiosis-natural-prevention.html
The product link in the article no longer works. It's changed names and can be found here (or search for others).
https://www.abetterwaypetcare.com/kochi-free-formerly-known-as-kocci-free/

 

[tpereira]

Coccidia are host specific. Chickens have nine different coccidia strains that are specific to them. Turkeys have their own, and other species have their own, as well. Something for everyone, sort of like Amazon. Eimeria is the name of the family of protozoa that affect chickens.

But Corid treats them all.

Thank you!!!!

 

[tpereira]

Sometimes a sulfa drug is required to treat coccidiosis when Corid wont.

thank you for the advice!

 

[tpereira]

They don't get it directly from another animal. They get it from ingesting the protozoa oocysts from the ground, while pecking and scratching around, it's spread in droppings. Some environments may have a lot of it, some not as much, it's generally considered to be everywhere. To help prevent illness in new chicks, I start giving them a dish of soil from the yard right away, day one, that they can scratch and peck and dust bathe in, to start exposing them to the microbes in the soil while their immune systems are building, rather than sudden exposure when they are older and move from the brooder to the yard. Gradual exposure will build immunity, when numbers are too large the birds become sick. Once they recover they are resistant to that strain and should not get sick with that one again unless their immune systems are compromised by something else. It is nearly impossible to eradicate it from the environment, so it's best to be aware of the symptoms and be prepared to treat quickly if neccessary. Corid (amprolium) is a chemical, but it is not an antibiotic. There are some studies showing some plant based products for treatment, but they are not readily available to consumers yet. There is one, mentioned in this article on ways to prevent or minimize outbreaks, I have never used it, and I would be reluctant to not have Corid on hand anyway for treatment rather than losing birds:
https://www.fresheggsdaily.blog/2013/11/coccidia-coccidiosis-natural-prevention.html
The product link in the article no longer works. It's changed names and can be found here (or search for others).
https://www.abetterwaypetcare.com/kochi-free-formerly-known-as-kocci-free/

wow, thank you so much for responding, this was exactly what i was looking for. I’m going to purchase that product than add in some of my backyard dirt (which has a lot of sand in it) to their brooder!!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

They don't get it directly from another animal. They get it from ingesting the protozoa oocysts from the ground, while pecking and scratching around, it's spread in droppings. Some environments may have a lot of it, some not as much, it's generally considered to be everywhere. To help prevent illness in new chicks, I start giving them a dish of soil from the yard right away, day one, that they can scratch and peck and dust bathe in, to start exposing them to the microbes in the soil while their immune systems are building, rather than sudden exposure when they are older and move from the brooder to the yard. Gradual exposure will build immunity, when numbers are too large the birds become sick. Once they recover they are resistant to that strain and should not get sick with that one again unless their immune systems are compromised by something else. It is nearly impossible to eradicate it from the environment, so it's best to be aware of the symptoms and be prepared to treat quickly if neccessary. Corid (amprolium) is a chemical, but it is not an antibiotic. There are some studies showing some plant based products for treatment, but they are not readily available to consumers yet. There is one, mentioned in this article on ways to prevent or minimize outbreaks, I have never used it, and I would be reluctant to not have Corid on hand anyway for treatment rather than losing birds:
https://www.fresheggsdaily.blog/2013/11/coccidia-coccidiosis-natural-prevention.html
The product link in the article no longer works. It's changed names and can be found here (or search for others).
https://www.abetterwaypetcare.com/kochi-free-formerly-known-as-kocci-free/

From Day 1? Do you have chicks that need to be treated with Corid very often? Where do you collect the soil from? The older chicken's run? The yard outside (but still around) the run? This is interesting to me, especially since I lost a very precious and beloved pullet to suspected coccidiosis (thank you @azygous for helping me so often, but especially with my Raymona. You were an irreplaceable part of getting to the bottom of this so I didn't lose any others. I am so grateful for you and Wyorp). Knowing that I have lost a pullet from this, is it a good idea to expose chicks at a very young age, or wait until a couple of weeks old? Should I start with soil right outside of the area that my flocks visit? Or get some from the area they free range often? How deep in the ground do you collect from?

 

[azygous]

Surface soil. To maximize the benefits, we dig a cump of living sod. That way there are other microbes in the soil that help build strong immune systems, along with the gradual exposure to local coccidia.

It doesn't matter where. Coccidia are everywhere.