If your chickens start acting ill, your mind might start racing with all the things that could be going wrong.
Coccidiosis is a prevalent killer in chickens, and it’s pretty easy to identify and treat if you know how to catch it quickly.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about coccidiosis in chickens.
What Is Coccidiosis In Chickens?
According to the Merck Manual of Veterinary Medicine, “Coccidiosis is caused by protozoa of the phylum Apicomplexa, family Eimeriidae.”
To simplify it, coccidiosis is a parasite that attacks the intestines of poultry (and many other species as well).
Coccidiosis is passed from one chicken to another through infected droppings. And once the organism attaches itself to the intestinal lining, it destroys the organs’ ability to absorb the nutrition the chicken needs to survive.
Coccidiosis moves fast and can kill a chicken but don’t worry. It would be pretty rare for it to be passed to humans or other animals unless poultry.
All chickens carry strains of coccidiosis, but not all will become infected. Conditions have to be perfect for coccidiosis to survive and progress through its life cycle.
The parasitic protozoa start as a teeny tiny egg, and from the droppings of one chicken to another through digestion, it enters the intestine and starts wreaking havoc.
Coccidiosis Signs and Symptoms in Chickens
One of the first signs of coccidiosis is blood in your chickens’ droppings. However, don’t panic because chickens commonly have bloody poo from passing large eggs as well.
With that being said, you should keep a close watch for the following symptoms and act quickly:
- Lethargy
- Diarrhea
- Huddling (cold)
- Pale combs and skin around eyes
- Loss of appetite
- No longer laying eggs
- Weight Loss
- Ruffled feathers
All of these symptoms can indicate other illnesses, and the only way you can be sure your chicken does have coccidiosis is to take a fecal sample to the vet for testing.
Your vet will also prescribe treatment for you to begin immediately.
Treatment of Coccidiosis (Act Fast!)
Luckily, you can cure coccidiosis with the correct treatment, and your flock will be healthy once again!
The most commonly prescribed treatment is Amprolium (an over-the-counter medication), and all you have to do is add it to your chickens’ water. And yes, if one is infected, it’s a safe assumption that all your feathered friends need treatment.
If you have a chicken that refuses to eat or drink, Amprolium can be given by mouth (beak). But ask your vet about dosage instructions in this scenario.
You’ll treat your chickens for about seven days, and while doing so, you’ll need to clean the house. Clean the entire coop. Remove all droppings, and do a thorough deep-clean of the cell as the whole.
Coccidia can survive for up to a year in soil and warm, humid environments.
If you’re unsure that you’ve been able to remove all traces of the coccidia protozoa, consider giving your chickens Amprolium regularly for a year (but always ask your vet first).
Coccidiosis can do a lot of damage to your chicken’s intestines, and if they contract the parasite often, they may experience long-term side effects, including decreased egg production.
Remember, a damaged digestive system does not absorb nutrients effectively.
Prevention is The Key
When it comes to chicken illnesses, diseases, and parasites, prevention is always the best way to combat whatever comes your way. It’s better to be preventative rather than dealing with the stress of being reactive to a problem once it shows up.
So, how do you prevent coccidiosis in chickens? Let’s dig into the details so you can keep your flock happy and healthy and have plenty of eggs!
Practice Good Housekeeping
A clean coop is number one on this list because excessive dropping may promote disease in general. Keep it tidy and clean, and your chickens will be happy, and the parasites not-so-much!
So Fresh So Clean Water
Let’s face it. Chickens poop is in their waterers all the time, sometimes to our bewilderment. You have to wonder how they get it in there sometimes.
Infected droppings in drinking water mean infected water.
So change it regularly and clean waterers often. If you’re looking for a good waterer solution, see our product suggestion below.
Provide Plenty of Elbow Room
Broiler chickens are often victims of coccidiosis because they are usually kept in large quantities in small spaces.
If your coop is overcrowded, coccidiosis may spread so fast you won’t even know what happened.
Medicated Chick Starter Feeds
When you bring new babies into the world, whether from a hatchery or your broody hen, feeding commercially medicated starter crumble will help them immunity to coccidiosis.
Vaccinate Your New Chicks
If you have the option to vaccinate your chicks against coccidiosis, you can save yourself some worry. Plus, they won’t need the medicated feed.
Quarantine New Birds
When bringing new chickens into your flock, keep them separate from the rest of your chickens for at least 30 days.
Watch for symptoms, and once you’re sure it’s safe, you can introduce the new flock members.
Feed Chicken Feed in Feeders
Never throw crumble or food on bedding in coops because if there is coccidiosis present, your chickens can quickly ingest it by accident.
If you can stay on top of prevention, you should have very little to worry about.
But if your coop comes down with coccidiosis, as long as you act fast, you can kick it in the chicken butt and get back to normal before you know it.
Do you need to discard eggs during a time frame when you are treating for coccidiosis?
no, amprolium has no egg-laying downtime. the eggs are safe to eat.
My vet doesn’t treat chickens, where can I get a coccidiosis test done? Or, is there a reason not to treat prophylactically? It’s only 2 chicks, one frequently has mushy poop, the other is normal.
When you start the treatment, how long does it take for chicken to improve production of eggs.
I really appreciate your articles! Thank you!
what causes a brown stool from a chicken? No blood or mucus just soft and brown?
Is there always a chicken who gets hen pecked?
My four chickens with a rooster have stopped laying eggs. One of them has Coccidiosis while other r fine. What should I do?
Our chickens have been laying regularly for more than a year. This afternoon for the first time we found one egg broken and mostly eaten, including the shell. We dusted the perimeter with snake out and will now wait and see if it happens again before declaring a rogue chicken. If it is a chicken, how do we s
stop it?
If it is the chicken that ate the egg, it means they have a calcium deficiency. Visit the vet pharmacy and get a calcium supplement for chicken. Wishing you all the best!
Hens need calcium for good egg shells. It’s common for them to eat them if they get broke. Many times if you dont collect them right away, theyll find them and play with them. While playing with them, they break and oh look at the goodies! Make sure they have enough calcium for good shells. We bake our egg shells and crush them a bit and give them to the girls. They go gaga for them. Just make sure you gather your eggs before they find them.
second chicken suddenly gets weak, lies down, first one died in one day, have been taking special care of second one, three days so weak cannot get up, seems right leg less active than left, appetite seems ok, drinks water, cannot get up, stools seem ok, any suggestions?
I’m not sure about a chicken getting hen pecked, but I have four chicks 13 weeks…. and 7 that are 16 weeks! I can’t keep the younger ones with the older ones! My roosters act like they will kill them! Today the biggest roo, Dinner, attacked a younger hen, and finally managed to get on top and make like breeding! He was off quite a bit! But made all the right motions!
I thought Roos wouldn’t try to breed a hen if she wasn’t old enough!
These little girls roost with the older one, but they stay on the top roost, till I come get them and let them out in the yard…. outside the chicken yard, I don’t know how to integrate them into the flock!
What we do if we take the younger chickens is when its dark out you put then in wit the rest of the flock. We have always had a good outcome with doing this. I hope you will too!
I have a hen with a very large breast and it is almost like a balloon in there. It hangs low and sways when she walks. Her comb is barely coming in. What can I do fro her?
Barbara pendulum crop is more common in certain breeds. Ive read about success using a support simular to a womans bra. To avoid a bird developing it in the future its important to feed on a regular basis so the bird doesnt over eat food in a large quantity at a time.
I have raised my chickens with Guinae hens. I now have one sick Guinae hen with pale head coloring, lethargy and lack of appetite. I wonder if this is the reason? No luck researching.