COCCIDIOSIS IN POULTRY
COCCIDIOSIS is one of the challenges that the farmer would face big or small if management is laxed.
CONVID19 in the past months had disturbed a lot of businesses in the country as well as in the world at large. Commercial enterprises were hard hit industries that were producing goods for the farming activities were equally affected.
Production was reduced, this went to an extent of workers being put on forced leave, companies were not making money to pay their labor force. With a good number of people out of employment for them to survive the harsh conditions brought about by the convid 19 pandemic, they had to do something to support their families. Rearing of birds was an alternative by dormant farmers and those out of employment. What has been seen is many were lured to rear poultry why? People have to eat and so are many families needed to sustain their livelihood to make ends meet. However, poultry also has its challenges that is diseases. Therefore, to help these poultry farmers let us look at one of the diseases that is always encountered in poultry production – COCCIDIOSIS.
COCCIDIOSIS is one of the challenges that the farmer would face big or small if management is laxed. The disease is the biggest threat to health of poultry and every year farmers lose substantial earnings. A large proportion of flocks die from this disease and can be as high as 50% or more.
A poultry farmer may get confused when the flock has been treated against this disease and suddenly it occurs again. What the farmer has to know about coccidiosis is that there are several different species of this coccidia that attack chicks and chickens. There are. two forms of disease. One is acute coccidiosis which usually occur early in life that is in chicks, and is characterized by sudden death. The other chronic coccidiosis with symptoms such as gradual weight loss, loss of colour and poor feed conversion. This latter form is the more harmful because older birds are attacked and controlling the disease is more difficult.
It is already mentioned that they are many species of coccidia in poultry. The different species tend to attack different portions of the intestinal tract. For birds to develop immunity they must become infected. However, this immunity may develop as a result of mild infection that has little or no effect on the bird. The sad part is immunity developed by the bird against one species does not protect the bird against infection by anther species. Hence, the recurring of the disease.
With this scenario, therefore, the testing laboratory must mention the exact culprit of that specific species of coccidia causing the problem in the flock.
The severity of any given attack would be determined by the degree of exposure to the organism, conditions of the environment and the virulence of a given strain of the species involved. Symptoms occur between four and seven days of infection depending on the species of coccidia. Infected birds are dull, listless, anemic and have a droopy appearance, they display little or no appetite and try to seek warmth by huddling in groups. Droppings are watery discharges with blood. The birds become weak and may become lame, later they are unable to walk and they finally die.
Coccidia are host specific parasites, this simply mean a species of coccidian which affects chickens will not harm say turkeys or vice versa.
As already said once again, only under certain conditions does actual coccidiosis arise. In poultry houses the most important of these are crowding in the brooder and not changing sufficiently frequently to clean ground. In addition to this hereditary weakness in stock, inadequate culling of stock, errors in feeding, forcing birds to lay early in life or lowered resistance due to the presence other diseases may play also their part if it is in the commercial sector.
On farms where village chickens are also reared, the farmer must be made aware that these birds can be culprits. They may harbor the organism and yet do not show signs of sickness.
It is important not to mix the two. However, if they are to be kept on the same premises treatment and attention must be improved. Workers attending to these must strictly be with these birds and not to criss cross, that is from village chicken to commercial bred birds. Workers can be vectors who may carry these organisms from one house to another or even visitors visiting the poultry farm.
Coccidia parasites are passed on when poultry eat the infective parasites ova from droppings of infected birds. Also by picking up parasites from litter, or water that has been contaminated. Infected droppings contaminate and re-contaminate the environment causing infection. Therefore, in houses in need of cleaning or were litter is to be disposed, it must be thrown very far away from houses or poultry farm to avoid reinfection of the houses or environment. Attention, therefore, must be given to the prevention of contamination of food and water with faeces. Premises should be disinfected by liberal application of ten per cent (10%) watery solution of ammonia. To this care must be taken that chicks are not put in a house until all traces of ammonia have disappeared.
Throwing of litter from poultry houses should be away from the premises and is a form of biosecurity and should be practiced at all times when such cleaning of houses is due to avoid spreading diseases including coccidiosis.
So to our prospective poultry farmers, must take note of what has been highlighted above as they look towards the festive period coming in order to recover the lost income due to convid 19 in the past months. Lessen loses that may occur as a result of unfavorable conditions mentioned above.
Prevention of coccidiosis during the growing period can mean healthier flock with lower mortalities. And during the laying period can mean higher egg production with less feed consumed per egg.
Coccidiostat drugs are available for treatment and prophylaxis by medication of the food or drinking water.
“If we are not careful and protect the timber, we are going to be in trouble as a province, these water bodies and the favourable rainfall we boast of will be a thing of the past because the climate will change,”