COCCIDIOSIS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 126, 23 November 1935, Page 32

COCCIDIOSIS

A WARNING NOTE

The ?/2cent wet weather has been favourable to the incubation of coccidia "eggs" and those chicks ranging on stale ground will have shown indication of infection. It is well to realise that most adult fowls carry coccidia parasites and pass out "eggs" in their droppings, though it is usually recognised that some forms of this disease are more dangerous than others. Well-managed stock may receive a check from a slight infection, but birds that are overcrowded or fed on an unbalanced ration will certainly suffer if they come in' contact with infection. The symptoms are common to most diseases; the young pullets do not look happy, their feathers are more ruffled than usual, and they will not be feeding as well as they should. A laboratory examination of the droppings is necessary to make certain of the presence of infection. In the event of a serious attack and a desire to effect a cure the best treatment is to remove the pullets immediately to fresh ground, virgin range that has not had poultry near it for at least two years. In most cases a rapid improvement will be noted almost immediately, since the degree of severity of infection is in direct relation to the number, of eggs eaten daily. Damp, warm conditions are favourable to incubation of the eggs, which are harmless if eaten before they incubate. Two days is sufficient for the egg to incubate in favourable weather and it is known that fertile eggs will remain in the ..soil for at least nine months. The addition of sour milk, or milk in any form, will assist recovery and in time it seems that the~pullets build up.a tolerance to the disease. Only when filthy conditions exist and when the young . stock is mixed with adult stock, will serious. trouble result. November and December are the two most dangerous months for coccidiosis. with the chance- of similar infection in the eariy autumn. It is always advisable to sweep up any dry droppings near the entrance to the sheds and keep the litter in the shed bone dry. ■Care in feeding, both in the mixture fed and the manner the food is actually fed out to the stock, will result in less chance of infection. When the pullets are on free range always feed them in a slightly different place each time. The mash of course must be fed in troughs, but the grain is best scattered in long grass in order to make the birds scratch for it. Exercise and fresh air is demanded by all young things and pullets are no exception. Let the young stopk receive a serious check, and they will never mature into really good birds. Quick body growth is demanded without in any way forcing them into production at too early an age. ' Undoubtedly intestinal worm infestation is responsible. for most of the trouble with young stock, and birds weakened by worms will rapidly fade away i£ also attacked by coccidiosis. ihere is no excuse for worm infection as several proprietary medicines are on the market for treatment.