Coccidiosis in Chickens: Prevention and Causes

Chicks can be given food containing a coccidiostat to prevent an outbreak.(Symbolic image) © Petra Schneider/Imago

Chicken coccidiosis is a serious, frequently enough fatal disease, especially for chicks. You can prevent it through vaccination and other measures.

A healthy, balanced diet with the ideal nutrient ratio is an important contribution to chicken health, as the German Animal Food Association reports. To prevent coccidiosis in chicks, there are even special feeds with protective additives.

Coccidiosis in chickens: causes and occurrence

Coccidia are endoparasites. They are single-celled organisms that occur everywhere in the surroundings in the form of oocysts and can survive there for a very long time. Seven different types of coccidia affect chickens, but not humans. There is thus no risk of infection.

Oocysts wait for a new host primarily in polluted water, damp litter or feces. Healthy, adult chickens can easily keep ingested pathogens at bay. However, young animals, stressed or sick animals are at high risk of developing coccidiosis. This leads to a massive proliferation of coccidia in the intestine. A distinction is made between: