AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

This is just my own opinion and a guide only - you dont have to use this information - but it may help someone one day

Baycox isn’t cheap [abt $210/L] but it goes a long way as you use so little –

If you use Baycox to treat your birds – this is an instant kill treatment and is becoming very popular as a preventative as well, with many breeders using it once every month [free range birds] or 2nd month [deep litter birds] to help stop any re-occurrences.
It says to treat the birds for 2 consecutive days – with no mention of the overall treatment needed not just of the birds but the pen as well ! If you do not treat the housing as well your birds can be reinfected in days as the Coccidia Oocysts will still be present in the deep litter or soil/sand/ what ever you use. Ingesting only one Oocyst will reinfect a bird.

I suggest the method below and am quoting for deep litter – I also suggest a 3 day regime not a 2 day one, day 3 being the final blow to the ‘infection’
When Cocci is diagnosed = the night before treatment starts remove all water sources from the pen – then -

Day 1 – once the birds have emptied their bowels in the morning – usually not long after daybreak [give them ½ hr after they start scratching around] – for deep litter = clean out the pen THROUGHLY – for soil/sand clean out to the depth the birds dust bathe to – do this quietly and calmly so you don’t upset the birds too much [removing the faeces and Coccidia oocysts contained in it] and replace with a partial layer [not as much as you would normally use] of fresh clean deep litter material or soil/sand – also scrub clean and rinse all water containers before refilling them using cold water with the treatment in it = dosage is 3ml per litre - use approximate amount of water that all the birds in the pen would drink in one day plus an extra 1litre – check water levels during the day and top up with more treatment water as/if needed - remove the water right before dark and clean the container again – then re-clean out the pen replacing the deep litter material or soil/sand with another small amount of fresh – [again removing the faeces and the bulk if not all of the Coccidia that have been purged from the birds – most, but occasionally not all Coccidia purged will be dead]

Day 2 – give fresh water with treatment in it at daylight – remove this water right before dark and clean out the container as above also clean the pen again and replace with more flooring material as above

Day 3 – give fresh water with treatment in it at daylight and leave this water in the pen until consumed - usually by mid the next morning – then replace all the flooring material again and put the amount you would normally use in the pen and supply the birds with fresh drinking water with no treatment in it

I found that after the fires and heat that the Cocci here went ‘insane’ and have since used this method for control ever since – to date there has not been another Cocci outbreak in any birds bred here

after this initial 'knock em dead' treatment you can use other methods as preventatives

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=891

this link will help

Wow, that's a comprehensive regime, thanks soozorps for taking the time to impart some wisdom.

yr welcome [she says as she curtsies ]

no one ever said owning chooks was an easy job - but even tho sometimes we have to work 'hard' it is always worth it when you sit and watch them fussing around and/or yr fav bird jumps on yr lap and just sits and 'talks' to you

Hi Soozorps,

Nice work!

Have you used amprolium as a preventative instead?

The reason I ask is that as you say baycox is the best treatment for coccidiosis.

However, my concern is that if we continually use it as a preventative as well, that we will end up with a population of resistant coccidia.

With any anti-parasitic treatment there are always some parasites that survive. Initially the numbers are very low but over time their numbers can build up.

Then when you really need it, you may find it's no longer effective.

I just look at what's happened in the cattle & sheep industries with some worms now resistant to ALL the available treatments.

I'd hate for the same thing to happen with cocci in our chooks.

So I was wondering if it was worth using baycox for treatment- as you've suggested, and using amprolium preparations for prevention.

Just a thought, anyway!

Is it possible to use baycox as a preventative for Coccidiosis so they dont get it? or is there something else that is cheaper as a preventative?

Hi Kelmscott,

Yes, amprolium is available also- that's the reason for my post above.

It comes under several trade names including Amprolium 200 and Keystat Coccidiostat Solution.

Cheers

Parvo

Thanks Soozorps for taking the time to answer my questions...
...and for doing so in such a succinct manner!

It's always good to have these sorts of discussions.

Succinct - - - - wow! - - - - never had that [emphasis on ‘that] word used re any of my answers before –
but I HAVE to agree – this is the sort of discussion that keeps us all thinking

healthy discussions on varied subjects
[does it show I actually got to have caffeine this morning ]

I can get the Keystat Coccidiostat Solution but is it better in powder or liquid or make no difference? Thanks Great topic