Poultry Health Care in the Organic System - Humane and Healthy Poultry Production - page 42

Inside and outside views of the author's Kingbird Farm pasture hen hoop house.
Internal Parasites
Coccidiosis
Incidence —common worldwide, especially in warm humid weather.
System/organ affected —the cecum or intestinal tract.
Agent —coccidial protozoan parasites.
Incubation Period —five to six days.
Progression —usually acute, spreads rapidly, survivors recover in ten to fourteen days.
Symptoms —in chicks (cecal) or young birds: droopiness, huddling with ruffled feathers,
loss of appetite, retarded growth, bloody diarrhea in early stages; in growing or semi-mature
birds (intestinal): droopiness, huddling with ruffled feathers, loss of interest in water and feed,
retarded growth or weight loss, watery, mucousy, or pasty, tan or blood-tinged diarrhea; some-
times emaciation and dehydration; in mature birds: thin breast, weak legs, drop in laying,
sometimes diarrhea.
Percentage affected —80 to 100 percent.
Mortality —limited to high.