×
Coccidiosis
Coccidia is a protozoal disease. Despite there being many different strains of this protozoa each individual one is very species specific. This means that pheasant coccidia strains will not infect partridges and vice versa.
PHEASANTS
Symptoms
- Strains involved: E. colchici, E.duodenalis, E. megalostoma, E. pacifica, E. phasiani
- Diarrhoea
- Inappetence or anorexia
- Depression, ruffled feathers, hunching
- Poor weight gain
- Dehydration & death
PARTRIDGES
Red Legged partridge are more severely affected than grey partridge.
Symptoms
- Strains involved: E. caucasica, E. procera, E. koifoidi, E. legionensis
- Diarrhoea
- Depression, ruffled feathers, hunching
- Poor weight gain
- Sudden death in red legged partridge
Diagnostics
- Post-mortem: enteritis, watery intestinal contents, caecal cores.
- Microscopy: intestinal scrapes inspected under the microscope to identify coccidial oocysts.
- Faecal oocyst count: oocyst flotation from a pooled sample of faeces.
Treatment
- Anticoccidial treatments:
- Toltrazuril for two days (Baycox, Zorabel)
- Amprolium for seven days (Coccibal, Amproline)
- In severe cases, this may require concurrent antibiotic therapy to settle a bad dysbacteriosis.
Prevention
- Coccidiostats in feed:
- These products help birds to develop natural immunity to coccidia as they age. The drugs restrict coccidia metabolism so that only a low level is maintained in the birds. Therefore immunity is generated more swiftly without the catastrophic damage a clinical outbreak can have on bird growth and wellbeing.
- However, in time the resident population of coccidia on a site will become resistant to the coccidiostat and will no longer have an effect. There is only one licensed coccidiostat drug for game birds, Lasolocid acid (Avatec).
- Rotating paddocks/fields or where housing is placed. Coccidia is a very resilient parasite and will survive for over a year in soil and in housing. Turning the soil can also help.
- Thorough cleaning and disinfection of housing with a product that specifies action against coccidial oocysts (as most products will have no effect):
- Power wash all dirt and dust off equipment and housing.
- Use a detergent to wash the remaining muck off, pay particular attention to gaps and hard to reach places.
- Allow equipment to dry before applying the disinfectant.
- Use a disinfectant to cover all equipment and housing and allow for contact time as advised on bottle, eg. Interkokask or Bi-OO-cyst.
×
Hexamita & Trichomonas
Hexamita
A motile protozoa otherwise known as ‘Spironucleus’. Found in the caecum and small intestine of pheasants and partridges.
Trichomonas spp.
A family of protozoa that resides in the caeca of many avian species.
Overgrowth of these motile protozoal species will cause disease in birds.
Symptoms
- Depressed with ruffled feathers.
- Weight loss.
- Weakness with eventual death. Mortality can be as high as 80% in birds younger than 10 weeks old.
Diagnostics
- Identification of small oval undulating organisms from fresh intestinal scrapes under microscope.
Treatment
- ‘Emtryl’ was the only treatment available however it is now illegal to be in possession of this drug with intention to administer to game birds.
- Birds lose many electrolytes through the diarrhoea process. Supportive therapy with electrolytes in the water is recommended to increase survival rates.
- Antibiotic therapy has been used to help control this disease however the exact reason for this is under investigation.
Prevention
- Ensure feed and water systems are contained, covered and hygienic.
- Water sanitisation with a suitable product (hydrogen peroxide or chlorine) will reduce the likelihood of shared drinkers being a source of infection for hexamita or trichomonas.
- Acidification of water has also been used with success for prevention and control of these diseases.
- Overstocked pens are more severely affected due to a combination of increased social stress factors and increased incidence of disease exposure. Reduce stocking densities will help to reduce the severity of the disease in the flock.
- Good biosecurity between different groups of birds; change of footwear and separate equipment between houses.
- Rotate house positions/fields per batch of birds.