Therapeutic management of eimeriosis in a broiler chicken farm

Abstract

The growth of poultry for meat has undergone a spectacular evolution over the last 20 years. Chicken broilers were obtained with outstanding performances, the breeding and feeding technology was perfected, progress was made in ensuring health, biosecurity and well-being. The aim of the present study is to analyze the incidence of the appearance of eimeriosis according to the therapeutic strategies approached in a farm, the efficiency of the coccidiostats and the contribution that the climatic conditions bring in their action. The study was conducted in an exploitation with several farms distributed in different counties, which, in order to cover the need to populate all farms, imports chickens from the Cobb 500 breed from Slovakia and Hungary. Depending on the therapeutic strategy addressed against eimeriosis, the feeds contain different coccidiostatic drugs, their homogenization being done in the combined feed factory after the decision previously made by the veterinarian of the farm. Depending on the location of the farm, the climatic conditions in the area and the pathological background, different treatment programs are established. The introduction of coccidiostats is made from the first day until day 37-38, after two programs: full and shutlle. In the last 4-5 days their use is stopped, according to the legislation, to respect the waiting time until slaughter. The full program involves the administration of a single coccidiostat throughout a series, without repeating it, two series in a row, while the shutlle program involves the combination of two coccidiostats, usually in the first 15 days, a synthetic one, followed by an ionophore. Based on the necropsies it was concluded that the eymeriosis was caused by 3 species of Eimeria which evolved on the farm, with the highest incidence being Eimeria tenella (up to 65% of the necropsied cases). According to the mortality rates, the efficiency of the shutlle program is clearly superior to the full program, thus recommending its use especially in cold periods.