THE PREVALENCE OF POULTRY COCCIDIOSIS AND THE ANTICOCCIDIALS IN USE IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Forty brooder houses were sampled from four States in the southern part of Nigeria, namely: Oyo, Lagos, Imo and Anambra States, to identify the species of coccidia. Five species of Eimeria were isolated including Eimeria  E. necatrix; E. maxima and E. mivati/E. mitis. Using the McMaster count, the number of oocyst occuring in each brooder house was calculted with the species of Eimeria oocyst, confirmed by experimentally infecting clean chicks and determining occyst size using the ocular micrometer. Frequent outbreaks of coccidiosis in these brooder houses were obviously prevented by the practise of administering anticoccidials daily until the birds were mature as can be observed with the use of common drugs as coccidiovit, amprolium, deccox, furazol, naccox and coxdin.