How to boost poultry health and profitability

Group of free-range chicken freely grazing outside of organic farm [iStockphoto]

Coccidiosis is a poultry disease that has long been associated with indigenous chickens reared on a free-range system for many years and is occasionally seen among wild and game birds. It is caused by a protozoal organism, Eimeria, that invades the intestinal lining of poultry following direct ingestion from contaminated litter. While inside the intestinal gut of a chicken, they destroy the inner linings of the gut hence disrupting completely the ability of the chicken to digest and assimilate nutrients for growth and production. The disease-causing organisms are found anywhere birds are reared or kept.

Why is this disease important?