Pathology, Haematology and Biochemistry of Coccidiosis in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Coccidiosis is the most economically important parasitic disease of poultry. Forty five day-old broiler chicks were used for this study. They were divided randomly into three equal groups (Groups A to C). Each group comprised 15 chicks with three replicates in each group. The groups were arranged as follows: Group A: Control (uninfected - untreated), Group B: Infected - untreated and Group C: Infected - treated. The feed intake in the two infected groups decreased but it was more severe in the Group B than in Group C by day 7 PI. By days 14 to 42 PI the two infected groups competed favourably and were higher in feed intake when compared to the control birds. But their weight gain were far below the control until the end of the experiment, this is due to the pathological changes the disease organism caused and was demonstrated by histopathological studies of the slide. The disease and its effect was severe in the group B. other parameters were in agreement that the effect was severe in group B and less severe in group C. Hence, coccidiosis negatively affected both the activity score and faecal score in the groups B and C. Coccidiosis presented clinical signs and pathologic changes in the affected birds and these affect profitability of the rural poultry farmers / industry. Hence, the disease is a real problem in the poultry industry and the gain of confronting the challenge posed by it is worth the investment.