Coccidiosis in Fayoumi Chickens at Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center Poultry Farm, Ethiopia

A study on coccidiosis in dead grower Fayoumi breed chickens, broilers, aged between of 6-10 months in Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center (DZARC) poultry farm was conducted from November 2009 to April 2010. The study involved post mortem examination of dead birds, mucosal scraping examination, examination of gross and histopathological changes and identification of Eimeria species. Out of 300 dead bird samples, 215 (71.7%) of them were found to harbor different coccidian spp. In the attempt made to identify the prevalent species of coccidia in the farm, four Eimeria species namely E. acervulina, E. tenella, E. necatrix and E. brunetti were identified. Among the four species of Eimeria identified, E. tenlla and E. necatrix with the incidence of 45% and 34.3% respectively were the predominant species identified followed by E. acervulina (31.3%) and E. brunette (27.6%). There was no significant differences (P>0.05) in the prevalence of coccidiosis between the two sexes of the studied birds. It is possible to conclude that coccidiosis was the cause of the encountered mortality in this farm. This high prevalence in coccidiosis of chickens in the study farm requires an immediate professional intervention and implementation of strict hygienic and control measures.