Prevalence and Aetiology of Poultry Coccidiosis and Associated Risk Factors in White Leghorn Grower Chickens at Kombolcha Poultry Farm, Ethiopia

A study was conducted from October 2009 and March 2010 with the objective of determining the prevalence of poultry coccidiosis and identifying the species of Eimeria at Kombolcha poultry farm. A total of 638 dead White leghorn chickens of age 1 to 60 days were examined on post mortem, mucosal scraping examination, examination of gross and histopathological changes, and identification of Eimeria species. Prevalence rate of 22.3% (142/638) was assessed. A statistically significant difference p< 0.05 (χ 2 = 261.995, p = 0.000) was noted among the studied age groups with maximum prevalence at 41-50 days of age. Five Eimeriaspecies were identified, namely: E. tenella(37.86 %), E. brunette (29.22 %), E. necatrix(12.35 %), E. acervulina(15.22 %), and E. maxima (5.35 %)which were identified for the first time in the farm. In conclusion, coccidiosis remained still a major problem in the farm by changing its mode of occurrence from time to time as to the variations of the management system. Further strategies needs to be implemented to reduce the loss due to coccidiosis.