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The most important weapon in the fight against coccidiosis is the animal’s immune system. We need to do everything we can to stop it being overwhelmed or coming under a sustained period of pressure - either in early life when it is naïve or later in life during a stress period.
An overwhelmed immune system will lead to coccidiosis symptoms, which are very obvious to the farmer when they occur.
A pressurized immune system is not obvious to the naked eye, as our animal may not display any symptoms. However, a pressurized immune system drains energy away from maintenance and growth – reducing animal performance.
In sheep and cattle, a high burden of coccidia can reduce growth rates by 19% across full groups, while only 4% of animals in the group will display clinical symptoms.
What can we do?
We know that exposure to coccidia is inevitable at some point in the animal’s life. In early-life we need to maintain as clean an environment as possible for the lamb or calf to keep coccidia burdens low and allow immunity to develop. Avoiding stressors where possible also tips the scales in favour of the immune system.
On many farms there will come a point when environmental management does not suffice to dilute coccidia burdens and/or prevent coccidiosis and medicinal interventions are needed.
Dycoxan
Dycoxan is one such intervention. The drench acts to remove any coccidia from the animal’s intestine. This relieves pressure on the animal's immune system and helps to build protection against further problems.
The parasite must be active in the animal for the full benefit of the product to be attained. Timing the drench is straightforward as, given the seasonal nature of farms, coccidiosis generally rears its head at the same point each year.
The advice is to use Dycoxan one week in advance of expected symptoms, based on farm history, across full groups.
If a clinical coccidiosis case occurs in a group, quickly treat the affected animal, and all of the other group members with Dycoxan. Note, the infected animal may need rehydration support therapy (e.g. electrolytes) also.
Do not spot-treat clinically affected animals with Dycoxan – it is licensed as a preventative, group-wide treatment.
There is currently no ‘cure’ for the damage coccidiosis does to the intestine of animals and so prevention, as in general, is better than cure.
Watch the video below and check out these other articles
How soon can animals get coccidiosis?
Coccidiosis effects on dairy heifers
The most important weapon in the fight against coccidiosis is the animal’s immune system. We need to do everything we can to stop it being overwhelmed or coming under a sustained period of pressure - either in early life when it is naïve or later in life during a stress period.
An overwhelmed immune system will lead to coccidiosis symptoms, which are very obvious to the farmer when they occur.
A pressurized immune system is not obvious to the naked eye, as our animal may not display any symptoms. However, a pressurized immune system drains energy away from maintenance and growth – reducing animal performance.
In sheep and cattle, a high burden of coccidia can reduce growth rates by 19% across full groups, while only 4% of animals in the group will display clinical symptoms.
What can we do?
We know that exposure to coccidia is inevitable at some point in the animal’s life. In early-life we need to maintain as clean an environment as possible for the lamb or calf to keep coccidia burdens low and allow immunity to develop. Avoiding stressors where possible also tips the scales in favour of the immune system.
On many farms there will come a point when environmental management does not suffice to dilute coccidia burdens and/or prevent coccidiosis and medicinal interventions are needed.
Dycoxan
Dycoxan is one such intervention. The drench acts to remove any coccidia from the animal’s intestine. This relieves pressure on the animal's immune system and helps to build protection against further problems.
The parasite must be active in the animal for the full benefit of the product to be attained. Timing the drench is straightforward as, given the seasonal nature of farms, coccidiosis generally rears its head at the same point each year.
The advice is to use Dycoxan one week in advance of expected symptoms, based on farm history, across full groups.
If a clinical coccidiosis case occurs in a group, quickly treat the affected animal, and all of the other group members with Dycoxan. Note, the infected animal may need rehydration support therapy (e.g. electrolytes) also.
Do not spot-treat clinically affected animals with Dycoxan – it is licensed as a preventative, group-wide treatment.
There is currently no ‘cure’ for the damage coccidiosis does to the intestine of animals and so prevention, as in general, is better than cure.
Watch the video below and check out these other articles
How soon can animals get coccidiosis?
Coccidiosis effects on dairy heifers