Benefits of Incorporating a Coccidiostat in Creep Feed for Lambs and Kids

Spring has sprung in areas of Pennsylvania, which means many sheep and goat producers are raising kids and lambs to sell to the live markets to fulfill holiday demands. To get the best performance out of growing lambs and kids, it's imperative to provide good nutrition and a clean, warm, and well-ventilated environment. Just by focusing on these few items, we prevent or, at a minimum, reduce the incidences of disease in our flocks and herds. One of the diseases that has a significant economic impact on the performance of our lambs and kids is coccidiosis.

Coccidiosis is the parasitic infection of the intestines of our lambs and kids by the protozoa in the genus Eimeria. Species within the genus Eimeria are host-specific, meaning they only affect either sheep or goats. Like many other internal parasites in the small ruminant industry, it's nearly impossible to have a flock or herd that does not have coccidia present in some concentration.

There are two types of coccidiosis infections: clinical, which is more severe and can be physically observed, and subclinical, which shows no obvious signs of disease but has a larger economic impact on producers. Clinical signs of coccidia infections include diarrhea (can be bloody in lambs or black and watery with mucus in kids), lack of appetite, dehydration, weight loss, and death. Subclinical signs include slow weight gain and decreased feed efficiency. Those animals that had clinical infections when they were young may have irreparable damage to their intestinal lining and may be considered "poor doers" for the rest of their lives.

The life cycle of coccidia is complex. A host, usually a mature animal, will shed coccidia or oocysts in their feces. These oocysts that are passed in the feces are not sporulated, meaning that they lack the ability to reproduce and infect until the perfect environmental conditions are present. These unsporulated oocysts are extremely resilient and can remain viable within the environment, depending on the specific species, for months. This requires favorable conditions of a warm, moist environment protected from direct sunlight. When these conditions are met, the oocysts undergo sporulation and become infective. Once ingested by the animal, these infective oocysts undergo different growth stages within the small and large intestines. They also go through both asexual and sexual reproduction before releasing unsporulated oocysts into the environment.

Lambs and kids become infected when they ingest infective oocysts as early as a few days old. This occurs when they ingest contaminated fecal material. Depending on the Eimeria species, the lambs or kids can begin shedding oocysts as soon as two to three weeks after birth. There are two conditions that lead to severe clinical coccidiosis: massive ingestion of sporulated oocysts or a significant asexual multiplication in the host related to lowered resistance. Overcrowding, wet litter, muddy areas, etc., lead to higher environmental contamination and infection rates.

In addition, stressors such as heat/cold stress, weaning, under-feeding, other illnesses, transportation, bullying by other animals, or any other stressful period of time that can reduce immune function increase oocyst development in the intestinal tract.

A coccidiostat is a preventative drug used to disrupt the coccidian life cycle while it's in the intestinal tract of the goat or sheep. There are three products mainly used in the U.S. sheep and goat industry. Bovotec® (lasalocid) is an ionophore antibiotic, and the FDA has approved it to be fed to sheep in confinement (it is poisonous to non-ruminants like horses, pigs, and dogs). Deccox® (decoquinate) is a non-antibiotic coccidiostat, and the FDA has approved its use in non-lactating goats and sheep.  Rumensin® (monensin) is another ionophore, only FDA approved for confined goats (it is poisonous to other species like horses). Always read the product label before utilizing one of these products; by law, they may only be fed to species listed on their respective label. Consult your veterinarian for dosage and treatment options if you suspect you have coccidiosis in your herd or flock.

The different coccidiostats affect the coccidia at varying stages of their life cycle. Deccox prevents coccidia from growing. Bovatec eliminates the coccidia during their reproductive stage when they move from cell to cell in the intestines. Rumensin (monensin) disrupts the coccidia during multiple life cycle stages.

Regardless of what product you decide to use or what your veterinarian recommends, they all aid in reducing the number of coccidia that are put back into the environment. Reducing levels to a minimum allows the young lambs and kids to develop an immune response. If the environment is saturated with coccidia, then the developing immune system of the lambs or kids becomes overwhelmed and is unable to provide a strong immune response before clinical signs of disease appear.

For coccidiostats to be most effective, they need to be given at the correct dosage during the earlier stages of the coccidia life cycle. Most producers do not run fecal egg counts (FEC) on young stock unless they show clinical signs. Therefore, it is more realistic to provide a coccidiostat-containing product to a lamb or kid as early on in their lives as possible to guarantee correct timing. The more challenging aspect of providing a coccidiostat is making sure that the lambs or kids are consuming the correct dosage of the feed or mineral to which they have access.

Choosing to provide a creep feed containing a coccidiostat can be more manageable for most producers. This is because it's possible to monitor the consumption of a group of lambs or kids as they grow from a week old to weaning. Producers should track how long it takes for a group to consume a specific amount of feed over a week's time and divide that amount by the number of animals in a group to compare to the consumption requirements on the feed label. It's important to note, however, that creep feeders should be kept clean and not be overcrowded. Feeders contaminated with fecal material can increase the ingestion of oocysts. Overcrowding can lead to more dominant animals pushing out weaker ones. These weaker lambs or kids are likely those that would benefit the most from creep feed.

Another benefit to using an ionophore-type coccidiostat is that it increases feed efficiency and nutrient absorption. Thus, incorporating a coccidiostat into the feed can increase lamb and kid performance.

Resources:

Chartier, Christophe, and Carine Paraud. "Coccidiosis due to Eimeria in Sheep and Goats, a Review." Small Ruminant Research, vol. 103, no. 1, 1 Mar. 2012, pp. 84–92, doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2011.10.022.

Schoenian, Susan. "Coccidiosis | Maryland Small Ruminant Page." Mdsmallruminant, 1 Feb. 2018.

This article was first published in Lancaster Farming