Have you ever had one of those times when you are walking along, pretty confident. Things are going your way. Maybe you even have a bit of a swagger or a skip in your step and then something comes out of nowhere and hits you right behind the knees. Your down, the wind knocked out of you and until you are able to suck in that first breath of air, you think you’re done for. We’ve all been there.Well, last Spring, that was me on my homestead(metaphorically speaking) on the ground, in the mud, trying to catch that breath. No, I didn’t have my homesteading dog yet, so she hadn’t knocked me down. It was a silent killer that had crept on to my homestead, while I was sleeping, and done it’s work. I would learn later that the killer had a name; it was COCCIDIOSIS!I woke up one morning last Spring, just as the weather turned wet and humid and warm. It was like walking out into a dogs mouth, yuck! I had my rabbits in a large ground pen so they would have room to dig, run and jump. To my surprise, there was my favorite rabbit laying there dead with her babies gathered around her. I was blindsided with no idea what had happened. No wound, no blood, no sign of predator entry.
I had named her Lucky Silver Dollar because she won best of show right after I had picked her out and purchased her
Wait for it, because it gets worse; over the course of the week her babies dropped one by one. Hold on, it gets worse; some of the wee babies were visibly suffering so I had to put on my big girl pants and put them out of their misery. Here is where the Lord stepped in and kissed me on the cheek. I say this because my son, I call ” The Quiet One”, John, who really isn’t into this homesteading thang, came beside me and helped me. He loves me with his whole heart. It isn’t every teenager that will wade in beside you into the mud and the mire, the ugly side of life. I am so thankful for him.
It was a HARD time on the homestead. I can easily say it was the hardest thing I have ever experienced on my little farm. It wasn’t too long after that when I had some chicken losses. It was like a heavy dark cloud hung over us for a time. I didn’t even write about it because I wanted to get some answers before I included everyone.
Well in the weird warm weather of this Fall/Winter we have had a reoccurrence of this deadly parasite on our homestead. We sadly said goodbye to our rooster Bo this week. We are wiser now and know the enemy coccidiosis inside out. I think the losses will stop there.
We made a video about this parasite so that you will not be blindsided, like we were, that warm Spring morning. Watch and get to know what I think is the #1 enemy of urban homesteading in the South.
If you have any questions please scroll down and leave them in the comments. Or if you have had experience with this parasite on your homestead and want to share your experience it would be welcomed.
This post was shared on The Simple Homestead Blog Hop
I’m so sorry, Dash. I’ve lost baby goats to this nasty thing and it is horrible. Your son is a blessing to help you through that.
Hi Kathi, Oh dear, I am hoping to get some goats in the near future. I will have to get with you on how to best protect them.
Merry Christmas!
We had coccidiosis at the 4-H barns. It spread from kid goats to chickens, but we immediately gave the powders into the drinking water and saved them all. Previous experiences had lost animals. I write urgently because rats are a definite vector. We had rats there and.they had it. That’s why it spread to all animals and didn’t stay with one group.. It is vector borne disease. You can stop it hopefully before it starts by removing the vector. I don’t know what other animals spread it, but good detective work on your and everyone’s part can hopefully prevent the next time, and if not, you,I and your readers will know how to treat and save animals. I am grieving your loss. Thank you for helping us all by sharing this important information.
Thank you for sharing this! What a tragic thing in a 4H barn because that means kiddos are involved! Very interesting about the rats spreading the disease. We do have a huge rat population in our city because their natural predators have been eliminated. I have found a very good trap now and set it up nightly as a farm chore. I try not to miss a night, not even Christmas! Thanks again for adding your experience. Blessings, Dash
Just wanted to say, the older rats let the younger rats eat first and if the young ones die in the traps, the old ones won’t touch your traps. If you feed the traps for 2 weeks and make sure the trap is screwed to a board and tied down, so it doesn’t disappear, then feed every day, set, it once every 2 weeks so that you eliminate the trap wariness problem. Secondly, and for the squeamish, don’t read on!!! , A snap trap turned upside down and just inside where the spring loaded trap bar hits the wood and the u-shaped spring bar can close; pound in the nails or tacks to make teeth, pointing up about a half inch high, spaced well apart onside the trap bar.., THEN screw it down.to the board The trap won’t walk away, leaving a rat to suffer and die slowly. However, one must be willing to have compassion and dispatch a suffering rat who still lives. I hate doing this, but I don’t want us or the livestock to get sick from Leptospirosis or Coccidiosis For those who think poison is sweeter: The neighbor’s poison killed hawk and it’s mate was alone and still is! 🙁 I set a trap line and kill the neighbors’ rats and am willing to do this to save the hawks and owls. Wel have the hawk and 2 owls now,as my helpers
I meant inside the u-shaped trap bar, pound the nails.
You are serious about staying on top of the rats! We would get along great I think. You are right they are disease carriers and must be dealt with. I didn’t have much luck with the snap traps so I live trap now. They don’t remain that way long though. I feel the same about poison! Hate it. Wish people wouldn’t use it. We have seen dying hawks and had a sweet family of screech owls all taken out by poison.
Sad story; at the community garden we weren’t having any luck with snap traps so, they were trapping live and then shooting them with a bb gun. The city(someone probably complained) said no bb gun shooting within city limits. So they would live trap and drown them(someone complained) so they are using poison now. I will give your method a try at the community garden. The city said we had to live trap and let them free! crazy world we live in! I was so upset about the poison being used, but gardeners were losing all their produce so I was voted down. Thanks for the detailed advice. Dash