Effect of feed additive antibiotics on chickens infected with Eimeria tenella.

Six experiments were carried out to study the effect of feed additive antibiotics on body weight, mortality and oocyst production in chickens infected with coccidiostat-susceptible or -resistant strain of E. tenella. Levels of antibiotic and coccidiostat in fed (mg./kg.) were: thiopeptin, 2; zinc bacitracin, 20; penicillin, 12; chlortetracycline, 22; amprolium plus ethopabate, 125 plus 8; clopidol, 125. All experiments included 7 groups; 2 of these groups were uninfected and infected controls, and the 5 remaining groups were all infected and given diet containing antibiotic, amprolium plus ethopabate, antibiotic and amprolium plus ethopabate, clopidol, or antibiotic and clopidol. Chickens in each group were fed respective diet beginning one day prior to coccidia exposure. In two experiments, infection with a coccidiostat-susceptible strain resulted in severe clinical coccidiosis in chickens on the basal ration and on thiopeptin-diet, but dietary thiopeptin prompted recovery of body weight. In one experiment where chickens were infected with a strain resistant to amprolium plus ethopabate and clopidol, birds on dietary thiopeptin attained higher body weight than birds on the basal ration. In three experiments when a strain resistant to amprolium plus ethopabate was inoculated, birds given the basal ration, bacitracin, penicillin, chlortetracycline, or amprolium plus ethopabate diet developed cecal coccidiosis. Chickens on ration containing antibiotic alone attained higher body weight than chickens on the basal ration. Combination of antibiotic and amprolium plus ethopabate resulted in higher weight attained than amprolium plus ethopabate alone. Clopidol suppressed development of coccidiosis, and the combination of antibiotic and clopidol resulted in higher gains than in clopidol alone.