Prevalence of Eimeria species in scavenging native chickens of Shiraz, Iran

The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Eimeria species in native chickens reared under semi-scavenging system and were allowed to scavenge in the yard, in crop fields near water reservoirs. We studied 200 scavenging native chickens in villages around Shiraz City in Southwest Iran. These chickens had no history of vaccination against coccidiosis and had never been given coccidiostat drugs. The chickens were submitted for post-mortem and parasitological examinations. All the villages had chickens that were positive for different Eimeria spp. From a total of 200 native chickens examined, 128 (64%) were infected with coccidiosis. Eimeria tenella was the most prevalent species (24%) followed by Eimeria acervulina (18%), Eimeria necatrix (12%), and Eimeria maxima (10%). Prevalences varied by management and did not vary by flock size.