Every year chicken farmers undergo huge losses due to diseases on the farm. Therefore disease management is a huge consideration for anyone wanting to run a viable chicken farming business. Being able to recognise and respond to a disease attack on the farm is vital to have effective control of the attack.
A sick bird will generally look lethargic and unhappy. But that is not enough to diagnose the disease. The table below helps you identify some common diseases and what you can do about them.
Fowl pox can come in two forms, wet or dry. dry form,
• unfeathered areas have wart-like lesions that heal in about two weeks. wet form
• lesions around the mouth
• discharge from your eyes.
Fowlpox can come in two forms, wet or dry. dry form,
• unfeathered areas have wart-like lesions that heal in about two weeks. wet form
• lesions around the mouth
• discharge from your eyes.
Provide footbath with disinfectantLimit visitors to the unit
Workers should move from young to old flock in the units.
Clean and disinfect the house and equipment at the end of each crop and rest it for
1 to 2 weeks
There is no treatment for fowl pox, but it will typically go away after a few weeks on its own. We suggest giving any sick chickens a little extra care to make sure they’re as comfortable as possible
• chicks unable to walk in a straight line.
• chick may suddenly shake, topple and fall on their sides
• putting their heads between their legs.
• chicks alert. appetite not affected. read more
• Dejection.
• Ruffled feathers.
• Loss of appetite.
• Diarrhoea.
• Coughing.
• Nasal, ocular and oral discharge.
• Swollen and cyanotic wattles and face.
• Sudden death.
• Swollen joints.
• Lameness. Read more
Birds with acute type should be destroyed and burned. House should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Treatment with recommended sulphur drugs is effective. Ensuring there is no wet litter is important, which provides ideal conditions for coccidian.
• ruffled feathers
• pale head
• drooping comb
• inappetence
• orange coloured diarrhoea Fowl Tick (Blue Bug)
Vaccinate the birds at 7 weeks of age. Destroy all dead birds by burning.Do not allow visitors to enter into the poultry unit without being disinfected
• Reduced egg production
• inappetence
• discharge from • the bird's eyes and nostrils
• laboured breathing. more on infectious brochitis
• How to Prevent: Like fowl pox, there are a few types of preventative vaccinations against infectious bronchitis, but it’s not a guarantee. Having a good biosecurity method in place, as well as adequate rodent control should help keep the disease to a minimum.How to Treat: Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done for bronchitis. You can give your birds antibiotics for a few days to make sure no other infections happen while they’re sick, but otherwise you just have to wait it out.
• How to Prevent: Like fowl pox, there are a few types of preventative vaccinations against infectious bronchitis, but it’s not a guarantee. Having a good biosecurity method in place, as well as adequate rodent control should help keep the disease to a minimum.
Chickens with lymphoid leukosis have few typical clinical signs. These may include:
• inappetence
• weakness
• diarrhea
• dehydration
• emaciation
• depressed before death
On postmotem
• enlarged bursa and liver
• tumors, read more
• Egg laying stops.
• misshapen eggs are produced with rough shells and sometimes bleached shells.
• In chicks, gasping coughing and sneezing
• Birds may be seen sitting on their back hock joints
• walking backwards or in circles
• putting the head between their legs
• inappetence
• droopy.
• breathing difficulties, nasal discharge, murky eyes
• paralysis in their legs and wings.Newcastle Disease
Vaccinate chicks at 3 to 4 weeks of age. Repeat at 16 weeks of age and at the 24th week. Thereafter vaccinate when there is an outbreak in the area.Since the disease is carried by wild birds, keeping your flock vaccinated is very important. It’s also recommended to practice good sanitation since a person can infect other birds via clothing or shoes.Birds will typically recover from ND and not be carriers, but if your chicks develop the disease, they will likely not survive. As with other diseases, you can give your birds antibiotics for a few days to avoid any other bacterial infections.
• drowsy and droopy
• Down(feathers) “puffed up”
• stand near the heat source
• indifferent to feed or water.
• Diarrhoea sometimes occurs.
• poorly healed navels
• bluish colour of the abdominal muscles
• Chicks utter squeaky chirps
• appear drowsy
• ruffled feathers.
• Vent smeared with faecal discharges.
• no external symptoms are seen in adult birds.
Destroy all confirmed carriers of the disease.Clean and disinfect all the premises and incubatorsGet chicks from hatcheries with good disease control programme.
• Droopy wings
• inactive
• ruffled feathers
• pale beaks and shanks
• bloody diarrhoea
• weight loss.
Sulphur drugs, coccidiostat in feedSince there are six species of Eimeria (the coccidiosis parasite), your bird may become immune to one kind, but contract another. You can treat this with antibiotics or other specific types of medication that will get rid of the parasite.- Vaccination
- add coccidiostat in feed
- dry litter
- hygiene
listless
drooping wings
unkempt feathers
yellow droppings.
inflammation and ulcers in the cecum and liver
Botulism
• Flaccid paresis of legs, wings, necks and eyelids
• The paresis rapidly progresses to paralysis
• birds fall into a deep coma with neck and head typically extended forward.
also referred to as fowl paralysis,
• tumours
• irregularly shaped pupils
• blindness
• partial paralysis
Since this poultry disease is a form of avian cancer, there is unfortunately not much that can be done for infected chicks. It’s also contagious since it’s a virus and is transmitted when a chicken breathes in feather dander from another infected bird. If the bird survives, it will remain a carrier of the disease for life, so it’s best to remove it from the flock early.While this disease sounds scary, there are vaccines available. Newly hatched birds can be vaccinated for Marek’s disease to help reduce the likelihood of infection.
No signs in chicken but in quil:
• respiratory distress, coughing, sneezing, rales
• nasal or ocular discharge
• Loose, watery droppings
• Conjunctivitis
Scratching
Ectoparasites such lice, fleas, mites and bedbugs.
too much scratching with feet and beaks.
making noise
Blackhead disease (histomoniasis) Blackhead disease (histomoniasis) is an important poultry disease that affects turkeys, chickens, and game birds such as partridges, pheasants, and quail. The disease is caused by the protozoa Histomonas meleagridis, tiny, single-celled organisms that are spread to the bird by the roundworm Heterakis gallinarum. Lifecycle…
Crazy chick (encephalomalacia) disease Crazy chick disease, also called Encephalomalacia disease. is a disease of the nervous system of young chickens caused by inadequate intake of vitamin E and marked by severe muscular incoordination, tremors, and encephalomalacia followed by paralysis and by renal congestion and…
Air sac disease Airsac disease also called airsacculitis is the inflammation of the air sacs in chicken. Symptoms of Airsac Disease This disease first appears in the form of poor laying and a weak chicken. As it progresses, you will notice watery eyes coughing, sneezing,…
Nervous conditions in poultry WHAT ARE NERVOUS CONDITIONS? Nervous signs occur when the brain, spinal cord or specific nerves are affected. Different organisms or poor feed can cause nervous signs in chickens. The most frequent nervous signs seen, are: Chickens lying down because they…
Ulcerative Enteritis (Quail disease) What is Ulcerative enteritis? Ulcerative enteritis is an acute or chronic infection of chickens game birds, turkeys and other domestic fowl. Death losses may be high for young quail or pullets being raised for egg production. What Cause Ulcerative enteritis…
Erysipelas Disease Erysipelas is a bacterial disease caused by Erysipelothrix insidiosa. The disease affects several species of birds including chickens, ducks and geese, but the fowl in which it has been of primary importance is the turkey. Man is susceptible to infection…
