Parasites are living organisms that attach themselves to chickens and rely on your chicken for survival. The parasites can be either internal or external.
Good management of parasites should be of significant concern to a farmer because of the economic loss they can cause.
For range chickens, deworming can be a bi-monthly occurrence because the chicken can pick worms from many sources
Parasite | symptoms |
---|---|
Tapeworms | |
Perosis | |
Erysipelas | |
Chiggers, red bugs | |
Air Sac Disease | |
Ascarids (Large Intestinal Roundworms) | |
gape worms | • open-mouth breathing • grunting sound • difficulty breathing |
Omphalitis navel illness, mushy chick disease | • 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 |
Pullorum Disease | • Chicks utter squeaky chirps • appear drowsy • ruffled feathers. • Vent smeared with faecal discharges. • no external symptoms are seen in adult birds. |
Coccidiosis | • Droopy wings • inactive • ruffled feathers • pale beaks and shanks • bloody diarrhoea • weight loss. |
Salmoneliosis | |
Twisted legsPerosis disease | swollen, twisted, broken, or bowed legs, or loss of color in feathers, the comb, or the roof of the mouth. |
Twisting Neck | • bird has difficulty balancing while standing because the neck twists, • bird tries to balance by permanently looking upwards. |
Ulcerative Enteritis (Quail disease) | |
Blackhead Disease(histomoniasis) | listless drooping wings unkempt feathers yellow droppings. inflammation and ulcers in the cecum and liver |
Cannibalism | chicken pecking each other |
CAPILLARIA (CAPILLARY OR THREAD WORMS) | severe inflammation of intestines haemorrhage Erosion of the intestinal lining |
HistomoniasisHistomoniasis | |
Infectious Bursal Disease (Gumboro) | Gumboro has no symptoms of its own. But infections leaves the chick's immune system dented and thus it susceptible to many other infections. |
Infectious Synovitis | • swollen, red, and warm hock joints. • limping and difficult painful in walking. |
Necrotic Enteritis | • Swollen stomach • droopiness • (postmotem: rotten intestines, foul smelling water in cavity) |
Read: Common Chicken diseases