Bird breeders often face the fact that chickens begin to hurt for no apparent reason. But illnesses arise for a reason, and often appear elementary due to improper care, unbalanced nutrition and other factors. To prevent birds from suffering, it is important to know in advance what diseases they suffer.
The state of chickens during the illness, the main symptoms
Almost all infectious diseases of chickens that are caused by bacteria or protozoa are treated with one method - slaughter. Only salmonellosis can be treated. However, there are a large number of diseases that affect birds. The main signs of a chicken that has become ill with any disease are a drooping head, a hunched back, hanging wings and a desire to leave as far as possible from relatives. The physical condition of the chicken is determined by the color of the comb:
- With a blue tint. The chicken feels imminent death. In this case, the chicken needs help before she dies.
- Light pink. Signals a circulatory disturbance and a serious disease of the animal.
- Red. It indicates the normal blood circulation of the bird.
In many cases, sick chickens can be used for consumption, but many poultry farmers prefer to give birds to eat for dogs.
There are some infectious diseases of chickens that are dangerous to humans:
- salmonellosis;
- tuberculosis;
- listeriosis;
- pasteurellosis;
- leptospirosis.
When leptospirosis is manifested, it is necessary to separate the chicken from the main livestock and conduct a course of treatment with furazlidone (add to water) and streptomycin (mix with food) for 20 days.
Bacterial diseases: symptoms
Breeding requires knowledge of infectious diseases and symptoms in birds. This will allow you to quickly solve the problem and not cause harm not only to other animals, but also to yourself.
Common bacterial diseases:
- Listeriosis. The disease occurs due to a microorganism - gram-positive motile bacillus. Often, the disease is manifested by redness of the eyes (conjunctivitis). Also, during the period of the disease, chickens suffer convulsions, ending with paresis of the limbs, paralysis and death. Diagnosis is only possible in the laboratory.
- Tuberculosis. Most often, chickens suffer from chronic tuberculosis when symptoms are implicitly expressed. The farmer can observe that the chicken has become exhausted and lethargic, and the laying hens suffer from a drop in egg production. With such a disease, diarrhea and yellowness of the mucous membranes are possible. It is extremely rare that the disease is accompanied by lameness and tumor formations on the soles of the paws.
- Salmonellosis. The disease, accompanied by profuse foamy droppings with a liquid consistency, apathy, thirst, lack of appetite. Also in chickens the joints of the limbs begin to swell. Chickens are the most confirmed disease. They are infected with infected chickens or food (inert flour, for example) containing salmonella. In adults, usually the disease is not acute, they are carriers of infection.
- Pasteurellosis. He has five forms of the course of the disease, when various symptoms appear. The super-sharp form is accompanied by a normal appearance, but the sudden death of a bird.
The acute course of the disease is signaled by a blue crest and earrings. Hens become aggressive, their pectoral muscles atrophy, foam comes from the beak. The disease is often accompanied by severe thirst.
The acute course of the disease leads to the death of the bird after a few days. With a subacute and chronic form, similar symptoms appear: the chickens are exhausted, lethargic, their earrings become inflamed with the appearance of abscesses. In the subacute course of the disease, chickens die in 5-7 days. The chronic form of the disease is manifested by rhinitis, discharge on the conjunctivitis and from the nasal openings, inflammation of the intermaxillary space. - Leptospirosis. The disease leads to damage to the liver of the animal, which is manifested by yellowness of the skin and mucous membranes. There is also a weak bowel function, fever, decreased egg production.
If any disease manifests itself, you should not try to treat the chicken, it is easier to send it to the face to protect yourself from serious consequences.
Danger to chickens and safety for humans
Infectious diseases exist that are not harmful to humans. Consider them below.
Egg Drop Syndrome-76
SSJ-76 is a viral disease. The disease affects the genitals of laying hens. Due to the ailment, not only egg production decreases, but also the shape of the eggs and their quality change, the shell becomes soft or completely absent.
At risk are hens aged 25-35 weeks, especially those carrying brown eggs and breeding individuals.
The disease has no characteristic signs. Some poultry farmers note that chickens have ruffled plumage, prostration, and diarrhea. In the later stages of the disease, the crest and earrings may turn blue, but this does not apply to all birds. Within 20 days, chickens lay deformed eggs, while egg production is reduced by 30%. Cellular chickens can restore productivity. There is no treatment for the disease. For prevention, hens are vaccinated at the age of 5 months.
Emeriosis (coccidiosis)
It is a parasitic infection caused by simple microorganisms. Most susceptible to the disease are small birds, which are no more than 2-8 weeks old. Therefore, it is not surprising when two-month-old chickens begin to die. The incubation period lasts 3-5 days.
In birds, an acute course of the disease is observed, manifested by such symptoms: thirst, depression, a sharp decrease in appetite with refusal to feed. Chickens are most often kept in a crowd in an attempt to warm themselves, while their wings are down and feathers are tousled. After clinical signs, death occurs in 2-4 days.
At the first signs of the disease, the entire population is treated with coccidiostatics, which are divided into two groups: preventing the development of immunity to eimeriosis; allowing you to develop immunity. Often, infection occurs through water and feed contaminated with oocytes. For prevention, observe the veterinary-hygienic rules for keeping chickens. Bird droppings must not be allowed to enter the water or feed. It is necessary to keep animals in cages that are easily disinfected.
Newcastle disease
A virus that is fairly stable in the environment, and also able to penetrate in utero into the chicken egg and survive in the egg during the incubation period. Therefore, already sick chickens may be born.
The disease has three types of the course of the disease, as well as a typical and atypical form. With an over-acute course of the disease, the entire chicken coop is damaged within a few days. The virus becomes the cause of damage to the nervous system of birds, because the disease is accompanied by shortness of breath, severe irritability, paralysis of the limbs. This leads to the fact that in birds twists the neck, and coordination of movements is also disturbed.
Nerve Signs of Newcastle Disease
In Newcastle disease, the bird’s neck bends, coordination is impaired
Semi-paralysis of the neck, wings, legs is noted
In a typical form of the acute course of the disease, chickens often suffer from diarrhea or die from suffocation. The atypical form of the disease often proceeds without characteristic clinical signs, affecting mainly young chickens. The main preventive measure is compliance with sanitary standards.
Leukemia
A disease caused by oncoviruses and often knocking down hens that are older than 16 weeks. The disease is accompanied by a decrease in egg production, exhaustion, anemic scallop, diarrhea. Tumors can form in chickens, often in the chest, in and under the skin.
The disease is not treated. Suspicious chickens are isolated or sent to slaughter. For prophylactic measures, young growth and an incubation egg are recommended to be taken from farms that are successful in leukemia.
Marek's disease
The disease is called neuritis, infectious neurogranulomatosis, paralysis of birds. The causative agent of a viral disease is one of the forms of herpes. The virus is stable in the external environment, but it is extremely sensitive to conventional disinfectants: chlorine, phenol, formaldehyde, alkalis, lysol. The incubation period of the disease can last about 5 months.
In the acute form of the disease, chickens are depleted, lethargic, their egg production decreases. Birds suffer from abnormal position of the body, head, limbs. In 46% of cases, sick birds die.
In the classic form of the disease, birds encounter damage to the nervous system: paralysis, lameness, paresis occur, the eyes turn gray, and the shape of the pupil resembles a pear or a star. There is no treatment for the disease.
The main preventive measure is vaccination of livestock with live vaccines. A vaccine is used from strains of the virus of this disease and strains of turkey herpes virus. Also, as a preventive measure, the egg during the incubation period is imported only from farms that have positive recommendations. It is important to strictly comply with hygiene requirements in poultry houses.
Paw paralysis in Marek's disease
Invasive diseases
Invasive diseases are caused by parasites. Diseases develop well in conditions where many chickens are located on a small area. Invasive diseases include the following:
- Knemidocotosis (scabies mite). Often parasitizes in chickens under the scales on the legs, causing tumors. Often he appears in the follicles of the pen, which leads the chicken to an aggressive state - it begins to itch and tear out its feathers. Acaricidal drugs will help cope with the parasite.
- The eater. With a disease, the bird develops a severe itch on the body, therefore, it tries to get rid of it in every possible way by tearing its feathers out. If the chicken pecks itself, it is worth checking to see if it is infected with a cannibal. This is a large insect that can be seen with the naked eye, and sometimes feel its movement on the hand. Like any cutaneous parasite, you can get rid of this pest by any means for animals designed to get rid of fleas and ticks.
- Helminthiasis. A disease caused by the settlement of worms in the body of birds. It can be treated with anthelmintic drugs. For prophylaxis, deworming is performed every 4 months.
In addition to the above diseases, there are many others. A general fact stands out: they did not deal with the development of treatment for infectious diseases. In addition, most diseases exhibit similar symptoms and it is difficult for an ordinary farmer to determine the disease without laboratory tests.
Avian influenza: is it dangerous for humans ?!
Avian influenza is a viral disease. There is no point in treating the bird; the disease takes the form of an epizootic, which can only be stopped by slaughter. There are several currents of the disease of varying severity:
- With a severe form of the disease, the chicken's body temperature rises to 44 degrees, and before death it drops to 30 degrees. Outflows manifest from the nose, mucous membranes become edematous. The crest and earrings also turn blue. Hens stop moving actively, quickly fall into a state of coma. They die 1-3 days after the onset of clinical signs.
- The average severity of the disease lasts for a week. Hens become weak, depressed, their breathing is more superficial. Mucus flows from the beak and nose. Birds suffer from diarrhea, which has a characteristic yellow-green hue.
- With a mild and moderate course of the disease, up to 20% of the birds die. To prevent the disease, chickens are vaccinated and quarantined rooms where there are sick animals.
Sick chicken keeps apart, she looks depressed and weakened
Often there is cyanosis of the crest and catkins
As a rule, mucous discharge from the nose and mouth is present.
Only bird flu with the antigenic formula is dangerous to humansH5n1that has adapted to the person. Without examination, it is impossible to determine which strain of the virus was in sick chickens, therefore, with mass death of poultry, experts recommend that all chickens be destroyed and quarantined so that infection of other animals does not occur. You should also review the conditions of poultry, because the cause of the emergence and spread of influenza is poor housekeeping.
Winter diseases: how do chickens get sick?
In winter, a large number of birds in the territory of a small chicken coop become a cause of disease. Lack of trace elements and vitamins can also lead to bird diseases.
In winter, birds are most susceptible to eimeriosis - a disease caused by a large concentration of chickens in a small space. When a farmer noticed that egg production decreased, then this is most likely the reason for the reduction of daylight hours in winter. When peeling eggs, when birds sometimes tear out feathers and peck the body to meat, this is stress or a lack of trace elements.
In a stressful situation caused by a lack of space, they organize birds walks in the aviary, driving them into the chicken coop only at night. The rest of the time, the chickens should be at large so that they have the right to choose whether to enter or exit the barn.
When chickens start to peck the body and eat eggs, feed chalk and feed sulfur are introduced into the daily diet. If the chicken had time to taste the taste of the egg, it is unlikely to be able to stop. If the addition of chalk and sulfur does not save the situation, the bird goes to slaughter.
As a preventive measure, it is recommended to walk the chickens more often and feed them in a balanced manner.
What infections can broilers suffer from?
The causes of infectious diseases in broiler chickens are most often such inconsistencies: improper temperature, poor diet. Enteritis can cause an infectious disease. Broilers can be affected by such diseases of an infectious nature:
- cuticulitis;
- dyspepsia;
- gastritis.
Often, diseases arise due to an unbalanced diet or feeding birds of poor quality feed. You can deal with such troubles in a simple way - transfer the birds to high-quality feed from a factory manufacturer. So it will be possible to eliminate the infection of home-made feed by pathogenic microorganisms.
Birds may encounter bronchopneumonia resulting from overcooling of chickens, provided that a secondary infection enters the respiratory tract. Antibiotics will help fight this problem. If the bird just froze, but did not have time to become infected with pathogenic microorganisms, you can just put it in a warm place.
What signs indicate hypothermia:
- trembling throughout the body;
- foamy discharge from the eyes;
- discharge from the nasal openings of the beak.
A simple cold will go away in a few days, the sick bird is transferred to a room with a temperature of about 40 degrees. If the chickens are frozen and try to be closer to each other, you need to increase the temperature in the room.
When overheating, the birds try to get as far away from the heat as possible, they become inactive, lie with their beaks buried in the floor. In this case, the temperature is reduced.
Often, chickens fall ill through the fault of their own owners, who do not comply with sanitary standards and neglect the optimal temperature regime. Before you start breeding chickens, you first need to learn about the diseases that you may encounter while running such a business.