Every living thing be it human or animal weather domestic or wild ones at sometimes fell ill and needs treatment from such disease. Some illness might be from birth (that is when an egg is hatched with one defect or the other). Some diseases are treatable while some are managed while the chickens keeps growing. Some the common diseases are: tapeworms, coryza infection, Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, infection bursal disease (Gumboro), fowl typhoid, mycoplasmosis (CRD, Air sac, Sinutitis).
Coryza infection: This is a severe respiratory disease caused by Haemophilus paragallinarum which affects and can be quick. It is common in layers and broilers. It can be contacted through air, nose discharges in water, or contact with the infected bird or chicken.
The symptoms could be difficulty in breathing, moisture under the wings, swelling of comb, wattle and eyes, sneezing, stringy discharge from the nose and eyes which could result in closed eyes and reduced feed consumption or total stop from feeding or death.
The following can be used in treatment of coryza disease; antibiotics and sulpha drugs. Oxytetracycline, enrofloxacin, trimethoprim and sulpha drugs can be combined.
Once this disease is noticed around your farm, chickens that has not come in contact with the ones that is infected should be protected at all cost and a preventive medication be administered immediately.
Newcastle disease: Is a viral disease caused by paramyxoviruses and are of different types. They can be transmitted through air, feed, water and carrier birds.
Symptoms includes weakness, greenish diarrhea, constant lying down, swelling of the face and sudden death while in layers shell-less eggs might be noticed. However the mortality rate is low.
There’s no treatment but can be prevented through proper vaccination and good level of farm hygiene maintenance and biosecurity measures.
Coccidiosis: This disease or infection called coccidiosis or cocci in poultry is capable of killing a large number of affected birds in matter of hours if not noticed on time and for this reason a farmer needs to pay much attention to the birds and know what to look out for. This disease infects the intestine of poultry birds and other animals and damages them within 4-7days and can be transmitted through contaminated feed, soil, dust and water. Once a bird is infected, the probability that every other birds in the same pen house as the infected one is very high.
Signs and symptoms includes blood droplets, loss of appetite and weight loss, ruffled feathers, pale wattles and combs, huddle together with closed eyes, weakness and reluctance to move.
Best way to control this disease is maintaining high level of hygiene and sanitation, and also early detection and treatment with anti coccidial vaccines and drugs like prococ, amprocox, coxstop, coccicare and sulpha drugs will help reduce or stop the mortality rate.
Infection bursal disease (Gumboro): This a deadly disease infectious disease that affects young chickens, turkeys and ducks which is caused by the Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV)
Symptoms include trembling, ruffled feathers, poor appetite, dehydration, huddling, vent pecking and depression
Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for gumboro disease but it can be prevent through administration of gumboro vaccine followed by vitamins and supplement a day after the vaccine administration.
Fowl typhoid: fowl Typhoid is a disease is caused by salmonella gallinarium. It can be transmitted through body contact, contact with the droppings of an infected bird, feed and contaminated water. Can also be spread to chicks when the egg came from infected birds.
Symptoms include weakness, poor appetite and stunted growth, chalky white droppings and they may make chirping and peeping sounds.
Good thing about fowl typhoid is that it can be controlled. Administration of drugs that contains amoxicillin can be used to cub the effect of the disease in poultry animal.
Mycoplasmosis (CRD, Air sac, Sinutitis): This kind of disease is airborne and it affects the chicken’s respiratory tracts. It can be contacted while hatching the egg, coming in contact with already infected birds or through inhaling of contaminated droplets from carrier birds.
The signs can be abnormal respiratory sounds, sneezing, coughing which will also affect their feeding and results in weight loss/egg production.
This disease/infection can be treated with a good number of antibiotics like; oxytetracycline, tylosin, erythromycin, streptomycine, enrofloxacin, etc.
Fowl Cholera: This highly contagious bacterial disease is also known as Avian Pasteurellosis caused by Pasteurella multocida and can be contacted through contaminated food/water.
The symptoms can come inform of yellowish or greenish diarrhea, difficulty in breathing, swollen joint, purple comb and wattle, ruffled feathers and loss of appetite
This can be treated with penicillin, streptomycin, enthromycin, tetrcyclines and sulphonamides. This disease hardly stops as they return most times when the drugs are withdrawn.
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