Download Poultry Disease Glossary

Poultry Disease Glossary ....
There have been many posts and questions on sickness identification. Here is a short
list of some of the most common diseases. The definitions are not all inclusive, so
don't take them as complete descriptions. Please post questions of sick chickens in a
different thread so we don't clutter this Sticky. Hope this is informative
(If you want something added, please send me a PM. Thanks)
Chronic Respiratory Disease: This infectious, contagious disease is not usually
fatal, but it can affect egg production and make your chickens generally unhappy. It
is characterized by sneezing, sniffling, and nasal discharge. It can be treated with
antibiotics.
Marek's Disease: This causes paralysis, usually in young birds. Most hatcheries
vaccinate for this before they ship day-old chicks to you. There is no treatment for
this disease.
Newcastle disease: This common and dangerous viral respiratory infection causes
sneezing, coughing, and often paralysis. There is no treatment for this once a bird
has it, although a vaccine does exist. It can appear as a mild case that is not lifethreatening.
Infectious Bronchitis: This is also a respiratory infection causing sneezing and
coughing. It can affect the reproductive organs of young birds and lowers egg
production in layers. There is no treatment, although a vaccine exists for it.
Infectious Coryza: This results in watery eyes, foul-smelling nasal discharge, and
swollen face and wattles. It can be treated with antibiotics.
Fowl Pox: Fowl Pox is a viral disease that causes wart-like eruptions on the
chicken's skin and in it's mouth. It is spread by mosquitoes as well as direct and
indirect contact with infected birds. Vaccination is the only prevention, and there is
no treatment.
Bumblefoot: Bumblefoot is a staph infection of a wound in the pad of a chicken's
foot that causes swelling and an abscess. You prevent it by making sure there are no
splinters in your roosts and plenty of litter to cushion the feet. Treat it by washing
the foot and leg well, lancing and draining the abscess, rinsing with hydrogen
peroxide, applying bacitracin ointment, and then wrapping the foot with a bandage.
Parasites ........
Parasites, which can be either internal or external, and sound much worse than they
are. They can be treated with the correct medication and conservatively.
Internal Parasites: Protozoa and worms are the most common kinds of internal
parasites. Coccidiosis is a common protozoa that takes up lodging in the intestines of
a chicken. It almost exclusively affects young chicks. Worms are a different kind of
unpleasantness that adult chickens can pick up just by eating bugs and grass in the
yard. Chickens that have too many tapeworms or other kinds of worms in their gut
may eat less, lay less, and begin to look miserable. Although the likelihood of a
worm problem is small, a vet can diagnose a problem with a fecal sample and
recommend treatment.
External Parasites: External Parasites means mites and lice. Your birds are most
likely to acquire them from adult birds brought in from someone else's coop. It is
also possible for rats and wild birds to introduce them to your flock. You should
occasionally keep an eye out for tiny crawling things on your bird, particularly in the
fluff feathers and around the vent, and take a closer look if a bird appears listless or
is eating or laying less and has a pale comb.
Lice live on your bird for life. They eat the feathers and dead skin and scabs of your
chicken and lay eggs at the base of the feathers that hatch in 2-7 weeks. Lice are
more nuisance than danger, but a serious infestation can cause the chicken to itch
violently and pull out her own feathers, and may cause her to eat less and therefore
lay fewer eggs.
Mites do not settle for feathers and dead skin. They literally suck the blood from the
birds and can cause weight loss and a drop in egg production. Some live in the
cracks and crevices of the coop and only climb onto the birds at night to latch on.
The scaly leg mite burrows under the skin on the legs and feet of the chicken to feed
there, and a buildup of detritus pushes the scales up and makes it painful eventually
for the chicken to walk. The general treatment is to smother the mites by covering
the legs with petroleum jelly or dipping them (daily or weekly to get rid of a problem
and occasionally for prevention) in vegetable or linseed oil. Often the oil is mixed
with up to one-third kerosene. Since the mites craw on the roosts to get to the
chicken, painting the roost with the oil-kerosene mixture can help. Dust bathing is
the best way the chicken has to control mites and lice herself.
Periodic dusting with poisons and powders designated for mites and lice of your
chickens is a good preventative ......
__________________
Ron
What the hen said when she saw the scrambled eggs ...... My kids are all mixed up
!!!