Poultry Wise

01/12/2023

08/11/2023

Fowl pox is caused by a pox virus and mostly affects chickens. There is also a pigeon pox virus and a turkey pox virus. There are three possible ways in which the virus can be spread: Commonly, the virus is shed from fowl pox wounds on affected birds and enters its next victim through skin wounds.

08/11/2023

Poultry
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-to-Table Poultry
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07/11/2023

𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐌𝐤𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚 𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 50 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬.
𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐫𝐨, 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐰, 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨,𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐢
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞
3𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐬𝐡 59
1 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐬𝐡109
2𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐬𝐡159
3𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐬𝐡210
4𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐬𝐡250

02/11/2023

Mycoplasma is a very challenging disease for backyard poultry owners and people who have breeding flocks because the only way to eliminate it with 100% certainty is via 1. culling or 2. testing and culling of breeding hens. Many responsible poultry owners get a diagnosis and then are confused on what they “should do.” This is in part due to the reality that Mycoplasma is considered somewhat ubiquitous in backyard flocks.

Hence, if you test your birds and they come back positive can you assume that all backyard poultry are already positive and therefore you are “OK going to a poultry show or selling your birds?” From my perspective, although you went the extra mile testing, you still have one more step which is to not take sick birds to shows and to communicate your results with others who may be potentially affected.

In general, infections from Mycoplasma cause significant acute and chronic respiratory disease (i.e. coughing, sneezing, sinus infections, ocular and nasal discharge) and “secondary” problems including swollen and infected joints in the hock and foot pad, skeletal deformities, weakness, poor laying and embryo mortalities.

While the clinical signs listed above are often seen in Mycoplasma positive poultry you can’t assume that if you see those signs that your birds have a Mycoplasma infection. This is because other infectious diseases have similar clinical signs in poultry include Infectious coryza, fowl cholera, Newcastle Disease, and Infectious Bronchitis.

In fact, the only way to know for sure what disease your birds may or may not have is via diagnostic testing. Diagnostic testing for Mycoplasma can be done while the birds are alive (i.e. ante-mortem testing) or once they are dead (i.e. post-mortem testing).

While infected birds can be treated with antibiotics by injection and/or in the feed, the treatment is not considered reliable in completely eliminating Mycoplasma but can be a potential option for an owner who does not want to cull infected carriers or flocks.

In addition, because the bacteria can be transmitted from the hen to the chick, if you have sick chicks you need to also test the breeding flock to confirm they are not infectious. In summary while Mycoplasma doesn’t kill a lot of birds, it is highly infectious and very common in backyard birds. Good biosecurity is a must if you hope to prevent it from affecting your flock.

02/11/2023

Coccidiosis or “avian intestinal coccidiosis” is the overgrowth of any species of the protozoal gastrointestinal parasite, coccidia. These single-celled organisms can thrive in your chickens’ guts, causing diarrhea, anemia, suboptimal growth, and even death. Though coccidiosis typically affects younger chickens due to the natural development of resistance against coccidia with age, it is possible for adults to be affected as well.

Also, if you have a mixed age flock, keep in mind that older birds who aren’t showing symptoms can still be shedding coccidia eggs in their f***s, infecting the younger chicks Birds become infected if they ingest coccidia eggs from their environment. These eggs are shed in the f***s and can remain viable for months in the environment, including in soil, litter, and feed.

Luckily, prevention of coccidiosis is fairly straightforward. The two pillars of coccidia prevention are:

Reduce the amount of coccidia in the coop environment: Big picture: Focus on preventing water spillage as the combination of water spillage and chicken f***s will create the perfect environment for coccidia which can persist and flourish between your chickens and a suitable environment. Management (aka keeping the soil relatively dry) of the poultry environment (especially the soil around where birds congregate is also important in reducing coccidia loads.
Use a medicated chick feed like Manna Pro's Chick Starter Grower Medicated Crumbles which reduce the number of harmful protozoa in their gastrointestinal tracts while they develop their natural resistance. If you have reservations about buying medicated chicken feed because of concerns about it containing antibiotics, remember that coccidiostats are not antibiotics and are not a concern with respect to human health. If you still have concerns you can accomplish the same results by focusing on good husbandry as described above.
Coccidia can be diagnosed by your veterinarian. Though f***l samples are a quick way to diagnose coccidia, false negatives are relatively common due to the intermittent shedding of eggs in f***s. Therefore, some veterinarians may suggest performing necropsies or multiple f***l samples to definitively diagnose coccidia. Once diagnosed, your veterinarian can prescribe medication to treat your flock.

02/11/2023

Marek’s Disease is a highly contagious (spreadable) viral disease of poultry, especially chickens. Marek’s Disease is known to cause tumors which can lead to paralaysis (among other clinical signs) and death. While there is no treatment, vaccination represents an excellent example of disease control. While Marek’s disease is typically considered a disease of young chickens (clinical signs typically appear between 6-30 weeks of age) older chickens are also susceptible.

Unfortunately, the only way to diagnose Marek’s Disease is via a necropsy by a veterinarian. That being said if you have a young bird (vaccinated or not) that has paralysis it is likely due to Marek’s. While there is no treatment, there are way to prevent Marek’s Disease The two pillars of a good Marek’s Disease prevention program are:

Follow an effective vaccination program. Vaccines must be administered on the day the chicks hatch or in ovo (embryo inside the egg) during egg incubation in order to be most effective. While vaccination is not perfect, if given correctly the vaccine is highly effective at protecting your chickens against disease. Make sure the feedstore or hatchery you purchase your chicks from vaccinate at day of age. Alternatively, you can vaccinate your own birds at day of age. You can easily purchase vaccine at your feedstore or on-line.
Remove all feather dander when introducing new chicks or birds to your coop. Because the feather follicles are known to carry the virus, removing the feather dander is a great way to reduce the amount of virus in the environment and hence reduce the overall amount of virus your chickens might be exposed to. This is typically done in your coop before moving any chicks from your brooder to the coop. Vaccinated birds or not vaccinated birds, this is very important!

20/09/2023

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16/08/2023