Artib Farm

This is the type of muscular disease that mainly affect the poultry limbs (wings and legs) and disallow free movement of chicken from one place to another. It is sometimes refers to as Locomotor disease. Signs in sick chickens Signs may vary, but usually chickens lie down because they cannot stand erect. They are reluctant to move or limping when movement is compulsory. Nervous signs may include staring into the sky for not knowing where they are, pulling the head and neck over their backs, paralysis and sores on the breast muscles from lying down. Other signs are crooked toes, swollen hocks, hyper-extended or rubbery legs. Causes   There are many different types of organisms that can cause nervous signs and lameness. These include: * Bacteria (Salmonella, Botulism) * Viruses (Newcastle disease, Mareks disease, avian encephalo- myelitis) * Fungi (Aspergillus) Treatment A complete hygiene and disinfection programme should be planned together with the animal health technici...

Coccidiosis is the parasite that damages the intestinal wall of the chickens and other poultry animals. There are varieties of coccidiosis with various effects on birds from harmless to the life threatening one. Causes The six species of the causative organism (Eimeria) which are generally significant for chickens are E. tenella, E. mitis, E. brunetti, E. necatrix, E. Acervulina and E. maxima. The life cycle starts as an unsporulated oocyst: an egg containing early stage of coccidiosis which is yet to develop. The oocyst sporulates when eaten by chicken within the time as little as 24 hrs under optimum condition of 25 - 30•C. Treatment For the purpose of treatment and prevention of coccidiosis, it is unimportant to ascertain which species of Eimeria is causing disease in your birds as in many cases, several diseases may be working together to cause the disease. The treatment of coccidiosis generally involves three components which are as follows: 1. Kill the coccidiosis in the bi...

If drop in egg production affect your laying birds, you will notice that the hens are not producing as many eggs as they should for their age, you may see unusually shaped eggs: eggs with no shell, soft eggs, eggs that break easily, or that have abnormal contents when you break them and this will make people buying eggs from you to complain of poor quality. The only way these changes will be noticed is if you keep good records. Causes There are many different types of organisms that can cause a drop in egg production or quality. These include: ~ Bacteria (E. coli, Salmonella). ~ Mycoplasma. ~ Viruses (Newcastle disease, influenza, infectious bronchitis, infectious laryngotracheitis, avian encephalomyelitis, egg drop syndrome) Parasites. ~ Inadequate quantity and quality of feed.  ~ Insufficient lighting system and time, layers need at least 16 hours of light on daily basis throughout the laying period.  ~ Invasion of ectoparasites like Mites and Lice.  ...

This can easily be described as a poultry disease that affect the trachea (windpipe) and entire respiratory system of poultry in such a way that the sinuses of the chicken i.e the area between the eye and the beak are swollen. These may be swollen in such a way that the eyes are closed. Signs in sick chickens   Tears and wetness often occur around the eyes and nostrils. The discharge from the nostrils may look like clear water in the early stages but can become cloudy and yellow when secondary bacterial infections cause complications.  • Sneezing • Coughing • Difficulty in breathing. They breathe with an open beak and you can hear a snoring or clicking sound • Loss of appetite • Weakness • Weight loss Some signs found in dead chickens are very red windpipe and throat. Fluid can be stored in the windpipe of the affected chicken. Causes There are many different types of organisms that can cause disease in the upper respiratory tract. The causative organism...

Newcastle disease is probably the most important disease for poultry farmers around the world. This is a production disease that causes a large number of deaths in chickens and huge losses to farmers and the industry as there is no treatment, it can only be prevented, and the disease spreads so quickly. Therefore, sick chickens should be slaughtered immediately. This disease is caused by a virus. Signs in sick chickens A large number of chickens will die suddenly with or without any of the following apparent signs: * Depression * Nervous signs * Sneezing, swollen eyes, difficulty in breathing * Diarrhoea * Death Treatment   There is NO treatment for the disease and all the chickens may die within a few days. Very few chickens survive. It is best to prevent the diseases by good management and a vaccination programme. Your animal health technician or veterinarian will give you the best advice in a Newcastle disease outbreak, especially as this is a controlled disease. Preve...

Poultry diarrhea which is also known as scours or dirty vent can affect all poultry animals. In the infected birds, the stool or droppings of the chickens are not firm but very loose, watery, not of the normal colour, may contain blood and this may cause the feathers of the vent to be soiled and caked together. Signs in sick chickens    • Depression.  • Reluctance to eat, drink and move.   • Poor growth.  • Death.  The following signs may be noticed in dead chickens are: • Poor condition.  • The intestines may be red and swollen and the contents watery.  • There may also be a yellow butter-like substance around the heart, liver and intestines. Causes There are many different types of organisms that can cause diarrhoea, which include: • Bacteria (Salmonella, E. coli, Pasteurella) • Viruses (Newcastle disease, gumboro disease) • Parasites (coccidiosis, worms) • Fungi (Candida, Aspergillus) Treatment 1. Use an anti...

Poultry worms are endoparasites of different forms that negatively affect the poultry gut and respiratory system. In any kind of poultry, worms will impair the health of the bird to a degree because they are taking the nutrients out of the food of their hosts which will lead to weight loss in your birds, or they may not be growing at the rate they should be. Worms can damage the digestive tract of the birds which can lead to other infections. There will be a drop in egg production and the birds may seem unhealthy and listless. Discussing the life cycle of worms may seem unnecessary but it is one of the most common ailments for poultry. Hence, it is very significant to know the symptoms, treatment and preventive measures you can take to protect your birds. There are a number of different kinds of worms. Here are some common ones that are known to affect poultry animals: 1. Roundworm: Hair worm, Thread worm Hair worm and thread worm are classes of roundworm which can be found in the o...

Feed efficiency has to do with the utilization of digested feed and feed conversion ratio in broilers or other birds like cockerels, layers, pheasant, turkey and so on. Do not mistake feed wastage with feed efficiency. Improved feed efficiency also improve profitability, feed should have all necessary diets like digestible crude protein, amino acid and fibre contents. Below are some of the tips of improving the broiler feed efficiency. 1. Keeping The Birds Healthy Sick birds do not grow fast which shows that feed efficiency is not ideal. This is because sick birds don't eat much as healthy birds, they even use the little they eat to fight diseases. They can even consume muscle protein which will enhance reduction in body weight. Birds should be thoroughly medicated and vaccinated to stay healthy. Cleanliness of the poultry environment should also be attended to. 2. Avoiding Hot Spot In The Feed Silos Mold growth easily occur to the feed store in an uncleaned silos during w...

One of the discouraging factors in poultry business is early mortality in birds or chickens. One gets confused to lose 3 of 10 acquired birds within a day or two. One will be imagining what could happen in the next four to five days. What is early mortality? What are its effects and preventive measures? There are about eight causes and preventive measures of early mortality in birds as discussed below: #1. Antibiotic Injection Early chick mortality is resulted from e-coli and staphylococcal infections. This can be prevented by given Gentamicin at day old. Most hatcheries give vaccination against Marek disease to their chicks at day old. #2. Temperature Management Temperature regulation is essential for chicks, specifically in their first 3 weeks. Chicks will need warmth till about 4 weeks. Heat may be required or not after 4 weeks depending on the environmental conditions.    High brooding temperature can cause dehydration when about 10% out of the 70% of water i...

About 75% of the capital spent on poultry business is for feeding. Hence, one has to be highly careful in preventing birds from wasting the feed. There are several ways of avoiding feed wastage of which the major and most common ways are discussed below. 1. Using The Right Feeders The two types of feeders are Straight feeder and Round feeder. In both types, feed wastage can be prevented by using the feeder with lip,  ensuring the feeder not more than half or one-third filled, hanging the feeder at the level of the bird's back and the feeder should be at least 7cm deep. 2. Get Rid Of Rats A rat can eat about 12kg of feed and waste over 36kg of feed on yearly basis. Rats also promote spread of viral diseases through mouth contact with feed. Make sure the feed store is rat-proof, you can even use trap to catch those that have gained entrance to the feed store. 3. Debeaking Debeaking or Beak trimming is the cutting of the sharp points of the lower and upper beak. This should be ...