For most of us , our chicken coops are a dot of superbia and are as much a part of our landscape as the barn or garden . groundbreaking coop designs , roofs topped with weather condition vanes , comfy nest box and colourful decorations add to the fun of keeping chickens . But it ’s easy to bury about the less - than - lovely reality : Thesame organisms that cause diseases in large - musical scale commercial domestic fowl housesand hatchery can inhabit our hencoop , too . No matter how magic our henhouses are , disease can lurk decently under the Earth’s surface .
Several living organisms that come with poultry bear on people as well as chickens , and several affect only poultry . Many are easily preventable with common sense and respectable hygienics . Some are naturally occurring within the raspberry or are found in the environment and thus require additional treatment through inoculation or medicated provender .
We ’ve selected the top five disease , aid by advice from Patricia Wakenell , a veterinary surgeon and a professor of avian diagnostics at Purdue University in West Lafayette , Indiana , and Yuko Sato , a vet and assistant prof at Iowa State University in Ames , Iowa .
Salmonella
By far , salmonellais the No . 1 disease that poultry keepers want to be concerned with . There are many melodic phrase of salmonella — too many for the background of this article — but the three we need to know about areSalmonella pullorumandgallinarum , which can nauseate chickens , andSalmonella enteritidis , which can sicken us from the food - safety gadget standpoint
Chickens carry salmonella naturally , and quality , few strains can be passed from the hen to the chick through the egg , includingenteritidis . It can also contaminate the hencoop through stool .
Chicken manure does n’t remain on the floor like that of other stock . It becomes aerosolise ; in other words , the feces become dust , which coats everything in the coop , include eggs . Therefore , it ’s incredibly important to refrigerate your eggs as presently as possible because the longer each bollock sits out at room temperature , the more the salmonella is pulled into the pith of the egg .
However , it does n’t really count if your egg are contaminated , so long as you ready them . Cooking destroys salmonella . you’re able to , however , still get sick from eating product that admit cutting eggs in the formula , such as mayonnaise , Caesar salad dressing , raw biscuit bread or uncooked meringue .
“ If you ’re create scrambled eggs , make certain to employ one utensil to whisk the rude egg and a clean one as the eggs are finishing , ” Wakenell say . “ The heat energy is n’t going to happen fast enough to kill salmonella on the first utensil , so you ’ll be carrying salmonella into your clamber eggs . ”
Wash your workforce soundly after handling poultry , and , as enticing as it is , do n’t hug or buss babe chicks . “ There have been many cases of people getting salmonella through hugging and kissing sister chicks , ” Sato says .
Salmonella can also taint your own sign of the zodiac through the aerosolized faecal dust , so Wakenell intimate using a designated lot of clothing and changing into unclouded clothes before you enter the sign of the zodiac . And if you get fecal matter on yourself , wash it off as soon as you may . If you have an indoorchicken fag out diaper , treat the diapers with the same biosecurity you use when cleaning the cage . Discard the diaper where dogs , kat or child ca n’t access it . And practice a detritus mask whencleaning the henhouse .
commercial-grade poultry houses vaccinate their birds againstSalmonella enteritidisand on a regular basis projection screen for it by taking swab in the environs , among other preventive steps . “ However , there can be random salmonella species — for model , [ Salmonella]braenderup — that are not fall out on from biddy to chick [ and do not ] cause disease in chickens but are present in the surround , ” Sato says .
Every 30 days , commercial hatchery quiz everything that can be exposed to salmonella , such as machinery or hatch basket . This is n’t necessary for backyard coops . Just remember that salmonella is common around chickens , and always use common common sense and clean yourself after handling fowl .
Some United States Department of State have programs where poultryowners can send a dozen eggs to a laboratoryonce a class for free to test for salmonella .
“ Labs check for antibody , but that does n’t mean you have salmonella , ” Wakenell says . “ It means your Gallus gallus may have been endanger months ago . Labs can habituate serum in the lineage , but it ’s easy to stop using orchis fluid . If the biddy has been exposed , she will put antibodies into the egg . ”
It ’s best to retest the chicken via a blood test to affirm that it is n’t a false positive degree . If it ’s positive again , you need to culture for the salmonella itself — unremarkably with feces . During this time , refrain from sell raw egg because people can get macabre from them .
Coccidiosis
Coccidiosisis triggered by coccidiae , tiny single - cell organism cry protozoans that cause looseness of the bowels in chicken . It ’s difficult , if notimpossible , to eradicate because it endure in the surround . If you see diarrhea or bloody diarrhoea , the first step is to take a faecal sample to your vet to be checked .
“ Coccidiosis is brute specific , ” Sato enunciate . “ chicken will not swap coccidia with other bird metal money or animals . For instance , Numida meleagris domestic fowl have their own order Coccidia . ”
The best way to master a coccidiosis irruption is by bar . One route is to feed chicks medicated chick starter feed . Sato says the feed include the medication name amprolium . dame are most susceptible to coccidiosis in the first hebdomad of lifespan up until about 8 weeks onetime , so it ’s important to keep using the provender to that age .
A second option is through vaccination . In this eccentric , the chick is give a small , attenuated dose of the actual parasite . “ In the first 10 or so days of life , chicks do n’t have enzymes in them to break apart the parasites , so when the parasites from the vaccinum bike through them , they will go through a challenge and immunize themselves , ” Sato says . “ Many organic producers have to use this choice because they ca n’t utilise medicated provender . ”
It ’s crucial to read that you ca n’t use medicated feed if you apply a vaccination because the medication will kill the introduced parasite .
To deal your older birds , use the same medication that ’s in the starter feed . You require a in high spirits battery-acid for treatment . Amprol liquid for fowl is a respectable option . commingle it straight into the water supply . Figure out how much water yourbirds tope each day and follow the dispensing education . verify that the calculated doseis correct because overdosing can be calamitous .
Mix it fresh every solar day for three to five days . There is no egg withdrawal when using this medicine .
Avian Influenza
Avian influenzais likely the 2nd most - bed of the poultry diseases , after salmonella . However , the chance of exposure in a backyard troop is slender .
“ If you miss half of your flock in 24 hours , that ’s code flushed , ” Sato says . “ If you ’re lose a skirt here and there , it ’s probably not AI . The good affair you may do if you suspect AI is to call the parking brake hotline at the state vet ’s office , and they can walk you through what to do . ”
citizenry can get AI ; however , it ’s not likely . It ’s more of a disease that can wipe out flocks , which is why testing is good . test for AI is involve for competitions and fairs . Some states might ask AI testing if you enthral hoot across state lines . The trial is either a blood test or a swab of the mouth or throat . orchis can also be tested .
Fowl Cholera
Pasteurella multocida , also calledfowl Asiatic cholera , comfortably jazz for cause sniffle in rabbits , can sham human race as well as chicken . “ [ you may catch fowl epidemic cholera ] by giving your chicken mouth - to - beak resuscitation or kissing a chicken on the bill , because there it will be covered with aerosolized fecal textile or snots ; or by co - feeding , such as using the same dropper forpeople and birds without cleaning it , ” Wakenell say . “ Rodents also carry domestic fowl cholera into the hencoop , so do n’t allow a hen kill mice and eat them . ”
If you see any respiratory infection , promptly call your veterinarian . “ The vet can test for the causative organism(s ) and recommend intervention , ” Wakenell says . “ domestic fowl cholera can be treated with penicillin , but it will not be effectual late in the disease as often the bacteria is walled off by [ things such as ] dead mobile phone and pus . ”
Marek’s Disease
Marek’sis a fateful disease that is very worrying for the chicken keeper . It ’s get by a herpesvirus that brings about paralysis , contraction of the toe and pegleg that stretch forward or slow-witted . “ It can take six to 12 week for a poulet to develop symptoms and die and so it ’s annihilating for the backyard possessor , ” Sato says .
The solution is to vaccinate the chick as presently as it hatches . The vaccination costs around 20 cents a fowl , so it ’s not worth bound off . In some of the bigger manufacturer , the chicks are vaccinated in the egg .
Some breeds are more susceptible to Marek ’s than others . For instance , Sebrights and Barnevelders must be vaccinate , whereas others , such as Marans and Sumatras , never or seldom get Marek ’s . It ’s deserving noting that even immunised chicken can contract Marek ’s if the vaccinum was n’t ease up decently or if the virus overpower the vaccine , but at least most of your flock will be good .
You ca n’t eliminate the jeopardy of disease in fowl , just as you ca n’t in humans and other animate being , but know what might shine your coop and taking steps to reduce the luck will help give you peace of mind of brain and allow you to savour and appreciate your beautiful chicken and coop .
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Find out more at : National Poultry Improvement Program
American Veterinary Medicine Association
American Association of Avian Pathologists
This story to begin with appeared in the January / February 2019 publication ofChickensmagazine .
