Diseases of chickens and their treatment
When raising chickens, the poultry farmer may lose part of the livestock due to illness of the chickens. The first signs of malaise of single individuals should alert. The younger the chick is, the more dangers lie in wait for it.
Prevention of chick diseases in the first period of life
- bright, clean room with heating;
- some water in a special drinking bowl;
- fine dry food in the form of corn cut or millet.
The temperature is created to be comfortable so that the kids do not climb on top of each other. They should not be steamed. If heating is done with an incandescent lamp, the temperature under it should be about 37-39 degrees, like a hen.
The chick, having hatched from the egg, already sees, hears and is ready to follow the hen. The hen sits on the clutch after the firstborn for another 36 hours, then leaves the nest and takes the brood away. Nature is wise, the remaining chicks will be weaker and may not survive. In an incubator, the process lasts three days.
When examining the squeaking family, you need to pay attention to the activity of the brood, mucous membranes and the state of fluff or feathers. Weakened and inactive pets are best placed in a separate box before clarification. Infectious diseases in the absence of immunity can quickly mow down the entire brood.
The first week of nursing pets is responsible until the rudiments of feathers begin to break through. At this time, chick diseases appear more often. The malaise can be caused by:
- conditions of detention;
- unbalanced feed composition;
- poisoning with poor-quality food or vitamin deficiency;
- bacterial and viral infections.
To obtain healthy young animals during the first month of life, it is necessary to observe the sterility of the feeders and the cleanliness of the chickens. To strengthen the immunity of the brood, vitamins for chickens in the first days are needed in the form of green chopped grass. Pharmacy formulations can be used starting from the second week. From the first day, there should be gravel or coarse sand in the feeder to enable the stomach walls to work.
The Role of Vitamin Supplements
If chickens lack vitamins in their daily diet, this will be noticeable from the fifth day of life. Chicks need vitamins A, B, D, K. The lack of each is characterized by signs:
- A - conjunctivitis, weak legs;
- B - convulsions, head tosses, development lags behind;
- D - rickets, growing poorly, soft bones, eating poorly;
- K - the chicken refuses to eat, the skin is dry, there is no thermoregulation on hot days, cannibalism.
As a therapeutic and prophylactic agent for vitamin deficiency and polyavitaminosis, Trivit is prescribed for chickens. The oil-based vitamin complex is insoluble in water and is added to feed according to the instructions. Do not exceed the dose. The drug is used as a medicine when signs of illness appear in several individuals in a brood. Signs of polyavitaminosis will be diarrhea, seizures, lethargy and weight loss in chickens.
It is normal if chicks receive all vitamins in their natural form from the first days of life. Sufficient will be 30 g of various vitamin greens per head per day.
A water-soluble composition of multivitaminic acidos is added to chickens. It is a dietary supplement recommended for all farm animals and poultry, but in different doses. The full range of active substances is convenient and effective to use:
- the aqueous form of vitamins is absorbed faster and better absorbed in the body;
- balanced composition;
- does not require additional use of other dosage forms of vitamins, especially D;
- promotes efficient feed assimilation and weight gain.
A prophylactic agent that prevents inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa is the drug metronidazole for chickens. Water-soluble tablets or powder are used. This medication has no side effects.
What are the chicken diseases, symptoms and treatment
At first glance, it is difficult for a layperson to distinguish between physiological diseases associated with errors in care and infectious. The first sign of infectious disease will be a rise in temperature in the chick.
The hen is programmed to hatch chicks for two months. Then she starts to rush. Monthly chicks are considered adapted to independent living.
Non-communicable diseases of chickens are related to care:
- Overheating or cooling of the containment area is dangerous for chicks up to one month of age, since they do not have thermoregulation. Such chicks move little, gather in pyramids, they show signs of SARS. It is necessary to adjust the heating mode and give a warm drink. If overheating is allowed, place the chicks in the shade and fill the drinking bowl, they usually overheat if there is no water.
- Atrophy of the muscular ventricle threatens chickens eating flour homogeneous feed and lack of mineral additives in the form of small stones. Chickens eat and drink all the time, but they lose weight. Undigested feed comes out in the litter. It is necessary to introduce crushed and minerals into the diet. Diversify your diet.
- Indigestion makes itself felt at the age of one month. The reason may be gross substandard stern, dirty drinking water and unsanitary conditions in the poultry house. Vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, with indigestion will be the reason why chickens die. Treatment with antibiotics, replace food, include cottage cheese and yogurt in the diet. Prepare the drink with the addition of potassium permanganate or baking soda.
- Chicks can nibble on chemicals stored in an accessible place, poison to rodents or get excess table salt. You can drink a bird with potassium permanganate, milk, but more often the chick dies.
- Cannibalism in chickens occurs for many reasons. A cramped room or too bright light can provoke aggression. The wrong diet is one of the reasons. If pecking appears on the baby's body, the wound must be disinfected and made invisible. As a last resort, the chicken must be deposited. Why the chickens begin to peck each other is determined empirically. Bone meal, yeast, herbs are added to food. The medicinal drug chlorpromazine is used. Experts advise to debick the beaks; at an early age, the procedure is painless.
- Other manifestations can also be a consequence of malnutrition. Why do chickens fall to their feet? This problem is due to the lack of calcium in the feed. However, rickets can have the same symptoms. And this is already due to a lack of vitamin D and keeping chickens in a dark, cramped room. To avoid illness, it is enough from the first days to feed the pets with a special compound feed with a full set of balanced ingredients.
All diarrhea is a contagious infectious disease. How to treat diarrhea in chickens depends on the color of the discharge. Diarrhea leads to dehydration and weakens the body. White diarrhea is dangerous, it indicates the presence of salmonella sticks in the room. Crowding and poor hygiene contribute to the spread of the disease. Brown frothy diarrhea is caused by an infection and is called coccidiosis.After treatment of diseased chicks, it is necessary to destroy, the poultry house should be disinfected. Green diarrhea can be infectious or due to poor quality feed. Bloody diarrhea is treated with Avatev and Baytril.
In case of any diarrhea, the sick chick must be isolated, and then continue to heal, clean and disinfect the common place.
Infectious diseases are accompanied by high fever. If the chick has separated from the flock and stands motionless, crumpled, you need to examine it. Typhoid is a common disease, which affects chicks from two months of age. Up to 60% of the brood dies. For prevention, antibiotics and a pink solution of potassium permanganate are used.
Paratyphoid fever, or salmonellosis, is a common condition in free-range chicks. They can be infected by pigeons or seagulls near them. At first, the disease does not manifest itself, after which it is difficult to cure, the herd dropout is up to 70%. Smallpox is not treatable. On the fifth day of illness, yellow growths appear on the body and near the beak, then a rash appears in the beak.
Output
To grow healthy young animals and avoid lunge, it is necessary to comply with the conditions of detention, use good-quality feed and vitamin supplements. On examination, it is necessary to reject chicks with minor deviations. Provide additional care and treatment for weakened chicks in the isolation ward.