Ebibeni Ngullie, SMS (Animal Science), KVK, Dimapur
- Fowl Typhoid
- Cause: Salmonella gallinarum
- Age: All ages (common in adults)
- Transmission: Egg borne and ingestion of contaminated feed and water
- Mortality: 10-50 %
- Signs: Loss of appetite, ruffled feathers, drooping of wings, sleepiness, greenish diarrhoea
- Lesions: Liver enlarged and bronze coloured
- Treatment: Furaltadone@ 0.5-1g/litre of water for 7 days
- Pulloum Disease or Bacillary White Diarrhoea
- Cause: Salmonella pullorum
- Age: Mostly baby chicks
- Transmission: Egg borne
- Mortality: May be upto 90 %
- Signs: dead in shell chicks, drowsiness, anorexia, gasping, whitish diarrhoea, soiling of vent and sudden death
- Lesions: Chicks - Enlarged liver with white spots
Adults – misshaped, discoloured ova
- Treatment: Furaltadone@ 0.5-1g/litre of water for 7 days
- Infectious Coryza
Cause: Haemophilus gallinarum- Age: All ages groups (severe in adults)
- Transmission: Air borne
- Mortality: low, morbidity: High
- Signs: Facial swelling, purulent ocular and nasal discharge, swollen wattles, sneezing, dyspnoea, drop in egg production of 10-40 % and inappetance.
- Lesions: Acute catarrhal rhinitis, sinusitis, airsaculitis and conjunctivitis
- Treatment: Sulfamezathine @ 30ml/litre of water for 5-7 days
- Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD)
- Cause: Mycoplasma gallisepticum
- Age: All ages (severe in young chicks)
- Transmission: Egg borne and air borne (slow spread)
- Mortality: 30-40 % in chicks
- Signs: Respiratory rales, nasal discharge, coughing, reduced appetite and drop in egg production (upto 50 %)
- Lesions: Cheesy material of air sacs
- Treatment: Tetracycline powder @ 1g/litre of water or tylosin @ 1 g/litre of water for 7 days
- Air sacculitis and Collibacillosis
- Cause: E.coli
- Age: Chicks (5-10 weeks)
- Transmission: Egg borne and air borne
- Mortality: upto 5-10 %
- Signs: Respiratory signs, dairrhoea and soiling of vent
- Lesions: Milky fluid in pericardium. Air sac thick and cloudy
- Treatment: Tetracycline powder @ 1g/litre of water
- Ranikhet Disease/New Castle Disease
- Cause: Paramyxovirus
- Age: All ages
- Transmission: Infected feed, water and air
- Mortality: 50-90 %
- Morbidity: 100 %
- Signs: Respiratory signs, ruffled feathers, greenish watery diarrhoea, paralysis of one or both the limbs, Tremor, twisting of the neck, drop in egg production in layers
- Lesions: Haemorrhages in proventriculus and submucosae of gizzard and severe enteritis of the duodenum
- Treatment: There is no specific treatment, however antibiotics should be given to check secondary bacterial infections
- Vaccination: Lasota vaccine @1 drop in the eye or nostril in first week of life. R2B Mukteshwar vaccine @ 0.5 ml IM or sub cut in 8th and 18th week.
- Fowl Pox/Avian Pox
- Cause: Avipox Virus
- Age: Mild in adults but severe in young chicks
- Transmission: Direct contact, wounds or insect bites
- Mortality: May be upto 50 % in chicks
- Morbidity: High
- Signs: Scabs or wart like lesions on featherless parts of the body such as comb and wattles in the dry form, the wet form is characterised by plaques in the mouth and upper respiratory tract, reduced appetite and poor growth or egg production.
- Treatment: Broad spectrum antibiotics like Terramycin poultry formula @ 5 gm/4.5 lit of water. Local application of antiseptic ointments.
- Vaccination: Fowl Pox Vaccine on 6th and 16th week of life, by cutaneous scarification/wing web method
- Coccidiosis
Serious protozoan disease of young stock upto10 weeks of age. It is most common in birds reared in deep litter system. Disease outbreak occurs in warm and humid climate and damp litter conditions.
- Cause: The species important in broiler production include Eimeria tenella (90%), E. maxima, E. acervulina, and E. mivati; the species important in breeder and egg- layers are E. burnetti and E. necatrix
- Age: All ages of poultry are susceptible to infection, but the disease usually resolves itself around 6 – 8 weeks of age. The birds are most sensitive between 3 – 5 weeks of age, when the coccidia oocysts are the most numerous in feces or litter.
- Transmission: Contaminated feed, water, litter or soil
- Mortality: can range from mild to severe, depending on the species of coccidia involved (0-50 %)
- Morbidity: 0-100 %
- Signs: Bloody diarrhoea, soiling of vent, weight loss, paleness, ruffled feathers, huddling, depression
- Lesions: Red or white speckled appearance of the intestinal wall (coccidia colonies), thickened intestinal wall, intestines and ceca may balloon and be filled with fluid, blood, and tissue debris.
- Treatment: Amprolium soluble powder 20 % @ 60 gm/50 litre of water for 7 days
General Measures for Prevention of Poultry Diseases
- Provide ample quantity of clean drinking water
- Offer good quality balanced ration/feed
- Avoid feeding of mouldy feed
- Don’t make sudden changes in feed
- Maintain good ventilation in poultry house
- Avoid overcrowding
- Keep deep litter dry by frequent turning and periodical change.
- Avoid exposure to inclement weather
- Regular cleaning of feeders and waterers
- Proper cleaning and disinfection of brooders, brooder houses, incubators & poultry house regularly
- Control of rodents, wild birds and insects
- Restrict the entry of visitors in the farm as far as possible
- Keep birds of different age groups separately
- Select genetically resistant strains
- Identification, segregation and treatment of sick birds
- Disposal of dead birds by burning or burial
- Use of coccidiostats in feed particularly for starters and growers
- Regular deworming is essential for control of worms
- Periodical spraying of poultry house to control ectoparasites
- Disinfection of incubator by fumigation with KMnO4 (17.5g and 355 ml formalin/100 cubic feet area).
