Poultry Improvement Project Overview of Diseases, Nutritional Diseases, Bacterial Diseases, and Protozoan Diseases

Definition of Disease Disease is any departure from health-a particular destructive process in the body, with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms; any disturbance in the proper functioning of vital processes or systems of an animal.

Pullorum Causes and Symptoms Caused by a bacteria Salmonella pullorum Symptoms are being sleepy, “Huddled up”, pasty diarrhea and smeared vent, inactive with a high mortality in young birds. On postmortem there would be lesions on lungs, brick red looking liver and inflammation of heart sac.

Pullorum Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention Diagnosis through blood test. Treatment with sulfonamides, nitrofurans, and antibiotics. Prevention of Pullorum is to buy from tested, disease free stock (hatcheries).

Nutritional Disease Nutritional diseases are the result of a deficiency. –Examples include: Vitamin K deficiency: prolonged blood-clotting time, chick hemorrhagic syndrome. The disease can be corrected by adding the vitamin to the diet. Most complete feeds are balanced for vitamins etc.

Fowl Cholera Causes and Symptoms Caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida. Symptoms include stupor, loss of appetite, rapid weight loss, lameness, swollen wattles, watery yellowish diarrhea, dull blue or purple color of head and wattle.

Fowl Cholera Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment Diagnosis-bipolar staining rods in blood smear. Prevention-use bacterin or live vaccine for vaccination. Treatment-sulfaquinoxaline, antibiotics, etc.

Coccidiosis Causes, Symptoms, Control, and Prevention Caused by a protozoan in the dirty litter. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea and ulceration of the intestinal lining. Control by keeping litter dry. In boiler production a coccidiostat is fed in the feed from day old to slaughter. »Monensin sodium, and amprol plus are examples. »Vaccinations may also be given.