Avian Medicine Flashcards
List 7 pathogens that cause disease in both animals and birds.
E.coli
Salmonella
Erysipelothrix
Aspergillus
Trichomonas Dermanyssus
Avian influenza
Newcastle disease
Which supplements are available to birds?
Grit, oyster shell, liquid calcium, meal worms, liquid vitamin supplements, essential amino acids, nucleotides, trace
Distinguish the role of prebiotics and probiotics in birds.
Prebiotics – promote normal bacterial flora
Probiotics – supply one or more normal gut bacteria
What are competitive exclusion products in avian medicine?
Undefined caecal bacteria, mix of anaerobes from healthy chickens fed back to chickens
How does temperature affect birds clinically?
If temperature is low = dying
High temperature = normal (41), make sure your thermometer can go up to 42
What are the general signs of sickness on clinical examination of a bird?
- Increasing mortality and morbidity
- Depressed
- Quiet
- Abnormal posture
- Unkempt plumage
- Locomotor and breathing difficulties
- High or low <39˚C or >42.5˚C
- Loss of condition
- Empty crop
- Sunken eyes
- Pale or dark skin
- Pale and small comb, wattles or snood
Describe how blood sampling is done in birds.
- Birds over 500g – 21 or 23g 5/8 needle and 2.5ml syringe. Under 500g – 23 or 25g 5/8 needle and 1ml syringe. 4 .
- Visualise brachial vein
- Tense skin with thumb and insert needle into vein just under skin
- Steadily withdraw 2ml blood. Careful not to collapse the vein.
- Laying hens can give fatty sera.
How is cytology of a bird’s liver section done?
- The liver section must be big enough to hold but small enough for the cut surface to fit on a glass slide
- Then blot dry
- A thick smear which when stained will be difficult to see through
- The reason being that the cut surface of the liver was not blotted dry enough
How are gut scrapes of the duodenum done in birds?
- Incise the intestine so that it opens and lays flat
- Remove excess contents or sample the contents
- Using a coverslip, carefully apply one edge to the mucosa and scrape along the surface
- Place the coverslip contents side down onto a slide and examine x10 then x40
How can mycoplasma capsule be killed?
Washing up liquid
What are some examples of tumours and immunosuppressive diseases in birds?
- Marek’s disease virus (first vaccine ever produced against cancer)
- Lymphoid leucosis/chick anaemia virus
- Infectious bursal disease (bursa are a basis for immunology)
What are some examples of viral respiratory diseases in birds?
Infectious bronchitis virus
Newcastle disease virus
Avian influenza virus
Infectious laryngotracheitis
What are some examples of bacterial respiratory diseases in birds?
E.coli
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Mycoplasma synoviae
Pasteurella multocida
Name a fungal and a parasitic example of respiratory disease in birds?
Fungi – aspergillus species
Nematodes – syngamus trachea
What are some examples of viral egg production diseases in birds?
Infectious bronchitis virus
Newcastle disease virus
Avian influenza virus
Infectious laryngotracheitis
Egg drop syndrome 76
Marek’s disease virus
Lymphoid leucosis
What are some examples of bacterial egg production diseases in birds?
Salmonella gallinarum
E coli
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Mycoplasma synoviae
What are some examples of protozoal egg production diseases in birds?
Coccidia
What could be the pathogenic cause of plumage problems?
Mites, lice
What could be the pathogenic cause of gastrointestinal problems in birds?
Viruses – rotavirus
Bacteria – clostridia species, salmonella pullorum
Endoparasites – coccidia, worms
List the possible sources of flock infection in small holdings.
- Staff
- Visitors
- Vehicles
- Equipment
- Replacement stock
- Water
- Feed
- Air – blowers for feed lorries cross contamination
- Bedding – can carry aspergillosis
- Pigs, cattle, sheep
- Insects – alphitobius beetle can eat litter and dead birds and can become contaminated with salmonella and be mechanical carriers of infection
- Pets
- Rodents – Pasteurella
- Wild birds
What are the possible routes of infection in individual birds?
- Through the eggshell
- Through cuts in the skin or feather follicles
- In the vent
- Through the navel
- In the nose
- In the eye
- Through the yolk
- By mouth
- In the ear
How is biosecurity implemented in flock holdings?
- Disease recognition
- Disease introduction – vertical, horizontal
- Hygiene, new birds, vaccination, worming, ectoparasites
- Medication when necessary
- Monitoring - bacteriology for salmonella and campylobacter, blood sampling for mycoplasma
- Action – slaughter of the flock
List 6 zoonotic diseases of birds.
Campylobacter jejuni
Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
Salmonella species
Chlamydophila psittaci
H5N1 avian influenza
Newcastle disease
How is campylobacter jejuni transmitted to people?
- Ingestion of contaminated poultry
- Water
- Direct contact
- Between people with faecal-oral route
How is erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae transmitted to people?
Puncture wounds
How are salmonella species transmitted to people?
Ingestion - faecal-oral route
How is chlamydophila psittaci transmitted to people?
Ingestion or inhalation of organism from birds
How is avian influenza H5N1 transmitted to people?
Aerosol
Direct contact
How is Newcastle disease transmitted to people?
Aerosol
Live vaccines
What is the protocol for notifiable diseases in birds?
- Slaughter, movement restrictions, tracking and tracing
- Trade ban on exports of live birds, eggs and poultry products
Name the 3 notifiable diseases in poultry.
Newcastle Disease of Poultry
Paramyxovirus 1 of pigeons – if this is in chickens they get Newcastle disease
Avian influenza (bird ‘flu) – H5Nx or H7Nx Poultry
What are the incubation periods of notifiable diseases?
Avian influenza = 3-14 days
Newcastle disease = 4-6 days
Paramyxovirus 1 = 4-6 days, shedding after 48h
What are the common clinical signs of Newcastle disease and avian influenza?
- Mortality
- Morbidity
- Loss of appetite
- Respiratory signs
- Reduction in egg laying
- Twisted necks the wrong way so can’t feed – starve
What are the systemic clinical signs of Newcastle disease?
High morbidity and mortality
Depression
Inappetant
What are the respiratory clinical signs of Newcastle disease?
Beak gaping
Gasping
Coughing
Gurgling
Rattling
Swelling of tissues in neck and around eyes
What are the nervous clinical signs of Newcastle disease?
Drooping wings
Dragging legs
Twisting of the head and neck
Circling
Complete paralysis
Apparent blindness
What are the enteric clinical signs of Newcastle disease?
Greenish watery diarrhoea
What are the reproductive clinical signs of Newcastle disease?
Partial/complete cessation of egg production
Misshapen eggs
Rough shelled
Loss of shell colour
Thin shelled
Watery albumin contained in eggs
What are the systemic clinical signs of paramyxovirus 1?
Green watery diarrhoea
Quiet
Relunctant to exercise
Lethargic
Depressed
Inappetant
Polydipsia
Occasionally sudden mortality
What are the nervous clinical signs of paramyxovirus 1?
May precede diarrhoea
Trembling wings and head
Tumble when landing
Inability to fly to perch
Drooping wing
Partial paralysis of wings and legs
Twisting of the neck/torticollis
Unable to pick up grain
How does paramyxovirus 1 differ in clinical signs between pigeons and chickens?
Pigeons with PPMV1 is more nervous signs opposed to chickens with PPMV1//Newcastle disease, which have mortality
How does incubation period of avian influenza differ between pathogenicity of strains?
HPAI = 9-14 days
LPAI = 3-14 days
What are the clinical signs of HPAI?
High morbidity and mortality (100%)
Lachrymation
Sinusitis
Oedema of head
Anorexia
Depression
Cyanosis of skin, comb and wattles
Diarrhoea
Drop in egg production
What are the clinical signs of LPAI?
Can be easily missed
Depression
Low by elevated mortality
Mild respiratory signs
Sinusitis
Egg production problems
What are the factors affecting flock vaccination?
- Healthy chick
- Nutrition – feed, water (too little or too many birds around drinker/feeder Is not good)
- Environment – litter, atmosphere, lighting
- Vaccine properties
- Current epidemiology
- Maternally derived antibody/MDA
- Quality of administration
How do you know vaccination has worked?
Monitor vaccination using blue food grade dye. Broiler breeder given AE vaccine in the drinking water
Which medications are used in birds?
- Anticoccidials – broilers, some rearing for replacement parents. Not for adults
- Anthelmintics – Flubenvet (Solubenol) zero egg withdrawal
- Antibiotics – only Aivlosin, Denagard and Tylan with a zero egg withdrawal
Which medications are no longer used in birds?
- Anti-blackhead (Emtryl) – banned
- Performance enhancers – growth promoters. No longer permitted
What are the possible aetiologies of sudden death in birds?
- Virus – Avian influenza, Newcastle disease
- Mycoplasma – M.gallisepticum
- Bacteria – Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Pasteurella multocida, Spotty Liver Syndrome/campylobacter
- Fungi/yeast – Aspergillus fumigatus
- Protozoa – Eimeria tenella, Histomonas meleagridis
- Nematodes – Syngamus trachea (Gapeworm)
- Mites – Red mite
What are the characteristics of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae bacteria?
- Gram positive
- Non-motile, non spore forming
- Slender, slightly curved rods
- Aerobic or facultative anaerobes
What are the clinical features of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae?
Large flocks
Found dead or may see sick fevered bird
Ruffled feathers
Lethargic
Anorexic
Scour
Decline in egg production
How is Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae transmitted?
Lateral by ingestion from saliva, faces, carcasses and from contaminated soil
How is Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae diagnosed?
Impression smears stained by gram method showing gram positive slender rods. Confirmed by bacterial culture
How is Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae prevented?
Hygiene
Vaccination
Amoxycillin
What are the post mortem findings of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae?
- Petechial haemorrhages on the heart
- Abdominal fat
- Congestion and miliary white pinpoint foci in the liver
- Sticky mucus in intestinal tract
- Generalised septicaemia – bloody discolouration of the abdominal contents
What are the characteristics of pasteurella multocida?
- Gram negative
- Non-motile, non-spore forming
- Aerobic or anaerobic
- Classified according to capsular antigens - A, B, D, E and F
How is pasteurella multocida transmitted?
Lateral spread through saliva and faeces
Rodents are an important source of infection
How is pasteurella multocida diagnosed?
Impression smears stained with methylene blue to show safety pin appearance and confirmed by bacteriological culture
How is pasteurella multocida prevented?
Amoxycillin, tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones
Autogenous vaccines
What are the clinical signs of acute pasteurellosis in birds?
- Respiratory distress
- Fevered
- Cyanosis
- Ruffled feather
- Anorexia and lethargy may be seen
- Reddening and cyanosis of skin of head, mucus from the beak
- Closed eyes or froth in the inner canthus of the eye
What are the post mortem findings of acute pasteurellosis?
- Petechial haemorrhages on the heart
- Abdominal fat
- Consolidated pneumonia
- Congestion and miliary white pinpoint foci in the liver
- Sticky mucus in intestinal tract
- Generalised septicaemia – bloody discolouration of the abdominal contents
What are the clinical signs of chronic pasteurellosis?
- Swollen wattles and swelling between the wattles
- Occasionally torticollis due to a meningitis
- Infectious arthritis of legs and wings
- Tracheal râles
- No specific egg abnormalities in either acute or chronic forms in laying flocks
Name and describe the bacteria that causes spotty liver disease in birds.
Campylobacter hepaticus
- Gram negative
- S shaped bacterium
- Microaerophilic at 37˚C
What are the clinical signs of spotty liver disease?
Found dead
Fevered looking hen with ruffled feathers
Anorexia and lethargy
A drop in egg production
How is spotty liver disease diagnosed?
No bacteria seen on impression smears, failure to isolate Pasteurella or erysipelas on routine culture
How is spotty liver disease prevented?
Amoxycillin, tetracyclines, furazolidone
What are the post mortem findings of spotty liver disease?
- Yellow excess pericardial fluid
- Splenomegaly
- Pale kidneys
- Sticky mucus in intestinal tract
- Generalised septicaemia – bloody discolouration of the abdominal contents can also occur
- Bacteriology = negative
What are the clinical signs of red mites?
- Can kill hens
- Mite infestation associated with poor egg production, poor quality eggs, reduced fertility and hatchability
- Mites will bite egg collectors and are associated with allergic reactions
What are some behavioural causes of sudden death?
Aggression, cannibalism, pecking at crop or vent, smothering
What are some metabolic causes of sudden death?
Acute death syndrome, ascites, visceral gout
What are some traumatic causes of sudden death?
Predation, drowning, egg bound, fly strike, foreign bodies, mating damage, prolapse cloaca or oviduct, starvation, suffocation
What are some environmental causes of sudden death?
Chilling, frost bite, heat stress
What are some nutritional causes of sudden death?
Crop full of feed, impactions, intussusception, overgrown beak, poisoning, vitamin deficiency
What are the causes of cannibalism and pecking?
Boredom
Over stocking
Mating
Sodium deficiency
Lack of animal protein
Ascarid infections
What are the clinical signs of cannibalism and pecking?
- Watch for general signs of aggression or aberrant investigative pecking
- Damage to ears, eyes, nostril, wattles and comb, toes and wings, crop, tail and vent
- Blood on eggs may indicate vent damage
How is cannibalism and pecking treated and prevented?
Rectify management deficits
Dim lights
Insert orange or red bulbs
Beak tipping
CD’s
Vegetable stalks
Sodium bicarbonate
What are the post mortem findings for acute cannibalism and pecking?
- Anaemia – very pale carcass, pale liver, lungs pink and fat white)
- Feed in the crop
- Blood clot in abdomen
- The kidneys will be pale
- Missing cloaca
- Usually the proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum and ovary remain with the rest of the intestines and oviduct missing, large follicles on the ovary are also missing
What are the post mortem findings of chronic cannibalism and pecking?
Necrotic swellings due to trauma followed by infection
How is cannibalism and pecking differentiated from pecking after death?
Unlikely to be any blood clots in the abdomen and the carcase is not so pale
What is smother?
Sudden fright
Abnormal crowding behaviour – ones on the bottom asphyxiate
What is acute death syndrome?
Spontaneous ventricular fibrillation possibly associated with acidosis due to increased blood lactate
What are the clinical signs of acute death syndrome?
- Associated with rapidly growing broilers particularly the male
- Birds flip over onto back and flap before dying
- They are often found on their back with legs extended
How is acute death syndrome diagnosed?
History of rapidly growing flock above target weight and post mortem findings
How is acute death syndrome prevented?
- Lower energy intake, through management of lights, feed restriction and change from pellets to mash
- Light patterns seem to be the most useful practically
What are the post mortem findings of acute death syndrome?
Pale carcase
Some lung congestion
What does ascites cause in birds?
Cause increased blood pressure secondary to pulmonary insufficiency associated with high altitude (decreased oxygen tension), poor ventilation (too dusty) and respiratory disease
What are the clinical signs of ascites in birds?
Dyspnoea
Stunting
Sudden death
Recumbent
Open mouthed breathing
Panting
Eyes closed
Cyanosis
Distended and turgid abdomen
How is ascites prevented?
- Control respiratory diseases thereby preventing lung damage, avoid genetic predispositions
- Can be alleviated by attention to temperature fluctuations, lighting, ventilation and feed control
What is visceral and articular gout is birds?
Kidney damage that results failure to excrete urates resulting in hyperuricaemia
What are the infectious and non-infectious causes of visceral and articular gout?
Infectious - nephrotropic strains of infectious bronchitis virus or avian nephritis virus, the cause of baby chick nephropathy
Non-infectious - vitamin A deficiency, calcium excess, feeding high protein rations and mycotoxins such as ochratoxin, citrinin and aflatoxin
What are the clinical signs of visceral and articular gout?
- An increase in mortality, depression, low feed intake and lethargic
- Lameness with swollen joints
- White urates may be visible in the joints
What are post mortem findings of visceral and articular gout?
- Deposition of monosodium urate crystals
- Articular gout – the periarticular tissue is white with a thick white fluid in the joint
- Visceral gout (broiler breeder chick left) – chalky white papery deposits of urates on the heart, viscera, pale swollen kidneys, urates in the ureters
Where is the position of the heart in birds?
Heart is between the lungs in birds
What aspects of history and husbandry affects appearance of disease?
- Vaccinated or not
- Presence of pathogen
- Husbandry failures - poorly vaccinated, over stocked, mixed ages, failure to quarantine
- Inadequate environment
When does carbon monoxide poisoning occur in poultry?
Gas brooders produce carbon monoxide if not working or cleaned properly and can cause carbon monoxide poisoning in the birds
Why does grit need to be put down?
So they can put it in the crop which they use to grind down food so they don’t get impactions
What are the presenting signs of respiratory diseases?
- Coughing or voice change
- Sneezing, nasal discharge, head shaking or sinusitis
- Dyspnoea, panting, tail bobbing or cyanosis
- Haemoptysis
- Abnormal breathing sounds
- Coughing up blood
- Morbidity and mortality
What are the hosts of gapeworm?
Pheasants and partridges but not chickens
What is avian metapneumovirus?
Also known as Avian Rhinotracheitis (ART). Turkey Rhinotracheitis (TRT) and Swollen Head Syndrome
What are the clinical signs of avian metapneumovirus?
- Depressed
- Lethargic with a high morbidity but low mortality
- Oedema around the eye and back of the head
- Closed eyes
- Froth inner canthus of eye
- Lachrymation
- Conjunctivitis
- Rhinitis
- Open mouthed breathing
- Uni-or bilateral infraorbital sinusitis
- Torticollis
- Drop egg production and hatchability
- Pale thin shelled eggs
How is avian metapneumovirus transmitted?
Aerosol, dust and droplets, close contact
How is avian metapneumovirus diagnosed?
Clinical and PM findings with confirmatory serology, brain histology, virus isolation, PCR
How is avian metapneumovirus prevented?
- Prevention using live and inactivated vaccines
- Control secondary with antibiotics
What type of pathogen causes infectious bronchitis?
Delta coronavirus
What are the clinical signs of infectious bronchitis in susceptible birds?
Depressed
Inappetent
Polydipsia
Wet litter
Poor growth rates
Rhinitis
Lachrymation
Facial oedema
Snicking
Head shaking
Coughing
Urate scour associated with nephrotropic strains
Mortality due to kidney damage
Damage the oviduct > cystic oviduct or blind layers
What are the clinical signs of infectious bronchitis in eggs?
Reduction production
Loss of shell colour
Abnormal ridging of shell
Thin shells
Watery white
Infection in young = secondary colisepticaemia
Laying adults = egg peritonitis
How is infectious bronchitis transmitted?
The air
Faeces
Faecal contamination of eggs
Water bedding and equipment
Virus can be shed for up to 8 weeks in faeces
How is infectious bronchitis diagnosed?
Clinical and post mortem findings confirmed by antibody tests ELISA, HI, virus neutralisation, RT PCR and histology
How is infectious bronchitis prevented and treated?
- Prevention using live and inactivated vaccines
- Treatment is aimed at controlling secondary infections which may include E.coli vaccines or antibiotic therapy
What is the pathogen causing infectious laryngotracheitis?
Gallid herpes 1 virus which can become latent
What are the clinical signs of infectious laryngotracheitis?
Cyanosis of the face and wattles
Froth in the inner canthus of the eye
Rhinitis
Lachrymation
Conjunctivitis
Facial oedema
Head shaking
Extension of the head and neck and tracheal rales
Haemoptysis
How is infectious laryngotracheitis transmitted?
Horizontally as an aerosol and by mechanical vectors, possibly windborne
How is infectious laryngotracheitis diagnosed?
PM, serology, histopathology, IN viral inclusion bodies, PCR, virus isolation
How is infectious laryngotracheitis prevented?
Continued vaccination to avoid cross infection
How is infectious laryngotracheitis treated?
- Broad spectrum antibiotic therapy - control secondary bacterial infections
- Supportive –sodium salicylate
What are the post mortem findings of infectious laryngotracheitis?
- Died in good condition
- Glottis obstructed by caseous plug
- Papillae on caudal aspect of laryngeal mound
- Trachea and glottis opened to show caseous plug moulded to inner aspect of the glottis and a mild tracheitis
What are the clinical signs of mycoplasma gallisepticum?
Conjunctivitis
Frothy exudate in eye
Tracheal râles
Nasal discharge
Coughing
Open mouthed breathing
Depressed appetite
Weight loss
Lowered egg production
Loss of shell colour
Exacerbated by intercurrent infections
Ammonia
How is mycoplasma gallisepticum transmitted?
Egg transmitted through vertical transmission
Aerosol from direct contact with infected birds
Laterally through fomites
How is mycoplasma gallisepticum diagnosed?
Confirmed by culture of the mycoplasma, PCR or blood samples from live b9irds (RSA, HI and ELISA tests)
How is mycoplasma gallisepticum prevented?
Live and dead vaccines are available
Controlled but not eliminated by antibiotics
What is avibacterium paragallinarum?
Facial oedema that could be associated with infectious coryza
What are the clinical signs of avibacterium paragallinarum?
- Sinusitis
- Serous to mucoid nasal discharge
- Facial oedema
- Conjunctivitis
- Froth in anterior canthus of eye
- Gurgling sounds
- Foul odour from beak if infection is chronic or complicated with secondary infections
- Diarrhoea
- Reduced feed
- Water consumption
- Uncomplicated cases generally high morbidity and low mortality
- Egg production drops
How is avibacterium paragallinarum transmitted?
Chronic or healthy carriers introduce infection which spreads by direct contact, aerosol or on fomites
How is avibacterium paragallinarum diagnosed?
Bacteriological culture, factor V required and low oxygen tension, serology
How is avibacterium paragallinarum prevented?
- Vaccination, good hygiene, single age flocks
- Tetracyclines, Quinolones and macrolides can be used to treat
What are the clinical signs of mycobacterium avium?
- Cachexia
- Birds look dull, depressed, lethargic, fluffed up, prominent sternum, pale skin and comb which may be small shrunken
- Lameness associated with bone infection
- Diarrhoea with soiling of the vent feathers
- Go out of lay
How is mycobacterium avium transmitted?
Close contact with the live or dead bird, ingestion of faeces or faecal aerosols, contaminated ground and equipment
How is mycobacterium avium diagnosed?
Clinical and post mortem findings with confirmatory bacteriology – Ziehl-Neelsen staining of impression smears and culture
How is mycobacterium avium prevented?
There is no specific treatment and avian mycobacteria are particularly antibiotic resistant
Control is by testing birds – PCR on faeces, tuberculin test (wattle in the chicken), agglutination and ELISA tests, with the removal of carriers and good hygiene and management
What are the post mortem findings of mycobacterium avium?
- Poor condition with tubercular granulomata
- Irregular grey to white nodules that can be found in the liver, spleen, intestine and bone marrow
- Granulomas are firm, with pale yellow caseous centres, sometimes bile stained in the liver and intestine
- Miliary white caseous nodules in the spleen and nodules in the bone
What is the pathogen involved in respiratory aspergillosis?
Aspergillus fumigatus and other fungi. The spores are found in mouldy hay, straw and grain
What are the clinical signs of respiratory aspergillosis?
- Gasping, outstretched necks, within a few days or birds can be affected over several weeks
- Increased mortality, morbidity in neonates and juvenile less in adults
- There may be weight loss due to a failure to eat because of the breathing difficulty
- Torticollis if brain affected
How is respiratory aspergillosis diagnosed?
Clinical and PM findings, impression smears, culture
How is respiratory aspergillosis prevented?
- Do not use mouldy hay
- Nebulisation of antifungal products
- Supportive care
What are the findings on post mortem of respiratory aspergillosis?
Multiple white nodules, sometimes with dark green centres, in various organs most commonly lungs and abdominal viscera
What are the clinical signs of trichomonas gallinae?
Yellow caseous lesions in the mouth
Inappetent
Hunched up
Fluffed up
Gaping
Swallowing
Dyspnoea
Cachexic
Foul smell from mouth
How is trichomonas gallinae transmitted?
Pigeons via crop milk, feed and water
How is trichomonas gallinae diagnosed?
Throat and crop swabs reveal motile protozoa
History
Clinical signs
Post mortem
Histology
How is trichomonas gallinae prevented?
- Prevention regular cleaning of feeders and drinkers, using water sanitisers
- Fowl – prevent access of pigeons to feeders and drinkers
What are the clinical signs of syngamus trachea?
- Hear the birds snicking
- Birds seen to be going back, ill thrift and some found dead
- Gaping with neck extended, snicking (sneezing) and anaemic
How is syngamus trachea diagnosed?
History, clinical signs, gross PM lesions, trachea or intestinal smears to look for worm eggs
How is syngamus trachea prevented?
Regular worming with flubendazole in feed
What are the presenting signs of alimentary disease in birds?
- Morbidity and mortality
- Loss of appetite, picking at feed, litter eating
- Faeces and urates adherent to feathers
- Enlarged crop
- Bad smell from beak
- Beak deformities
- Failure to gain weight, poor growth
- Increased water consumption, thirsty
- Wet, damp, sticky or greasy litter
- Pungent, sickly smell, rancid
- Dirty eggs
- Regurgitation
What changes can occur in the faeces due to alimentary disease?
Abnormal colour
Abnormal consistency
Undigested feed
Liquid urates
What are the presenting signs of reproductive disease in commercial flocks?
- Morbidity and mortality
- Failure to come into lay
- Drop in egg production
- Reduced hatchability
- Infertility
- Increased number of floor eggs
- Any eggshell changes
- Any internal egg changes
- Low flock water intake
- Low flock feed intake
What are the presenting signs of reproductive disease in backyard flocks?
Egg bound
Prolapse
Not laying
Failure to come into lay
Thin shells
Abnormal shells
Abnormal material
What is a blastodisc?
Infertile, small dense white area on top of yolk, 2mm diameter. White arrow on yolk
What is a blastoderm?
Fertile, small doughnut shaped white area on top of yolk, 4-5mm diameter –white arrow
What are the respiratory clinical signs of colibacillosis and colisepticaemia?
Open mouthed breathing
Panting
Lachrymation
Rhinitis
Snicking
“E.coli “scream
Depression
Diarrhoea
Inappetence
Mortality
How is colibacillosis and colisepticaemia transmitted?
Inhalation of aerosol droplets and dust
How is colibacillosis and colisepticaemia prevented?
- Ventilation and drinker management
- Vaccination requirements
- Amoxicillin, potentiated sulphonamides and tetracyclines
What are the post mortem findings of colibacillosis and colisepticaemia?
- Pericarditis
- Perihepatitis
- Peritonitis
- With/without air sacculitis
- Septicaemia
- Dehydration
- Congestion of the liver, kidneys, lungs and spleen
What is cellulitis in birds secondary to?
Secondary to mating or peck damage
How is cellulitis diagnosed?
At slaughter in meat type birds, history and clinical signs in parent flocks
How is cellulitis prevented?
Antibiotics
House temperatures - effect on feathering
Immunosuppressive disease
What are the post mortem findings of cellulitis?
Yellow parchment like pus subcutaneously on the ventral abdomen extending downwards from the vent
What is coligranuloma?
- This is most often a pathological curiosity which could be confused with Avian TB.
- There are no specific clinical signs but hard yellow granulomas are seen in the intestine, mesentery and sometimes liver of adult chickens on post-mortem.
What are the clinical signs of salmonella?
- Can be subclinical
- Depression
- Pasty vent feathers
- Lameness and unevenness
- Slight drop in egg production
- Slight loss of condition - combs are smaller and paler
How is salmonella diagnosed?
Clinical signs, PM lesions, microbiology monitoring, serology
How is salmonella prevented?
Competitive exclusion products
Vaccination
Amoxycillin, enrofloxacin, tetracyclines
What are the post mortem findings of salmonella?
Neonate inflamed yolk sacs, septicaemia, pericarditis, white caseous typhlitis
Juvenile – Se pericarditis, perihepatitis and retained infected yolk sac. Joint infections
What is the pathogen of pollorum disease?
Salmonella Pullorum
What are the clinical signs of pullorum disease?
- Mortality up to 100%
- Increase in dead in shell
- Deaths shortly after hatching, depression
- Respiratory signs
- Inappetence
- White sticky droppings on vent feathers
- Lameness
- Swollen joints
- Poor growth
- Shrunken combs
- Reduced egg production
- Infertility
- Poor hatchability
How is pullorum disease transmitted?
Vertically, only a small percent eggs infected. Infected chick hatches, laterally as fluff from chick heavily contaminated, as dries spread through incubator. Persist in environment for many months
How is pullorum disease diagnosed?
History, clinical signs, PM lesions, microbiology, serology
How is pullorum disease prevented?
Serological testing and culling
Good hygiene
Amoxycillin, enrofloxacin, tetracyclines
Vaccination
What is the acute presentation of salmonella gallinarum?
- Increase in mortality, inappetence, drop in egg production
- Depression, respiratory distress and a watery to mucoid yellow diarrhoea
- Loss of condition, anaemia, shrunken pale combs and wattles
What is the subacute presentation of salmonella gallinarum?
Sporadic mortality, weakness, yellow pasty droppings, increase dead in shell, mortality in newly hatched chicks
How is salmonella gallinarum transmitted?
Primarily lateral in the faeces but egg transmission is possible
How is salmonella gallinarum diagnosed?
History, clinical signs, post-mortem lesions, microbiology, serology
How is salmonella gallinarum prevented?
- Good hygiene
- Amoxycillin, enrofloxacin, tetracyclines may alleviate but not cure the disease
- Vaccines
What are the clinical signs of coccidiosis?
Hunched up
Fluffed up
Eyes closed
Pale skin
Inappetent
Polydipsic
Lethargic
Faecees may contain blood (Et) or have an orange colour
How is coccidiosis diagnosed?
History, clinical signs, faecal examination, post mortem lesions
How is coccidiosis prevented?
- Disinfectants that kill oocysts at clean-out
- Vaccine for chicken coccidia, in feed anti-coccidials
- Treat with Amprolium or Toltrazuril
What are the post mortem findings of coccidiosis?
Haemorrhagic typhlitis
Anaemic carcass
Sudden death
Note the gizzard is full of feed