There are a huge number of bird diseases, and many of them develop catastrophically quickly. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to the behavior of the bird, its appearance and changes in the natural processes of the body. This will help to identify the disease in time and cure it.
Oddly enough, but most often it is sick poultry due to improper conditions of detention and feeding. Especially all poultry farmers are recommended to carefully study the symptoms of such a disease as gastroenteritis, which often suffers chickens.
What is chick gastroenteritis?
Gastroenteritis is a disease of the stomach and small intestine.. This internal disease has other names, such as gastric or intestinal flu.
Gastroenteritis in chickens can be acute and chronic. If we talk about the acute form of the disease, then it has several subspecies. Among them is a viral subtype, infectious, alimentary, toxic, allergic. All these subspecies and forms have approximately identical symptoms, but the sources of infection are completely different.
Degree of danger and damage
Gastroenteritis was once considered an exclusively human disease, after which the disease became common in cattle, and today both birds and pets suffer from it.
Gastroenteritis is an insidious disease, because many poultry farmers, observing the characteristic symptoms, take a serious illness for the usual poisoning. This can lead to the fact that the disease spreads to all chickens, both adults and juveniles.
If gastroenteritis is caused in one of the birds by food allergies, poisoning, the use of poor-quality raw materials, then you should not worry about other chickens, but just in case, observe their condition and carry out prevention. But if gastroenteritis is viral, then all birds are at high risk of infection.
The risk of infection with gastroenteritis, especially viral, is extremely high. Rapid exhaustion leads to the inevitable death of a bird, which directly affects economic damage.
Infectious gastroenteritis is most often found in the industrial sector, where poultry farmers cannot always detect the disease due to the large number of chickens. Serious damage at the initial stage of the disease is associated with the departure of chickens. The weight of the diseased bird will not increase, but on the contrary, the chicken can lose weight, which leads to a decrease in production performance.
Even more significant damage occurs in cases where, against the background of a weakened immunity, birds develop other infections that completely affect the gastrointestinal tract, lead to the destruction of the skeleton, rickets, or death.
Pathogens
Gastroenteritis in chickens can be caused by various pathogens.
The most common cause of the disease is irregular feeding, feeding poor quality grain.
Also, the bird's stomach may be affected due to ingestion of substances that irritate the intestines, such as heavy metal salts, drugs. The cause of the disease may be a banal food allergy to food.
Infectious and parasitic diseases are often the causative agent of gastroenteritis.. Various defects of the stomach and intestines, such as a polyp, indigestion, ischemia of the small intestinal wall, etc., also contribute to the occurrence of the disease.
Poultry farmers should save chickens from mental overload and stress, which also provoke the development of gastroenteritis.
Course and symptoms
The main symptoms of gastroenteritis:
- Gastroenteritis in chickens is accompanied by various forces of oppression, weakness, blue crest.
- If the extent of the lesion is acute, then there are liquid or foamy feces having a yellow-green color and a fetid odor. Often undigested feed particles can be found in them.
- Feathers near the foul place of the bird are contaminated with feces.
- In the chronic case, gastroenteritis develops anemia, diarrhea stops and intestinal atony and overflow of the stomach with gases occurs.
- Sick bird refuses to eat.
- The temperature of the bird's body is elevated, or is at the upper mark of the norm.
- Thirst is absent or moderate.
The disease is quite difficult. At the first stage, normal diarrhea can be observed, but then the condition of poultry deteriorates sharply and acquires new symptoms. Vomiting may occur during this period.
In vomit there is mucus, bile, feed particles, blood. The mucous membrane of the mouth is covered with saliva, and a white or gray bloom forms on the tongue.
The wall of the abdomen of the bird is painful and tense, which can be felt on palpation. Feathers of a chicken get an unkempt appearance; sometimes a drop in the eyes is observed.
The blockage of the intestines of birds may occur due to the presence of foreign objects in the intestines or malnutrition.Read about how to properly do the autumn pruning of grapes in the Moscow region! Click here and get to the page about it.
Diagnostics
The symptoms of gastroenteritis are similar to many other diseases of chickens, so there is no need to do without accurate diagnosis. In order to establish the final diagnosis, virological and bacteriological studies are carried out.
Conditions of housing are assessed, and poultry feed is subjected to toxicological and mycological analysis.. Along with the above manipulations, feces of chickens are also subject to investigation.
In the industrial sector to establish an individual diagnosis of each individual becomes impossible. Therefore, for research choose one or more birds that have obvious signs of gastroenteritis.
Treatment
Treatment of gastroenteritis begins with the elimination of the causes that caused the disease.
To do this, poultry is transferred to a half-starved diet using easily digestible food and vitamins.
Water from chickens should be exceptionally clean and fresh. If necessary, use laxatives to completely cleanse the stomach of accumulated toxins.
With severe intoxication and dehydration, the glucose solution is injected into the bird.. To eliminate dysbacteriosis and suppress the toxicogenic microflora, antibiotics are prescribed in combination with nitrofurans or sulfa drugs.
Also, for general therapy, decoctions, herbal extracts, and special veterinary bacteria can be used to restore the intestinal microflora.
Prevention and control measures
- The main preventive measures are to organize a full, high-quality food, which will meet the physiological needs of birds.
Water should always be fresh, because it is with water that bacteria most often enter the body of the bird.
- Periodically it is necessary to arrange a clinical examination on poultry farms, and carefully monitor the condition of the chickens' digestive system.
It is recommended that in order to prevent, chickens should be given vitamins, chemotherapeutic agents, beneficial bacteria, as well as preparations for raising immunity.
- In order to prevent contamination of the entire chicken farm, it is necessary to separate separately those individuals that have the characteristic signs of gastroenteritis.
- The timely detection of gastroenteritis and an immediate call to the veterinarian will help to avoid serious consequences.
