Table Of Content

The Chicken Health Handbook Gail Damerow Schoolhouse Road Pownal, Vermont 05261 The mission of Storey Communications is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment. Edited by Amanda R. Haar Cover design by Meredith Maker Text Design and Production by Cynthia McFarland Cover photograph © John Colwell from Grant Heilmann Photography Line drawings by Elayne Sears except chapter opener line art and diagram art on pages 6 and 216 by Cynthia McFarland Indexed by Gail Damerow Copyright © 1994 by Gail Damerow All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Books. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. For additional information please contact Storey Books, Schoolhouse Road, Pownal, Vermont 05261. Storey Books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized editions. For further information, please call Storey's Custom Publishing Department at 1-800-793-9396. Printed in the United States by Capital City Press 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Damerow, Gail. Chicken health handbook / Gail Damerow. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-88266-611-8 (pbk.) 1. Chickens Diseases. 2. Chickens Health. 3. Chickens Parasites. I. Title. SF995.D33 1994 636.5'089dc20 93-33385 CIP Contents Charts v Foreword by Jeanne Smith, D.V.M. vii Introduction 1 1. Chicken Health 3 2. Health and Nutrition 26 3. Anatomy of a Chicken 43 4. External Parasites 58 5. Internal Parasites: Worms 77 6. Internal Parasites: Protozoa 97 7. Infectious Diseases 107 8. Environment-Related Problems 132 9. Diagnostic Guides 147 10. Postmortem Examination 165 11. Therapy 181 12. Enhancing Immunity 197 13. Incubation and Brooding 208 14. Chickens and Human Health 230 15. Diseases and Disorders 244 Glossary 315 Suppliers 324 State Poultry Pathology Laboratories 325 Recommended Reading 331 Index 333 Charts Chapter- 1 Chicken Health 8 1-1 Diseases Spread by Carriers 15 1-2 Minimum Space Requirements 18 1-3 Survival Ability of Disease-Causing Organisms 20 1-4 Chemical Disinfectants Chapter- 2 Health and Nutrition 30 2-1 Vitamin Benefits and Sources 33 2-2 Nutritional Diseases and Disorders 34 2-3 Nutritional Symptoms 36 2-4 Feeding Schedules 37 2-5 Feeder Space 38 2-6 Restricted Feeding Schedule for Pullets 39 2-7 Diseases Affecting Water Consumption 39 2-8 Diseases Related to Drinking Water 40 2-9 Environmental Temperature and Water Consumption 41 2-10 Signs of Water Deprivation 41 2-11 Waterer Space and Minimum Water Needs Chapter- 3 Anatomy of a Chicken 45 3-1 Diseases Involving the Cloacal Bursa 48 3-2 Air Sacs 56 3-3 Disorders by the Body System They Affect Chapter- 4 External Parasites 59 4-1 Diseases Spread by External Parasites 65 4-2 Lice 68 4-3 Mites 72 4-4 Chiggers Chapter- 5 Internal Parasites: Worms 86 5-1 Roundworms 90 5-2 Tapeworms 92 5-3 Flukes Chapter- 6 Internal Parasites: Protozoa 6-1 Protozoan Diseases 100 6-2 Coccidia Affecting Chickens 103 6-3 Drugs Used to Treat Coccidiosis Chapter- 7 Infectious Diseases 110 7-1 Bacterial Diseases 120 7-2 Viruses Infecting Chickens 125 7-3 Forms of Newcastle Disease 127 7-4 Forms of Marek's Disease 128 7-5 Differences Between Lymphoid Leukosis and Marek's Disease 130 7-6 Fungal Diseases Chapter- 8 Environment-Related Problems 141 8-1 Fungal Poisoning 142 8-2 Toxic Plants 143 8-3 Rodent Droppings 146 8-4 Rodenticides Chapter- 9 Diagnostic Guides 148 9-1 Flock History 148 9-2 Signs of Health 152 9-3 Diseases Causing a Change in Droppings 154 9-4 Diseases Interfering with Movement 156 9-5 Diseases and Conditions Affecting Egg Production 158 9-6 Diseases Causing Breathing Difficulties 159 9-7 Diseases Causing Discoloration 160 9-8 Diseases Causing Off Odors 161 9-9 Diseases Affecting the Eyes 162 9-10 Diseases Causing Sores in the Mouth 162 9-11 Diseases Causing Temperature Changes 163 9-12 Diseases Causing a High Rate of Death 164 9-13 Diseases Causing Sudden Death Chapter- 10 Postmortem Examination 174 10-1 Postmortem Findings 179 10-2 Inflamed Conditions 180 10-3 Nutritionally Related Findings Chapter- 11 Therapy 196 11-1 Reportable Diseases Chapter- 12 Enhancing Immunity 205 12-1 Vaccination Methods Chapter- 13 Incubation and Brooding 217 13-1 Nutrition-Related Hatching Problems 218 13-2 Incubation Trouble-Shooting 228 13-3 Nutritional Problems in Chicks Chapter- 14 Chickens and Human Health 231 14-1 Poultry-Related Human Diseases 238 14-2 Food-Borne Bacteria 240 14-3 Bacterial Food Poisoning Quick-Check Foreword In my veterinary practice I work with many poultry fanciers and backyard poultry farmers. I am often asked what books I could recommend to help them learn better management and gain a better understanding of the diseases that may affect their birds. I have been unable to help them much with their requests, as most of the texts on avian diseases are written for veterinarians, of limited usefulness to the layperson. Very few books are available for the fancier, and those that I have seen are generally incomplete and not particularly accurate. Therefore, I am delighted to see this publication being made available to the poultry fancier. Gail Damerow has covered the topic of small-flock poultry health management very completely and competently. The information is presented accurately and in enough detail to give the fancier a full understanding of the diseases, their prevention and treatments. Yet this is done in an easily understood manner through careful attention to definitions and explanations. It is not an easy task to convert scientific information that veterinarians study for years to understand into useful, management-bottom-line information for the average back-yard poultry grower. I believe Ms. Damerow has accomplished this in her book. Ms. Damerow has also presented her information in a quite accessible format for the fancier. She not only describes each disorder as a distinct entity, which can be looked up by the fancier who has just received a diagnosis and wants to learn more about the disease, but she also has provided a section arranged by clinical signs. The fancier, seeing certain clinical signs in the flock, can go to the book and look up what the possible causes are. Both of these approaches will have their usefulness for the fancier. Prevention of disease through good management is essential when raising poultry, especially small flocks of poultry, which are often not vaccinated for many of the diseases that commercial poultry are, which often travel to and from shows, and which are maintained in multi-age facilities. Also, the generally low monetary value of individual birds makes costs of diagnosis and treatments impractical in many cases. Having a book such as this which outlines good disease prevention strategies, as well as disease management strategies should problems occur, is a valuable asset to the poultry fancier. I believe the best use of this book is to read it through for the disease prevention management information whether you are having disease problems in your birds or not. Implement whatever management practices you are not already using. Then keep the book handy as a reference if you see a problem pop up in your flock. JEANNE SMITH, D.V.M. AVIAN HEALTH SERVICES 3220 QUAIL DRIVE, PLACERVILLE, CA 95667