Avian flu: symptoms in chickens

Avian influenza became widespread in the second half of the 20th century, especially since 2003. This is a serious disease of poultry, another name is "classic plague". To prevent infection, people living in rural areas need to be aware of the signs of bird flu in chickens and take appropriate action.

Features of caring for hens, broilers, chickens

Breeding chickens is troublesome. To keep them healthy, you need to ensure:

• keeping the chicken coop clean;
• correct diet.

Hygiene in the chicken coop

Features of caring for chickens

The first thing to do to maintain house hygiene is regular cleaning. This is especially true in winter, since at this time the chickens do not leave the hen house. Straw litter lying on the floor carries bacteria that cause disease in birds. Therefore, it must be changed regularly. It is also necessary to maintain cleanliness in the feeders: rinse after each feeding with water, and pour boiling water over the drinkers. Several times a year, it is important to disinfect all objects and walls with a solution of lime. In addition to lime, you can use any store-bought preparations intended for disinfection.

Ensure good ventilation in the house to prevent the proliferation of infections. It is very important, since chickens do not tolerate high temperatures well.

Feeding chickens

Feeding should be timely and contain all the necessary nutrients, vitamins, minerals. This is especially true for laying hens (they need materials to build an egg) and broiler chickens (because they quickly gain weight).

In addition to compound feed and grain feed, chickens need dairy products and cake as additional sources of protein. You need to choose food without artificial ingredients and chemicals. Do not forget about the birds' need for clean water.

Feeding chickens

Avian Flu Symptoms in Poultry Chickens, Chickens and Broilers

The disease is spread by wild waterfowl. But the classical plague does not cause epidemics in wild birds. They are not as susceptible to infection as house birds. Therefore, infected birds have practically no symptoms of the disease. And in poultry, the disease is difficult and in most cases leads to their death.

If bird flu appears on the farm, symptoms in chickens will appear quickly and acutely:

• Deterioration of the condition of young animals. Young birds and chickens are usually less resistant to avian influenza virus. At the very beginning of infection, their plumage will look worse, their appetite will decrease, and lethargy will appear.
• A sharp decline in poultry productivity... Egg production decreases at the earliest stage of the disease. This may indicate a mild condition that does not require human intervention. However, this symptom is also typical for a severe form, leading to 100% death of birds. It is almost impossible to determine whether bird flu will be mild or severe.
• The defeat of the gastrointestinal tract... This will manifest itself in loss of appetite, diarrhea, and a sharp rise in temperature. Chickens will feel more thirsty, drink constantly.
• The defeat of the respiratory system. The manifestation of such a symptom indicates a severe form of infection, leading to a massive death of birds. The breathing of chickens becomes difficult, the lungs swell.
• Unusual behavior. Due to damage to the nervous system, cramps and unnatural movements of the neck begin. The hen cannot move and becomes lethargic. Multiple hemorrhages may occur. After that, within 24 hours, she begins to swell in the brain.
• Blackening of earrings and crest. He speaks of a severe form, in which therapy is already useless, such individuals need to be urgently killed. Otherwise, they will become a source of infection for the entire livestock.

Treatment of the disease

Even if symptoms of chicken flu are detected at an early stage in chickens, this disease is not amenable to treatment. This is explained by two facts:

• the virus spreads among birds very quickly, symptoms of infection appear suddenly;
• the virus is prone to mutation, so the previously invented vaccines are no longer suitable for the new strain of the pathogen.

Even chickens who have recovered and survived are immune to only one specific strain of infection.

At the first detection of symptoms of this disease, the breeder should isolate the sick individual. She is slaughtered.

The carcass of a dead bird must be burned. Otherwise, it will become the source of the spread of the virus. Do not forget about your own safety. Poultry autopsy can only be performed if the breeder is wearing gloves, a respirator and clothing that can then be disposed of.

After the destruction of sick birds, it is necessary to disinfect the premises, feeders and drinkers, the entire territory of the farm.

Treatment of the disease

Preventive measures

And yet there is a way to protect yourself and your household from the insidious virus. Instead of treating it, you need to provide preventive measures. Poultry farmers have noticed that under good conditions of keeping chickens, bird flu is extremely rare.

So, a complete list of preventive measures:

• Limiting contact between domestic birds and wild birds.
• Maintaining a high level of immunity in chickens (with the help of nutrition, vitamins, supplements).
• Maintaining the cleanliness of the chicken coop and timely disinfection of the territories;
• Do not feed your chickens with eggs purchased from the market. So the chick can become infected by itself and spread this virus to all adult livestock.
• Do not feed with purchased feed that has not passed laboratory tests.
• During epidemics, protect the livestock from walking outside the site, the surrounding areas can be infected with wild birds and neighbors.

So, having considered the entire list of measures to prevent the classic plague, you need to take care of the safety of your household and the health of your household in advance.