Chicken is kind of animal which commonly processed as food. The kind of foods which made by chicken is like nugget, fried chicken, sausage, meatball, snack, etc. Their body part like fur is also used as many stuff like shuttlecock, duster, bag ornament, paint ornament, and clothes. As the fur, the skin of their egg is also used as paint ornament too. That’s why many people choose to be chicken breeder.
As professional breeder or owner, you must know some things about chicken’s healthy in order to produce the quality chickens. Not only avian influenza that you must to know, but some diseases here also has opportunity to attack your chicken. Here are 10 common chicken diseases you need to know.
Something you need to know
By the cause of the illness, chicken diseases compared as 4 that are:
- Viral diseases: the diseases caused by virus
- Bacteria diseases: the diseases caused by bacteria
- Mikal diseases: the diseases caused by fungi
- Parasite diseases: the diseases caused by parasite organism
Here the diseases
- Avian enchephalomyelitis (AE)
This disease caused by virus. The virus called RNA from Picornaviridae family. This disease is usually attack on 1-4 weeks old chicken. In 1-2 weeks old chicken, it will show paralyzing and followed with ataxia because there is incoordination in foot muscle. This makes the chicken felt with the foot condition is pointing some way. Not only that, the chicken will show tremor on head and neck actually if that spot is triggered. The situation is continued by paralyzing and ended by death. In breed chicken, this diseases makes decreasing the egg either of quality and quantity. The number of egg decreasing is also high, around 5-20%. You need to know that this disease transmitted by egg, so the transmitted is highly spread in its child. The most lost benefit side is obviously the breeder. The preventive action which can take is vaccinations, give the feed ration, vitamin, and electrolyte.
- Avian Influenza (AI)
This disease was viral in the universe because the transmission. This is caused by influenza virus A type, subtype H5 and H7. All poultry can infect by influenza virus type A, but this virus commonly attack chicken and turkey. This disease is zoonosis because the death is absolute 100%. The symptom which showed is the spot which is none of fur like eyelid, stomach, and soles of the feed are turning to blue. There are red dotted spot in the foot, and liquid that out of the eye and nose, and paralyzing. There aren’t actions to heal this case, but the preventive action that must to be taken is adding some minerals and vitamin to increase the condition of the chicken. And also don’t forget to prevent the sub-infection with giving the antibiotic.
- Chicken pox
This case is caused by large size DNA pox virus. This pox can be happen as two things, in the skin, diphtheric mode, or the mixture of that. The symptom that appeared is late-growth in young chicken, egg decrease, and eating or breathing problem. The preventive method to be taken is vaccination.
- Tetelo (ND)
Tetelo or Newcastle Disease caused by Paramyxo virus. This is emergency case because the transmission is so fast. It takes 3-4 days to kill all the chicken in the cage. This virus is usually infected by wild bird. The symptom which appeared is sluggish, decreasing of eating mood, breathing problem, cough, slimy mouth, runny greenish dirt, combs and bluish heads, cloudy corneas, paralysis and convulsions until the head twits back. There aren’t methods to prevent this case, but one infected chicken must by burned to stop the transmission.
- Infectious Bursal Disease (IDB)
This disease caused by virus genus Avibirnavirus and brooks the immune system of chicken. The transmission is by contact directly, drinking water, air and tools that infected virus. This virus isn’t killed the chicken directly. This virus can survive for 3 months inside of the chicken body. Because it attacks immune system, it surely effected the infections and ended with death. The symptom which appeared is sluggish and sleepy, dull feathers, trembling, slimy diarrhea, balance that starts to interfere and irritation of the rectum because chicken often pecks it. The cure isn’t available so you better vaccine it regularly using gumboro vaccin nobilis, delvax gumboro, bursavac, and etc.
- Worms
The worms that usually attack are gilig worms and tapeworms. The gilig worms usually attack younger chicken, and the tapeworms attack the older. This case is growth in raining. The symptom which appeared is decreased appetite, stunted growth or slow, chicken boy becomes thin, less active or weak, hair looks dull and watery dirty, and diarrhea which slightly white and sometimes bleed. You can give worm medicine preparat piperazine to kill the transmission. Or you can add the other like pipedon-xliquid, sulfaquinoxalin, sulfamezatin, and sulfamerazi.
- Snot
This disease caused by Haemophillus Gallinarum bacteria which usually attacked in transition of season. This case is regularly found in tropical area and also attacked either of chicks and adult chicken. The number of death is 30% and the illness is 80%. The transmission is by infected chicken, drinking water, food, dirt, air, and breeder tool. The symptom which appeared is no appetite, weakness and drowsiness, slow growth, smelly yellow mucus coming out of the nose, discharge from the eyes (foamy eyes), swelling of the sinuses (border between the eyes and nose, crust in the nose, runny nose and difficulty breathing. The cure methods that can be taken is using sulfate preparations such as sulfadimethoxine or sulfathiazole. You can also use enrofloxacyn (Enflox) preparations or using amphycillin and colistin preparations 9Amphyvitacol). Antibiotics can also be used such as ultramycin, imequil or corivit. There are also those who use traditional medicine such as milk powder or crushed ginger, turmeric, and lempuyang juice. For chicken which emergency infected you can give it sulfamix injection.
- Pullorum or chalk lime
This disease caused by Salmonella pullorum bacteria which can survive during one year inside of underground. This disease usually attacked to 1-10 days old of chicken. It also attacked adult chicken, but the number of death in young chicken is 85%. The symptom to the adult chicken is not showed. The symptom which appeared is decreased appetite, body fatigue and dullness, eyes closed, cold and likes to look for warm places, grayish combs, attached anal hair and watery dirt mixed with white granules like chalk. You can inject with sulfonamide preparations or antibiotics of furozolidone, coccilin, neo terramycin, tetra or mycomas in chicken breast to prevent chicken death, not to eliminate the infection.
- Greenish lime
There are not clearly information about this case, but many people assume that this case caused by same bacteria that infected in chalk lime case. The transmission is direct contact when roosters marry hens, drinking water, and feed. The symptom which appeared is decreased appetite, body fatigue and dullness, grayish combs, attached anal hair and watery dirt green color. There aren’t the cure methods to heal it, but as preventive action you can clean the cage regularly and give it vaccine.
- Bleed dirt
This caused by parasite protozoa from the genus Eimiria sp that eaten by chicken. The symptom which appeared is decreased appetite which causes stunted growth, flabby dirt tends to be liquid and the color is blackish brown because it contains blood. It can cure by noxal, sulfaquinoxalin, diklazuril or others.