Bacterial and Viral Diseases
Index of Bird Diseases ... Symptoms & Potential Causes ... Bird Species & Diseases They are Most Susceptible to ... Bird Health Care ... Glossary of Avian Medical Terms ... Medications Used in Avian & Exotic Medicine and Pharmaceutical Terms ... How to administer oral medications to a bird
Bird Health / Avian Medicine Library
Fungal Infections by Dr. Rob Marshall ... Microbiology for the Aviculturist: Do your own cultures or gram stains - step-by-step instructions
Vinegar: A Natural Approach to Avian Management
Chicken Pox / Fowl Pox ... Coryza ... Epidemic Tremor ... Fowl Cholera ... Infectious Bronchitis ... Lymphoid Leucosis ... Marek's Disease ... Avian Influenza
(For more in-depth information on each of the above diseases, please
go to the Bird Disease page)
CHICKEN POX OR FOWL POX (SOREHEAD)
CORYZA
A disease affecting chicken, pheasants, guinea fowl, turkeys and other game birds
Cause: Simple coryza, the common cold, is usually caused by improper management
in which birds are subjected to undue exposure. Infectious coryza
is caused by a specific microorganism and its severity is increased
in birds subjected to resistance lowering factors.
Common Symptoms: Respiratory distress accompanied by watery and
swollen eyes and poor condition.
Treatment: Simple coryza responds to correction of undue
exposure. Antibiotics are beneficial. Infectious coryza sometimes
responds to erthyromycin, streptomycin and sulfonamides, if treated
early.
Control: Depopulation of farms and starting with clean chicks.
Consider vaccination if exposure risk is high.
EPIDEMIC TREMOR
Cause: A virus.
Symptoms: A disease affecting chickens clinically under 6
weeks of age. Incoordination of gait, staggering, falling to one
side, occasional tremors of the head. Excitement intensifies symptoms.
Treatment and Control: No treatment except isolation of affected
birds. Vaccinate breeder flocks to provide immunity to chicks.
LYMPHOID LEUCOSIS
Cause: A virus of the leukosis-sarcoma complex.
Occurs mainly in laying hens between 4 and 10 months or age.
Symptoms: Tumors in the bursa of Fabricius will spread to
many other internal organs, especially the liver, spleen and kidney.
Treatment: None.
Control: Development of resistant strains of chickens by Poultry geneticists.
AVIAN INFLUENZA
Cause: A virus. Highly infectious, severity varies.
Symptoms: Sudden death is common. Clinical signs include sudden
drop in egg production. depression, loss of appetite, blue combs
and wattles, diarrhea, blood-tinged discharge from nostrils.
Treatment: None.
Control: Monitoring, strict quarantine and rapid destruction
of all infected flocks. Poultry producers should practice strict management control.
* From Diseases of Poultry, a paper by Dr. Gary D. Butcher, DVM, PhD., Poultry Veterinarian, College of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville. From publication PS-5, Florida Cooperative Extension Service.
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