Common Chicken Diseases

Chicken Info

Index of Bird Diseases ... Symptoms & Potential Causes ... Bird Health Care

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Common Chicken Diseases

• Aspergillosis - Respiratory problems


• Avian encephalomalacia - vitamin E deficiency


• Avian encephalomyelitis (AE) : Affects young chickens, characterised by central nervous system signs (Epidemic Tremors).


• Avian influenza (bird flu) - most well-known chicken-related disease
• Blackhead disease: Blackhead disease (also known simply as blackhead) is a commercially important avian disease that affects chickens, turkeys and other poultry. It is a form of histomoniasis caused by the protozoan parasite Histomonas meleagridis. Blackhead disease affects turkeys more than chickens. The most common symptom of Blackhead disease is yellow watery bird droppings. To reduce the spreading of Blackhead disease, the sick birds must be removed and their litter changed.


• Botulism


• Cage Layer Fatigue


• Chicken Moronic Disease


• Coccidiosis


• Colds
• Crop bound


• Crop Mycosis / Trhush - Moniliasis - characterized by whitish thickened areas of the crop and proventriculus, erosions in the gizzard, and inflammation of the vent area.


• Eastern encephalitis


• Egg bound


• Encephalitis caused by bacteria, fungi (eg, aspergillosis)


• Erysipelas


• Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome: Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome is a disease that affects the liver of chickens and other birds.


• Fowl Cholera(purple, swollen wattle & comb)


• Fowl pox


• Fowl Typhoid


• Gallid herpesvirus 1 Also known as Infectious Laryngotracheitis or LT: Gallid herpesvirus 1 (GaHV-1) (also known as Avian herpesvirus 1)is a virus of the family Herpesviridae that causes avian infectious laryngotracheitis. It was originally recognized as a disease of chickens in the United States in 1926. The disease also occurs in pheasants.[2] GaHV-1 is shed in respiratory secretions and transmitted by droplet inhalation. A previously unexposed flock will develop cases for two to eight weeks following introduction. The incubation period is two to eight days.[1] Symptoms include coughing, sneezing, head shaking, lethargy, discharge from the eyes and nostrils (sometimes bloody), and difficulty breathing. The name comes from the severe inflammation of the larynx and trachea. A diphtheritic membrane may form in the trachea, causing obstruction. Mortality is typically less than 15 percent. A vaccine is available, but it does not prevent latent infections. The disease is usually refered to as Infectious laryngotracheitis or simply LT in the poultry industry. It is widely viewed as one of the most contagious viruses that affect the poultry industry. A confirmed case will usually result in the establishment of a quarantine zone around the farm. Inside this quarantine zone, poultry workers will avoid poultry farms to prevent the spread of the virus.


• Gapeworms


• Infectious Bronchitis


• Infectious Bursal Disease


• Infectious Coryza


• Lymphoid Leucosis


• Marek's disease


• Moniliasis (Crop Mycosis, Thrush) - characterized by whitish thickened areas of the crop and proventriculus, erosions in the gizzard, and inflammation of the vent area.


• Mycoplasmas


• Newcastle disease


• Necrotic Enteritis


• Nutritional Deficiency: Avian encephalomalacia (vitamin E deficiency), rickets, vitamin B1 or B2 deficiency


• Omphalitis (Mushy chick disease)


• Prolapse (in egg layers)


• Psittacosis


• Pullorum (Salmonella)


• Scaly leg


• Squamous cell carcinoma


• Tibial dyschondroplasia: Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is a metabolic disease of young poultry that affects the growth of bone and cartilage. Often occurs in broilers (chickens raised for meat) and other poultry which have been bred for fast growth rates. The tibial cartilage does not mature enough to ossify (turn into bone). This leaves the growth plate prone to fracture, infection, and deformed bone development. It is the leading cause of lameness, mortality, and carcass condemnations in commercial poultry.


• Toxoplasmosis


• Ulcerative Enteritis

Chickens are also susceptible to parasites, including lice, mites, ticks, fleas, and intestinal Worms.

Chickenpox is a disease of humans, not chickens.

Related Web Resources:

• Staphylococcosis, Staphylococcal Arthritis, Bumble Foot .
• Bumble Foot
• Arthritis
• Leg and Foot Disorders in Domestic Fowl
• External Symptoms for Diagnosing Poultry Diseases (Mississippi State University)

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Information contained on this website is provided as general reference only. For application to specific circumstances, professional advice should be sought.

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