POULTRY HEALTH CARE AND MANAGEMENT
Key Principles of Poultry Health Management The key principles of poultry health management are : ( a ) Prevention of disease ( This area has been exhaustively covered under Biosecurity on poultry farms ) ( b ) Early recognition of disease ( c ) Early treatment of disease .
As much as is possible disease should be prevented . It is easier and less damaging to prevent disease than it is to treat it . However , it must not be assumed that all disease can be prevented . Inevitably , some will get past the defenses , in which case it becomes imperative that the condition be recognized as early as possible to allow treatment or other appropriate action to be implemented as soon as possible to bring the situation under control to limit damage to the flock .
Manure Management : Whatever the type of confinement , proper attention must be paid to manure management . Adult birds produce 500 g of fresh manure ( 70 percent moisture content ) per year per kg of body weight . To preserve its fertilizer value , manure should be dried to about 10 to 12 percent moisture content before storage . This will retain the maximum nitrogen content for fertilizer value . Nitrogen in the form of urea is the most volatile component of manure , and is lost as ammonia if moisture content is too high in the stored material . If the moisture content is too high , then the stored manure releases ammonia , carbon dioxide , hydrogen sulphide and methane , which can have serious physiological effects on humans . Some of these components are also greenhouse gases , which contribute to the global increase in ambient temperature Poultry manure is very useful as an organic fertilizer , as animal and fish feed and as a raw material for methane gas generation in biogas plants for cooking fuel .
Medication : Use only if / when necessary , and get veterinary advice . Most medications are not registered for use for layers in production . Follow label directions .
Medicate chickens for worms at 5 , 10 and 18 weeks of age through their drinking water or individually . A follow up treatment may be necessary . Dust , spray or dip the birds for body lice and mite if necessary , using an approved pesticides only .
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