THE REALITIES ABOUT POULTRY The Modern Farm - The Realities About Poultry_Seco | Page 93
Bacteria: These cause diseases like fowl cholera, Salmonella, Mycoplasma, E. Coli, and
Rimerellaanatipestifer. Bacterial diseases can be treated with antibiotics.
Fungi: Fungi may cause illness either by growing in the birds or by producing poisons. There
are no treatments for fungal diseases but they can be treated by cleaning the environment.
Protozoa and Parasites: Parasites can irritate and annoy birds, and some can transmit bacteria
and viruses. Parasites are categorized as either internal or external, depending on where they live
in or on the bird.
External parasites generally bite and irritate birds but can also cause blood loss and transmit
diseases. Mites, lice, and ticks are all external parasites. Flies, fleas, beetles, and mosquitoes,
although they live both on and off the bird, can transmit diseases like fowl pox between birds
and, they can concentrate poisons.
Internal parasites can be very small (like coccidia) or very large (like most worms). There are
treatments and vaccines for some internal parasites.
Poisons like botulinum and aflatoxin are produced by living organisms (fungi and bacteria).
Poisons that are made by humans, like pesticides or disinfectants, can also cause clinical signs in
poultry if they eat or drink them.
Nutritional deficiencies can result in signs of illness and death, especially in young birds. Once
the deficit has been identified and corrected, the birds will often make a rapid recovery.
Environmental conditions, especially heat, can kill large numbers of birds and are among the
key causes that should be considered when there is high mortality. Heat loss is more common in
confined birds than those that are free-ranging.
Predation usually results in the loss of a few birds rather than whole flocks.
Common Poultry Diseases
Common poultry diseases can either be infectious (Diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms
such as viruses, bacteria, parasites or fungi) or non-infectious (Diseases not caused by pathogens,
instead they are likely to have causes such as nutritional disorders, management styles such as
overstocking, environmental toxins or gene mutations).
Infectious Diseases
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