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Baycox, Coxi Plus or Coxoid* in water for five days. Keep litter dry. Paracox oral vaccine, one drop, day-old chick only, lifelong protection† Metronidazole* 5mg/ml oral solution, 30mg/kg q 12hrs for five days. Worm Flubenvet mixed into feed for seven days, 10g to 8kg feed Exhibition chickens, hens, ducks, geese, turkeys, ornamental Visible parasites around vent, listless, Pyrethrum-based louse powder all over bird, spray housing with Barricade waterfowl, quail, ornamental pheasants, guinea fowl and peacocks Tylan 200* injection, 0.5ml per adult in breast muscle, 1ml turkeys. Repeat once, 48hrs, cull if no improvement. Tylan Soluble suitable for chicks Common problems and some causes
Common diseases by age
Lance, flush with Baytril 2.5%, 5ml teal, 30ml swan, daily for five days. Spray fomites with Virkon or F10 Weight loss: internal parasites, poor nutrition, liver
Chicks: Early hatch: very small bantams, eggs too
disease, starvation, bullying, avian TB, Northern fresh (<24hours), sat on by broody before collection. Dunk legs in surgical spirit weekly for three weeks or avermectin* drops on fowl mite or red mite, poisoning, coccidiosis, kidney Unhealed navel: eggs too old, temperature of
skin. Scales take one year to grow back properly disease, lack of water, high levels of ammonia.
incubator too low, too much humidity in setter. Remove red colour, spray coloured antiseptic, put Stockholm tar on area. Deformities: genetic or nutritional, slippery surface
Diarrhoea: E. coli, BWD, coccidia, too much cabbage,
for first few days, temperature fluctuations and hexamita, Salmonella typhimurium or enteritidis, extremes during incubation. Deaths: salmonellosis,
sudden change of diet. Do not confuse caecal contents (voided 1 in 10) with diarrhoea.
Sudden death in adults: egg peritonitis, heart
Missing feathers: external parasites, moulting,
failure, salmonellosis, stoat/mink/ferret/fox, choked, pushing head through fence, hens plucking each kidney failure, aspergillosis, botulism, duck viral ACEi plus frusemide to weight, methylene blue if nitrate poisoning other or cockerel (culprit usually has all feathers), Surgical intervention, Sulphur/Silicea homeopathic tablets or consider Chicks: deformities (bent toes, crossed beak, splay
No eggs: poor body weight, birds too young, days
leg), E. coli, BWD (Salmonella pullorum), Gumboro, IB, too short, IB (or other viruses), fright/stress, new home, aspergillosis, coccidiosis, starve-outs, feather pecking. rats or magpies stealing eggs, birds laying away, laid Natural rearing includes the previous conditions plus on floor and buried, eaten by hens, not enough food, Trim to shape, use saddle for breeding or remove cockerel too much food Northern fowl mite or red mite.
Growers (8–26 weeks): Gumboro, Northern fowl
Chick discomfort: noisy when defecating and
mite/red mite, scaly leg, coccidiosis, mycoplasmosis, pasted-up vent: E. coli or chilling. Continual cheeping: swollen sinus, feather pecking, angel wing, perosis, too cold, hungry, thirsty, one escaped from brooder. smothering, Marek’s, lameness, roach back, wry tail, Isolate, Symptomatic treatment, NSAIDs*. For perosis, cull Panting: too hot. Huddled together: too cold cow hocks, impacted gizzard, roundworms, breathing difficulty (IB, ILT, other viruses, gapeworm), poisoning, Respiratory noises: mycoplasma, IB (or other
Vaccinate new stock, cull affected birds. Keep chicks and adults separate viruses), aspergillosis, high levels of ammonia, gapeworm.
Adults and aged: egg peritonitis, avian TB,
No treatment. Cul affected birds. Wild birds are carriers Blackhead, Pasteurella, Erysipelas, heart failure, scaly Eggs: Infertile: excess males, flea eggs on vent, too
leg, Northern fowl mite/red mite, lice, mycoplasmosis, many feathers on vent, cock too old. Not hatching:
Vaccinate. Carrier adults (40% chick mortality) swollen sinus, ear canal infection, bumblefoot, vent not know correct incubation time, not fertile, infected gleet, wet feather, arthritis, choking, sour crop, by hen. Dead-in-shell: “banger” (egg explodes in
impacted crop, impacted gizzard, tumours, poisoning, incubator as rotten), too much humidity in setter, not aspergillosis, kidney failure, liver failure.
enough humidity in hatcher, sat on by broody before Isolate with only water 48hrs. Surgery if impacted. Add grit to diet collection, poor nutrition of breeders, poor egg Life expectancy
storage, eggs too old (>14 days), old age of hen, drugs at incorrect levels, Salmonella pullorum, infection, Large fowl, turkeys and guinea fowl: 6–10 years. damaged shell, malposition of embryo, high bacterial Bantams, peacocks and pheasants: 8–12 years. Ducks: 6–8 years Geese: 10–20 years. Metronidazole as for Blackhead or nystatin which must coat the area. Useful tips and information for clients
● Always seek prompt veterinary attention Cull if egg peritonitis. Warmth, remove egg, give Calcivet ● Use high-quality feed specific for age ● Useful information on biosecurity for keepers Drop protein, tape wing in natural position for three days, do again Keep off water until next moult, de-louse, if mould, wash in detergent Produced by the Animal Welfare Foundation
Information compiled by Victoria Roberts BVSc MRCVS, Honorary Veterinary Surgeon
to The Poultry Club, and taken from her book, (3rd edition) published in 2009.
Email: [email protected]
* Not licensed for poultry. AWF recommends that vets seek advice from the manufacturer when using such products off label. Eggs must be withheld from human consumption during treatment and for seven days afterwards. †Available in small doses from The Poultry Club.

Source: http://www.bva-awf.org.uk/sites/bva-awf.org.uk/files/user/free_range_poultry_diseases.pdf