Four Common Chicken Diseases You Should Be Mindful When Rearing Chickens

Chickens are susceptible to various kinds of
diseases and you will soon realized when you
start your journey on learning how to raise
chickens. Just like you, they are susceptible to
colds and other illnesses after being exposed to
different spores and viruses. They can acquire
diseases if they are not well taken care of by
their owner. Here are four of the most common
chicken diseases you must know along with the
signs and symptoms, prevention and possible cure
for each ailment.

1. Avian Encephalomyelitis
This is a viral disease that affects chickens
within four weeks old and below. It is rampant
in developed countries like United States of
America, New Zealand and Australia. If you
notice your chicken having dull expression of
the eyes, with uncoordinated movements and
frequent twitching of the head and body, then
most likely, it is because of AE. To prevent
this deadly disease, you can immunize your
chicken breeders by the time they have reached
their 10-16 weeks of age. Once AE happens, you
are left with two choices; to isolate them or to
give them supportive care.

2. Avian Influenza or Bird's Flu
This is one of the deadliest chicken diseases of
all time. It is caused by a strain of H5N1 virus
that can be transmitted by infected mosquitoes
and ticks. Droppings and nasal secretions of
wild birds should be removed right away to avoid
the spread of the disease. Nettings must be
provided also to add protection for your
chickens.

3. Fowl Cholera
Fowl cholera occurs to adult chickens
specifically roosters. It is characterized by
greenish diarrhea-like stools and swelling of
the wattles. It should be treated by an
antibiotic called tetracycline for one week
until symptoms disappear.

4. Marek's Disease
Marek's disease is one of the highly-contagious
chicken diseases caused by herpes virus. Your
chicken will experience asymmetric paralysis of
the limbs, difficulty of breathing and change in
the color of the iris. To prevent this to happen,
you should give them vaccination against the
disease at the time they were hatched.

These are four of the most common chicken
diseases that can take the lives of your flock
in just a snap. These diseases are actually
preventable if you feed your chickens properly,
vaccinate them on time and clean their coops at
least twice a week.

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discover everything you need to know and how
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