Information about the digestive system and the problems that can occur in poultry. Symptoms of typical digestive system problems include: Loss of appetite, a swollen crop, bad or sweet-smelling breath, diarrhoea, or messy bottoms.
Before reading about digestive system problems in chickens, it is helpful to understand how the digestive system works. Hens don’t have teeth of course so the way they digest their food is completely different to mammals. A simplified diagram of the digestive system of a chicken.
When we find our birds with loose droppings the first disease that springs to mind is coccidiosis. But what exactly is coccidiosis and how does it affect our birds? Coccidiosis is a parasite which damages the gut wall of chickens. There are a number of species of coccidiosis and their …
Alongside respiratory disease- diarrhoea is one of the most common conditions to affect chickens kept on small holdings or in domestic situations such as the back garden. The causes of diarrhoea in poultry Before we look at causes of diarrhoea it is worth mentioning that a normal bird dropping should …
The crop is part of the oesophagus (food pipe) at the base of the neck and is the first stage of digestion for a chicken, it contains food, water and grit (used for digestion). When full, the crop is tennis ball sized. You can sometimes feel the contents of the …
The crop is part of the oesophagus (food pipe) at the base of the neck and is the first stage of digestion for a chicken, it contains food, water and grit (used for digestion). When full, the crop is tennis ball sized. You can sometimes feel the contents of the …
The crop is part of the oesophagus (food pipe) at the base of the neck and is the first stage of digestion for a chicken, it contains food, water and grit (used for digestion). When full, the crop is tennis ball sized. You can sometimes feel the contents of the …
Large Roundworm or Ascarida Galli worms are 5 to 8cm long and live in the middle part of a bird’s intestine. Bad infestations of large roundworms in poultry usually occur when birds are kept in intensive conditions on dirty litter or in runs that have been used for many years. Large …
Hairworms or Capillara are incredibly thin, almost as thin as a hair which is where they get their name from. They are 1 to 2cm long and even in moderate infestations can cause significant damage to chickens. There are several species of Capillaria worm but they all live in the upper part of the digestive system, that …
Gizzard Worm or Amidostomum Anseris are thin worms about 2cm long that predominantly affect geese. Infestations occurs directly by birds eating eggs that have been passed out in droppings so are most likely to occur when geese are kept on the same pasture.
Cecal Worms or Heterakis Gallinarum are very common. They don’t actually do much damage, however blackhead organisms can live in the worms eggs for many months and cause Blackhead many months later which can kill Turkeys. They are a particular concern if you keep both Chickens and Turkeys. It is usually best …
There are many different species of tapeworm that affect poultry although they are not often found and thankfully, most of them are completely harmless. Large numbers can cause weight loss and a reduction in laying. Tapeworms or Cestodes vary in length, some are 4 to 5 mm long and others are up to 25cm long! …
Chickens are the most likely candidates to become overweight. Birds that are caged, kept in a small run or are fed the incorrect diet are the most at risk of becoming overweight. Fat hens don’t lay eggs, are prone to heat stroke, fatty liver syndrome and can have reproduction problems.
Blackhead is a very old disease of poultry caused by a tiny single-celled parasite called Histomonas meleagridis. Blackhead is usually carried by the harmless caecal worm ‘Heterakis gallinarum’ but it may be transmitted directly between birds.
Over the past few years awareness of roundworms and gapeworms in backyard poultry has increased dramatically with owners either routinely worming with Flubenvet, or using treatment in response to routine worm egg counts to successfully control worms in their backyard flocks. However we are frequently contacted by owners asking about both tapeworms and …
Water is so important for the correct digestion and the overall health of chickens and other poultry so really shouldn’t be over-looked. Water is THE most important nutrient in a bird’s diet. Half of a bird’s body is made up of water and eggs are made up of around 65% …
