Articles on respiratory diseases in poultry. Mycoplasma, Infectious Bronchitis, Aspergillosis, Infectious LaryngioTracheitis, Avian Influenza and more.
Avian Influenza, or Bird flu, is an infectious virus that affects many species of birds, including chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese. There have been a number of outbreaks around the World including here in the UK. This page intends to offer basic advice to backyard poultry keepers and will be updated …
One of the most common veterinary complaints of backyard chickens is snicking, sneezing and coughing. Respiratory disease often presents itself with one or more birds sneezing / snicking. These birds can have a runny nose and foamy running eyes. In severe cases these birds can have swollen sinuses (presents as …
Many backyard flocks these days are carrying Mycoplasma. There are many different kinds of Mycoplasma but Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (M.G) is the most common. Mycoplasma Gallisepticum causes respiratory disease and can weaken the birds immune system sufficiently for them to pick up any disease that they come into contact with. Small …
Gapeworms (Syngamus trachea) are included under ‘respiratory system’ since the adult worms reside in the trachea (or windpipe) and often produce a gurgling or ‘tracheal rattle’ that can be confused with respiratory problems. Gapeworm is common in pheasants but also affects chickens, guinea fowl and turkeys. Gapeworms can cause considerable losses in …
Infectious bronchitis (I.B) is the most contagious poultry disease. It has very similar symptoms to mycoplasma. The main difference is the number of birds it affects. Mycoplasma tends to affect a few birds in the flock but IB spreads within a few days to the whole flock. I.B. causes respiratory disease …
Aspergillosis is an infectious fungal disease affecting poultry in which birds will usually be left gasping for breath. The disease is contracted by inhalation when there is a high spore count in the air. Disinfectant has little effect on the spores. The incubation period of the infection is between 2 and …
Newcastle disease was first found in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1926.The disease is caused by a virus called Avian Paramyxovirus Type 1. Whilst we tend to think of Newcastle disease as being associated with large numbers of dead birds it is important to remember that the disease varies from lentogenic (moderately pathogenic) …
The very mention of the words Avian Influenza (AI) or Bird Flu strikes fear into the hearts of poultry keepers and the general public alike. Avian Influenza is caused by an Influenza virus of which there are several strains. Some of these strains infect only people, others only birds and …
Whilst we tend to think of ducks as being bulletproof in terms of disease there are a few deadly conditions that can infect them. One such disease is Riemerella. The disease is caused by an organism related to Pasteurella called Riemerella anatipestifer.
When we think of respiratory disease in poultry we often think of infectious bronchitis virus or Mycoplasma, however there is another rather harmful virus that belongs to the herpes virus family that causes ILT.
There is a misconception that Chlamydia can only be caught by humans from parrots, but it is common in pigeons, occasional in turkeys and ducks and is becoming more common in chickens. It is known as psittacosis in parrots or ornithosis in other birds, this is a potentially dangerous zoonotic disease …
Newcastle disease is fairly common around the world but thankfully, the UK doesn’t have many outbreaks (the last one according to DEFRA was 2006). The symptoms of Newcastle disease can be quite varied. Newcastle disease together with Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) is a notifiable disease in the UK.
