For success in chicken rearing, you should know all the common chicken diseases.
With all diseases affecting chickens, prevention is better than cure because you save money and you do not lose as many chickens.
One of these is Coccidiosis that affects young chicken and is very infectious.
Chicken usually get this disease under warm and moist conditions and so one way of preventing this is to keep the chicken coop dry, especially when it is hot, and by keeping the coop well ventilated.
Chicken that get Coccidiosis should be separated from the healthy ones and killed because the infection spreads through their droppings.
The most effective way to know if your flock has Coccidiosis is to check the droppings - droppings from sick chickens have blood on them.
Scaly leg is another common disease affecting chickens.
The disease is caused by a parasite that gets under the scales of the chickens' feet.
This leads to the scales getting rougher than normal and this is one way of determining if your chickens have scaly leg.
Although chickens do not die as a direct result of the disease, however it makes it harder for them to move.
However, the disease is treatable with a cream that you can buy from a pet store or from online sources.
Mycoplasma infection is a disease caused by small organism and it makes the chicken sneeze and cough, just like a person who has influenza.
Mycoplasma infection is a disease of the respiratory system and so a bad odor will come from the chicken - this is the best way to know that there is an infection.
However, there is medication that can cure Mycoplasma.
Another of the common chicken diseases is Botulism.
This is caused by the toxins released by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum.
Botulism occurs under hot and humid conditions and so you can reduce the risk of your birds getting the disease by keeping the coop clean and dry, removing decaying animals and plants from the coop and getting rid of droppings regularly.
Botulism works by weakening the chicken and then paralyzing it.
However, it is treatable using Epson salt, but prevention is better because chicken die very fast from the disease.
Caged layer fatigue is another common chicken disease and it attacks layers only.
The disease occurs when the chickens do not have some vital minerals in their bodies, especially calcium which is the major component of the eggshells.
The hens just sitting around without exercising due to tiredness and weakness characterize caged layer fatigue and it often leads to breakage of bones.
The disease can be prevented and cured by giving the hens mineral supplements containing calcium.
Another of the common chicken diseases is Newcastle disease, which is caused by a virus that attacks the nervous and the respiratory systems of the chicken.
Newcastle's is highly contagious and chickens often die after contracting it.
This is one of the most common diseases affecting chicken and since there is no cure, everybody who rears chicken should vaccinate them against the disease.
With all diseases affecting chickens, prevention is better than cure because you save money and you do not lose as many chickens.
One of these is Coccidiosis that affects young chicken and is very infectious.
Chicken usually get this disease under warm and moist conditions and so one way of preventing this is to keep the chicken coop dry, especially when it is hot, and by keeping the coop well ventilated.
Chicken that get Coccidiosis should be separated from the healthy ones and killed because the infection spreads through their droppings.
The most effective way to know if your flock has Coccidiosis is to check the droppings - droppings from sick chickens have blood on them.
Scaly leg is another common disease affecting chickens.
The disease is caused by a parasite that gets under the scales of the chickens' feet.
This leads to the scales getting rougher than normal and this is one way of determining if your chickens have scaly leg.
Although chickens do not die as a direct result of the disease, however it makes it harder for them to move.
However, the disease is treatable with a cream that you can buy from a pet store or from online sources.
Mycoplasma infection is a disease caused by small organism and it makes the chicken sneeze and cough, just like a person who has influenza.
Mycoplasma infection is a disease of the respiratory system and so a bad odor will come from the chicken - this is the best way to know that there is an infection.
However, there is medication that can cure Mycoplasma.
Another of the common chicken diseases is Botulism.
This is caused by the toxins released by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum.
Botulism occurs under hot and humid conditions and so you can reduce the risk of your birds getting the disease by keeping the coop clean and dry, removing decaying animals and plants from the coop and getting rid of droppings regularly.
Botulism works by weakening the chicken and then paralyzing it.
However, it is treatable using Epson salt, but prevention is better because chicken die very fast from the disease.
Caged layer fatigue is another common chicken disease and it attacks layers only.
The disease occurs when the chickens do not have some vital minerals in their bodies, especially calcium which is the major component of the eggshells.
The hens just sitting around without exercising due to tiredness and weakness characterize caged layer fatigue and it often leads to breakage of bones.
The disease can be prevented and cured by giving the hens mineral supplements containing calcium.
Another of the common chicken diseases is Newcastle disease, which is caused by a virus that attacks the nervous and the respiratory systems of the chicken.
Newcastle's is highly contagious and chickens often die after contracting it.
This is one of the most common diseases affecting chicken and since there is no cure, everybody who rears chicken should vaccinate them against the disease.
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