Today is: Thursday 17 May 2012 21:42:25
Veterinary
Skin problems are generally uncommon in commercial free range flocks but can occur and this month’s article aims to give a brief overview of some of the conditions which may be encountered.
1. Parasitic skin disease.
Red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae), although spending most of their time off the bird when not feeding, can cause signific...
In previous Ranger articles we have likened the performance of the laying chicken to that of an Olympic athlete. In this article, we are looking at the free range layer flock as a premier league football team and considering the support network required to make sure that optimum performance is achieved throughout the laying season. In view of t...
Vaccination plays an essential role in protecting the health of laying flocks in the UK. Pullets are given a comprehensive programme of vaccines during the rearing period. The vaccination programme is designed to : Protect the pullets from disease challenges in rear Viral, bacterial or parasitic disease challenge to flocks in rear can re...
At the Spring Meeting of the British Veterinary Poultry Association in Harrogate, Claire Knott was elected President for the term 2009-2011. Claire received the BVPA gavel from Paul McMullin, who now becomes Senior Vice-President. The association was also presented with new stand graphics by Intervet/Schering Plough. Alan Pearson was ele...
Bacterial infections can cause major economic and welfare issues in farmed animals and are often controlled through the use of antibiotics. A significant proportion of the antibiotics used in the treatment of animals enter the environment through excretion in faeces and urine and also through spillages during use. The application of animal waste...
Contrary to what one might think from reading some of the veterinary articles in The Ranger, free range layers are generally very healthy and seldom require any treatment during their laying life. However, there are occasions if flocks are affected by infectious or parasitic disease when treatment of the flock may be recommended by your veterina...
We make no apologies for raising the topic of worms again in this month’s article. In the past year, we have seen an increasing number of health and production problems in free range flocks associated with heavy worm burdens. When producers see drops in production or increased mortality in a flock, their first thought may be of Infectio...
Since 1st February 2008 - National Control Programme for Laying Flocks Sampling and testing programme at: - day-old and 2 weeks before transfer (for pullet rearers') - every 15 weeks in lay, commencing between 22-26 weeks of age (for layers). (boot swabs for non-cage flocks, faeces for cage) 2009 Procedure If the most recent test/l...
As we know, a new year is always a good time to take stock of what we are doing and why we are doing it. The latter part of last year saw discussions about the feasibility of increasing stocking rates for free range laying hens on range, closer to the EU maximum rate of 2500 hens per hectare of range. This was being considered to assist produce...
As 2008 draws to a close we must now review what has happened with Salmonella monitoring and control on farm, how it has affected industry and what important factors should be consider for 2009. It has now been almost a year since the National Control Programme for Salmonella in layers was implemented by government. Producers should have been te...
The modern pullet is arguably the most important piece of the jigsaw that completes the picture of profitable egg production. Taking the Olympic sporting analogy everything depends on the start – with birds needing to hit the ground running if they are going to perform to their full potential. Rearing a flock of healthy even pullets achieving th...
Mareks disease is an unforgiving disease. The virus lies in wait ready to expose any shortcomings in vaccine administration, biosecurity and disinfection routine, other causes of ill health, or, on rare occasions, questions about the vaccine itself. The reason for this niggling worry in the back of all producers minds is the persistence of a viru...
In previous articles in The Ranger, we have discussed the importance of biosecurity in protecting laying flocks from all the infectious insults around, be they headline grabbing bugs like avian influenza, or the routine bacterial, viral and parasitic infections that are always around. This article focuses on the ways in which such infections can...
As in human medicine, in the last 50-60 years, there has been tremendous progress in the development of vaccines to protect chickens against both viral and bacterial diseases. In fact, vaccines have become such a common every day part of poultry production that it is easy to be complacent and forget that if we were to go back 60 years, poultry p...
A new live vaccine for the control of Newcastle disease has been launched by German vaccine specialist, Lohmann Animal Health. Known as AviPro ND C131 and suitable for broilers, layers and breeders, it is produced from a cloned strain of the La Sota virus. Newcastle disease, also known as pseudo-fowl pest, is highly contagious and one of th...
Copyright: Copyright: www.theranger.co.uk Have you thought about what may be happening within the guts of your hens? If not, they may look like this: However, if your hens have an infestation of capillaria (hair) worms, there may be little to see unless you have a microscope, but the gut lining could be even more damaged than by the roundworms...
Copyright: www.theranger.co.uk Producers are only too well aware that the costs of investigating production and mortality problems in free range laying flocks can be an expensive business. Often extensive diagnostic tests may be required to solve the problem. However, a huge amount of information about flock health, or otherwise, can be gained...
As mentioned above, the Lion Code has been amended. This has been done well in advance of the legislation coming into force, both to prepare producers for what lies ahead, and also to retain full consumer confidence in the Code by continuing to guarantee the most stringent standards of Quality Assurance. Additional requirements of the revised Code ...
Regular readers of The Ranger might be excused for having a feeling of déjà vu in reading yet another article on Salmonella control ! But before you turn to the next article, how confident are you that you have done all you can to produce an effective control plan for salmonella reduction on your farm, have eliminated all likelihood of vermin on...
In this month’s Ranger article we are looking at the options available to provide the pullet with good immunity against coccidiosis on the laying site. This is of great importance to the free range flock as, unlike their cage sisters, they are at more risk of exposure to the coccidial parasite on the laying farm. Why do we worry about coccidia? ...
Escherichia coli (thankfully shortened to E coli!) is an imposing name for an imposing bug! As we have discussed in these columns several times previously this bug, or more correctly this bacterium, is the cause of many losses in commercial egg layers. E coli is everywhere! E coli has an affinity for living in animal intestines (including human...
Today, as ever, if you ask any producer to name the most significant cause of egg production problems, IB is still likely to top the charts, being rivalled only by feed problems as the number one candidate. The IB virus has been known about for over half a century and remains with us into the new millennium. Since its first isolation, there has...
Pasteurellosis is an infection caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida. This is a very severe infectious disease of poultry. In the days before antibiotics were available, this was a disease to be feared as it could result in massive losses in poultry flocks. These days, however, with better understanding of hygiene and biosecurity and the ava...
Water is essential for life. That applies to us as much as to our chickens! Providing ample amounts of fresh clean water is needed to maintain the health and performance of our birds. However, that same water can also be the villain. Water can carry many of the bugs we worry about most, such as E.coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter. A survey in the ...
Cause The bacterium causing this disease is Hemophilus paragallinarum. Transmission The disease spreads from bird to bird and flock to flock by contact and airborne infected dust particles and via the drinking water. Spread by equipment and personnel has also been reported. The incubation period varies from 1 to 3 days. Species affected Ch...
With new salmonella regulations due to be introduced by the EU next year, the UK egg industry is fighting to ensure that producers are not unfairly penalised by environmental sampling techniques. As reported previously in the Ranger, the new rules are part of the EU's zoonoses legislation and starting from January 2008 producers will be requ...
Mr Speaker, with your permission I would like to make a statement about the avian influenza outbreak in Suffolk. Just after 5pm on Thursday 1 February the State Veterinary Service was contacted by a private vet who suspected an avian notifiable disease at a poultry farm in Suffolk. The farm near Upper Holton, held 159,000 turkeys housed in 22 s...
Recent reports of avian flu in the USA have prompted this question from a number of members. The short answer is to use these warnings as an opportunity to review your farm biosecurity procedures, but not to panic. Avian flu, more correctly known as avian influenza or fowl plague, is, like its human counterpart, a highly contagious virus capable...
While gamekeepers are constantly on the lookout for an attack of gapeworms in pheasants and partridges being reared for commercial shoots, it is a disease problem that is considered rare in chickens. But westcountry poultry vet Alan Beynon has recently diagnosed the parasite in free range laying birds. The gapeworm (Syngamus trachea) is a rou...
What are amino acids? - amino acids are the building blocks out of which protein is made. In the chicken's body, proteins contain 22 different amino acids, all of which are needed for health. Plants and many bacteria are able to synthesise their own amino acids. Birds and higher mammals cannot make all they need and so these must be provided in...
Everybody likes to breathe fresh air and poultry are no exception. Good air quality is essential for optimum health and productivity of any laying flock. The air within a poultry house contains different gases, moisture and dust. Gases — The main gases in air are nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and argon. There are also low levels of other gas...
This was the question posed recently by a Ranger reader and I am sure echoes the concerns of many producers, even though we have discussed the ongoing challenge of IB infection in these columns on several occasions. One of the most important characteristics of IB is that it exists in many different serotypes or variants. Some are more closely re...
Infectious bronchitis (IB) was first described in 1931 in the USA as a respiratory disease of chicks. In the 1950's egg production and egg quality problems were associated with IB infection and in the 1960's a kidney problem was attributed to IB virus infection.. Since then IB has remained a significant problem for poultry producers all...
Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) has proved to be a persistent cause of concern in poultry, especially commercial layers, for over 75 years. Once the virus is established on a site, it is notoriously difficult to remove. Due to the highly significant role of fomites (inanimate objects) such as egg trays, trolleys, equipment, people and vehicles i...
Healthy chickens need healthy guts for optimum health and performance. If the gut is disturbed and not working properly, there can be all sorts of problems including wet droppings leading to wet litter and dirty eggs and poorer production and/or poorer shell quality as the bird is not digesting nutrients effectively if the gut is damaged. If pullet...
There is an increasing interest in organic poultry production and the following article looks at some of the issues raised in Section 5 of the EU Council Directive 1804/1999 and more recently the proposals by UKROFS regarding disease prevention, veterinary treatment and husbandry practices in organic production. The EU regulations set the minimum s...
Problems with egg production, often coupled with shell quality problems, are not uncommon and are a real worry to the egg producer as these problems often result in severe financial loss. There are many factors which can influence egg production and shell quality. This article will highlight some of the possible causes of production problems in the...
As most producers are only too well aware, it can be difficult to consistently produce high quality eggs as there are so many different factors which can influence egg quality, both internal and external. Shell quality is extremely important. Not only does the colour and general appearance of the shell play an important part in the appeal of the eg...
Ostriches may like it hot but for free range layers and those who look after them, very hot weather can be bad news. Adult chickens are fairly adaptable and can tolerate a wide range of environmental temperatures between 5-24°C (40-75°F). Although birds can cope with this wide range of conditions, any sudden or large changes in temperature are s...
Eggs were never designed to be eaten! Their role is clearly to act as a vehicle to carry a developing embryo, protected against the outside elements but able to 'breathe' during that development and get rid of unwanted waste products at the same time. This requires a strong rigid shell of the right thickness with the right number of pores (...
In last month's Ranger we discussed some of the reasons blood samples might be needed from your flock. This month, we concentrate on taking the right samples in the right way. Sending samples Before sampling the birds, consider where the samples are to be sent. Unless samples are sent by special delivery or courier, it should be assumed t...
Previous articles have concentrated on specific disease problems and how to tackle them but a meeting in September has prompted us to change tack for this month. September saw the launch of a new training programme in East Anglia for small or medium size enterprises following a successful bid by a number of organisations and companies to gain fundi...
The current debate on Salmonella vaccination strategies (and indeed the role of vaccination in the control of the current Foot and Mouth crisis) has raised many questions, some political, some moral, some commercial and some technical. It has brought vaccination and vaccine use to everyone's attention and left many of us scratching our heads. ...
Examination of blood samples taken from poultry flocks can provide a great deal of information about the health status of the birds. When birds are exposed to viral or bacterial infections they produce antibodies against these infectious agents. The same thing happens when birds are given vaccinations against these infections. These antibodies can ...
Old diseases have a habit of re-emerging and showing up the holes in our biosecurity procedures. Mycoplasmas are no exception. Having been around for the last 100 years, they still have the capacity to cause chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in chickens, infectious sinusitis (puffy faces) and leg problems in broilers, layers and especially turkeys....
In previous Ranger articles we have likened the performance of the laying chicken to that of an Olympic athlete. In this article, we are looking at the free range layer flock as a premier league football team and considering the support network required to make sure that optimum performance is achieved throughout the laying season. In view of t...
Vaccination plays an essential role in protecting the health of laying flocks in the UK. Pullets are given a comprehensive programme of vaccines during the rearing period. The vaccination programme is designed to : Protect the pullets from disease challenges in rear Viral, bacterial or parasitic disease challenge to flocks in rear can re...
At the Spring Meeting of the British Veterinary Poultry Association in Harrogate, Claire Knott was elected President for the term 2009-2011. Claire received the BVPA gavel from Paul McMullin, who now becomes Senior Vice-President. The association was also presented with new stand graphics by Intervet/Schering Plough. Alan Pearson was ele...
Bacterial infections can cause major economic and welfare issues in farmed animals and are often controlled through the use of antibiotics. A significant proportion of the antibiotics used in the treatment of animals enter the environment through excretion in faeces and urine and also through spillages during use. The application of animal waste...
Contrary to what one might think from reading some of the veterinary articles in The Ranger, free range layers are generally very healthy and seldom require any treatment during their laying life. However, there are occasions if flocks are affected by infectious or parasitic disease when treatment of the flock may be recommended by your veterina...
We make no apologies for raising the topic of worms again in this month’s article. In the past year, we have seen an increasing number of health and production problems in free range flocks associated with heavy worm burdens. When producers see drops in production or increased mortality in a flock, their first thought may be of Infectio...
Since 1st February 2008 - National Control Programme for Laying Flocks Sampling and testing programme at: - day-old and 2 weeks before transfer (for pullet rearers') - every 15 weeks in lay, commencing between 22-26 weeks of age (for layers). (boot swabs for non-cage flocks, faeces for cage) 2009 Procedure If the most recent test/l...
As we know, a new year is always a good time to take stock of what we are doing and why we are doing it. The latter part of last year saw discussions about the feasibility of increasing stocking rates for free range laying hens on range, closer to the EU maximum rate of 2500 hens per hectare of range. This was being considered to assist produce...
As 2008 draws to a close we must now review what has happened with Salmonella monitoring and control on farm, how it has affected industry and what important factors should be consider for 2009. It has now been almost a year since the National Control Programme for Salmonella in layers was implemented by government. Producers should have been te...
The modern pullet is arguably the most important piece of the jigsaw that completes the picture of profitable egg production. Taking the Olympic sporting analogy everything depends on the start – with birds needing to hit the ground running if they are going to perform to their full potential. Rearing a flock of healthy even pullets achieving th...
Mareks disease is an unforgiving disease. The virus lies in wait ready to expose any shortcomings in vaccine administration, biosecurity and disinfection routine, other causes of ill health, or, on rare occasions, questions about the vaccine itself. The reason for this niggling worry in the back of all producers minds is the persistence of a viru...
In previous articles in The Ranger, we have discussed the importance of biosecurity in protecting laying flocks from all the infectious insults around, be they headline grabbing bugs like avian influenza, or the routine bacterial, viral and parasitic infections that are always around. This article focuses on the ways in which such infections can...
As in human medicine, in the last 50-60 years, there has been tremendous progress in the development of vaccines to protect chickens against both viral and bacterial diseases. In fact, vaccines have become such a common every day part of poultry production that it is easy to be complacent and forget that if we were to go back 60 years, poultry p...
A new live vaccine for the control of Newcastle disease has been launched by German vaccine specialist, Lohmann Animal Health. Known as AviPro ND C131 and suitable for broilers, layers and breeders, it is produced from a cloned strain of the La Sota virus. Newcastle disease, also known as pseudo-fowl pest, is highly contagious and one of th...
Copyright: Copyright: www.theranger.co.uk Have you thought about what may be happening within the guts of your hens? If not, they may look like this: However, if your hens have an infestation of capillaria (hair) worms, there may be little to see unless you have a microscope, but the gut lining could be even more damaged than by the roundworms...
Copyright: www.theranger.co.uk Producers are only too well aware that the costs of investigating production and mortality problems in free range laying flocks can be an expensive business. Often extensive diagnostic tests may be required to solve the problem. However, a huge amount of information about flock health, or otherwise, can be gained...
As mentioned above, the Lion Code has been amended. This has been done well in advance of the legislation coming into force, both to prepare producers for what lies ahead, and also to retain full consumer confidence in the Code by continuing to guarantee the most stringent standards of Quality Assurance. Additional requirements of the revised Code ...
Regular readers of The Ranger might be excused for having a feeling of déjà vu in reading yet another article on Salmonella control ! But before you turn to the next article, how confident are you that you have done all you can to produce an effective control plan for salmonella reduction on your farm, have eliminated all likelihood of vermin on...
In this month’s Ranger article we are looking at the options available to provide the pullet with good immunity against coccidiosis on the laying site. This is of great importance to the free range flock as, unlike their cage sisters, they are at more risk of exposure to the coccidial parasite on the laying farm. Why do we worry about coccidia? ...
Escherichia coli (thankfully shortened to E coli!) is an imposing name for an imposing bug! As we have discussed in these columns several times previously this bug, or more correctly this bacterium, is the cause of many losses in commercial egg layers. E coli is everywhere! E coli has an affinity for living in animal intestines (including human...
Today, as ever, if you ask any producer to name the most significant cause of egg production problems, IB is still likely to top the charts, being rivalled only by feed problems as the number one candidate. The IB virus has been known about for over half a century and remains with us into the new millennium. Since its first isolation, there has...
Pasteurellosis is an infection caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida. This is a very severe infectious disease of poultry. In the days before antibiotics were available, this was a disease to be feared as it could result in massive losses in poultry flocks. These days, however, with better understanding of hygiene and biosecurity and the ava...
Water is essential for life. That applies to us as much as to our chickens! Providing ample amounts of fresh clean water is needed to maintain the health and performance of our birds. However, that same water can also be the villain. Water can carry many of the bugs we worry about most, such as E.coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter. A survey in the ...
Cause The bacterium causing this disease is Hemophilus paragallinarum. Transmission The disease spreads from bird to bird and flock to flock by contact and airborne infected dust particles and via the drinking water. Spread by equipment and personnel has also been reported. The incubation period varies from 1 to 3 days. Species affected Ch...
With new salmonella regulations due to be introduced by the EU next year, the UK egg industry is fighting to ensure that producers are not unfairly penalised by environmental sampling techniques. As reported previously in the Ranger, the new rules are part of the EU's zoonoses legislation and starting from January 2008 producers will be requ...
Mr Speaker, with your permission I would like to make a statement about the avian influenza outbreak in Suffolk. Just after 5pm on Thursday 1 February the State Veterinary Service was contacted by a private vet who suspected an avian notifiable disease at a poultry farm in Suffolk. The farm near Upper Holton, held 159,000 turkeys housed in 22 s...
Recent reports of avian flu in the USA have prompted this question from a number of members. The short answer is to use these warnings as an opportunity to review your farm biosecurity procedures, but not to panic. Avian flu, more correctly known as avian influenza or fowl plague, is, like its human counterpart, a highly contagious virus capable...
While gamekeepers are constantly on the lookout for an attack of gapeworms in pheasants and partridges being reared for commercial shoots, it is a disease problem that is considered rare in chickens. But westcountry poultry vet Alan Beynon has recently diagnosed the parasite in free range laying birds. The gapeworm (Syngamus trachea) is a rou...
What are amino acids? - amino acids are the building blocks out of which protein is made. In the chicken's body, proteins contain 22 different amino acids, all of which are needed for health. Plants and many bacteria are able to synthesise their own amino acids. Birds and higher mammals cannot make all they need and so these must be provided in...
Everybody likes to breathe fresh air and poultry are no exception. Good air quality is essential for optimum health and productivity of any laying flock. The air within a poultry house contains different gases, moisture and dust. Gases — The main gases in air are nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and argon. There are also low levels of other gas...
This was the question posed recently by a Ranger reader and I am sure echoes the concerns of many producers, even though we have discussed the ongoing challenge of IB infection in these columns on several occasions. One of the most important characteristics of IB is that it exists in many different serotypes or variants. Some are more closely re...
Infectious bronchitis (IB) was first described in 1931 in the USA as a respiratory disease of chicks. In the 1950's egg production and egg quality problems were associated with IB infection and in the 1960's a kidney problem was attributed to IB virus infection.. Since then IB has remained a significant problem for poultry producers all...
Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) has proved to be a persistent cause of concern in poultry, especially commercial layers, for over 75 years. Once the virus is established on a site, it is notoriously difficult to remove. Due to the highly significant role of fomites (inanimate objects) such as egg trays, trolleys, equipment, people and vehicles i...
Healthy chickens need healthy guts for optimum health and performance. If the gut is disturbed and not working properly, there can be all sorts of problems including wet droppings leading to wet litter and dirty eggs and poorer production and/or poorer shell quality as the bird is not digesting nutrients effectively if the gut is damaged. If pullet...
There is an increasing interest in organic poultry production and the following article looks at some of the issues raised in Section 5 of the EU Council Directive 1804/1999 and more recently the proposals by UKROFS regarding disease prevention, veterinary treatment and husbandry practices in organic production. The EU regulations set the minimum s...
Problems with egg production, often coupled with shell quality problems, are not uncommon and are a real worry to the egg producer as these problems often result in severe financial loss. There are many factors which can influence egg production and shell quality. This article will highlight some of the possible causes of production problems in the...
As most producers are only too well aware, it can be difficult to consistently produce high quality eggs as there are so many different factors which can influence egg quality, both internal and external. Shell quality is extremely important. Not only does the colour and general appearance of the shell play an important part in the appeal of the eg...
Ostriches may like it hot but for free range layers and those who look after them, very hot weather can be bad news. Adult chickens are fairly adaptable and can tolerate a wide range of environmental temperatures between 5-24°C (40-75°F). Although birds can cope with this wide range of conditions, any sudden or large changes in temperature are s...
Eggs were never designed to be eaten! Their role is clearly to act as a vehicle to carry a developing embryo, protected against the outside elements but able to 'breathe' during that development and get rid of unwanted waste products at the same time. This requires a strong rigid shell of the right thickness with the right number of pores (...
In last month's Ranger we discussed some of the reasons blood samples might be needed from your flock. This month, we concentrate on taking the right samples in the right way. Sending samples Before sampling the birds, consider where the samples are to be sent. Unless samples are sent by special delivery or courier, it should be assumed t...
Previous articles have concentrated on specific disease problems and how to tackle them but a meeting in September has prompted us to change tack for this month. September saw the launch of a new training programme in East Anglia for small or medium size enterprises following a successful bid by a number of organisations and companies to gain fundi...
The current debate on Salmonella vaccination strategies (and indeed the role of vaccination in the control of the current Foot and Mouth crisis) has raised many questions, some political, some moral, some commercial and some technical. It has brought vaccination and vaccine use to everyone's attention and left many of us scratching our heads. ...
Examination of blood samples taken from poultry flocks can provide a great deal of information about the health status of the birds. When birds are exposed to viral or bacterial infections they produce antibodies against these infectious agents. The same thing happens when birds are given vaccinations against these infections. These antibodies can ...
Old diseases have a habit of re-emerging and showing up the holes in our biosecurity procedures. Mycoplasmas are no exception. Having been around for the last 100 years, they still have the capacity to cause chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in chickens, infectious sinusitis (puffy faces) and leg problems in broilers, layers and especially turkeys....
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