Commercial gamebirds

What are the main game birds reared in the UK?

• Pheasants

• Partridges (grey/ red legged)

• Grouse (red/black)

• capercaillie

• ptarmigan

• woodcock

What are the production phases of commercial gamebird?

Where can the problems related to commercial gamebirds arise from?

• Hatchery related

  • Hygiene and sanitation

  • Incubator conditions

  • Post-hatching issues

• Infectious causes

List the problems that can affect young gamebird chicks (2-14 days old)

• Yolk sac infection

• Septicaemia (E. coli or Salmonella usually)

• Starve out

• Aspergillosis

• Rotavirus

What are the two causes of yolk sac infection in young chicks? How do they differ

• Infection in eggs: (Omphalitis/navel infection) peak mortality at 3 days

• Environmental infection/ spread: peak mortality about 5-7 days

How do you prevent septicaemia?

• Competitive exclusion onto chick/surroundings at day old

• Hygiene and sanitation (reduce in environ.)

What are they clinical signs of starving out?

• High mortality

• Lethargic chicks

• Empty gizzard + crop

• Gizzard containing bedding material

What are the causes of starving out?

• Breeding flock unhealthy

• Prolong hatching period

• Chill-effect after hatch

• Temperature variation on arrival/house

• Environment – ammonia, heat, carbon

• Poor feed and water insufficient/distribution

What are the clinical signs of aspergillosis in chicks?

Gasping poults, weight loss, mortality increased

How is aspergillosis diagnosed, treated and prevented?

Aspergillus fumigatus

Dx: signs/lesions, nodules in lungs/ airsacs, culture

Tx: Not practiced, too expensive

Prevention: management, biosecurity

What gamebirds does rotavirus affect?

Pheasants and partridges

What are the signs of rotavirus? What are the sources of infection

• Mortality, up to 70%, 4-14 days old

• Signs – depression, dropped wings, closed eyes, huddling, ruffle feathers, death

• Source of infection:

  • Egg shell contamination,

  • Environment (multiage)

How is rotavirus disagnosed, treated and prevented?

• Diagnosed: signs/lesions, PCR

• Tx: suitable disinfectant, in drinking water or spray, high dilution rate

• Prevention: freq egg collection, cleaning and disinfection of eggs and between flocks/ pens/ batches

What are the diseases that affect young poults?

• Spironucleosis

• Trichononiasis

• Coccidiosis

• Bacterial infections

• Parasites – worms

  • Enteric – Ascarids, Capillaria

  • Respiratory – S trachea

What are the causative agents of spironucleosis and trichonosiasis?

• Spironucleus meleagridis (1-12 weeks)

• Trichomonas gallinae (6-16 weeks)

Causing similar diseases

What are the clinical signs of spironucleosis and trichononiasis?

• Watery diarrhoea, often yellow and frothy, dehydration, weight loss, depression, lethargy and death

• Wet and moist environment, overcrowding, stress allows survival of organism

How is spironucleosis and trichononiasis diagnosed? How do they differ?

Necropsy, from fresh SI make smear and examine under microscope, differentiate the protozoa

• Duodenum and ileum, mostly spironucleus

• Caecum, trichomonas

How is spironucleosis and trichononiasis treated and prevented

Treatment – antibiotics and electrolytes

Prevention – keep environment dry and clean, avoid water leakages, substances that can desiccate these protozoa, reduce stocking density.

What is the most pathogenic species of Eimeria in young poults? What age does it mainly affect?

• E. colchici in caecum

• Normally 15 days to 16 weeks old

What are the clinical signs of coccidiosis?

Weight loss, lethargy, ruffle feathers, dropped wings, death

How is coccidiosis diagnosed, treated and prevented?

Dx: necropsy, gut smear for microscopic exam, faecal analysis

Tx: toltrazuril, amprolium

Prevention: dec stocking density, coccidiostat in feed (warm and moist environment is favourable for oocyst prolif)

What are the diseases that affect the releasing poults?

All the young poults diseases as well as

• Enteritis/ dysbacteriosis

• Stress

(in addition to dz affecting young poults)

What does enteritis/dysbacteriosis cause in releasing poults?

Scour in growing poults leading to dehydration

How is enteritis/dysbacteriosis diagnosed and treated?

Diagnosis – necropsy, inflammation GIT

Treatment – antibiotics, improves hydration, acidificaiton of water system, competitive exclusion products, electrolytes

What are the stress factors that are related to release in game birds?

• Chill-effect following release to new environment/outside

• Transport stress – ventilation, withholding food/water

• Unfamiliar environment

• Searching for food and water

• Exposure to predators

What are the diseases that affect breeder game birds?

• worm build-up

• Respiratory diseases

  • Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mg

  • Mycoplasma synoviae, Ms

  • Corona virus infections

• Bacterial infections

What worms affect breeders, what signs do they cause?

• S trachea

• Heterakis gallinarum

• Capillaria spp

• Ascarid spp

Causes high mortality, poor food conversion and weight gain

How would you prevent and treat worm build up in breeders?

• Pen management

• Treat with flubendazole (in feed or water)

What are these lesions associated with?

• Blackhead/histomoniasis

• Histomonas meleagridis

  • Intermediate host – Heterakis gallinarum

How is histomoniasis dx, tx and prevented?

Diagnosis – typical lesions

Prevention/treatment

• No specific treatment against histomonas

• Biosecurity – top priority

• Control of worms – Heterakis, using Flubendazoel (as intermediate)

• Tetracylines?

What mycoplasma can infect gamebirds?

• Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mg

• Mycoplasma synoviae, Ms

• Other mycoplasmas – M gallinaceum, M glycophilum, M iners, M imitans, M pullorum

What are the clinical signs of a mycoplasma infection in breeders?

• Infrorbital sinus and eye swelling

• Nose and eye discharge

• Breathing difficulty

• Weight loss and death

• Dec egg prod and hatchability

• Lameness

• Exacerbated by stress factors

How is mycoplasma transmitted?

vertical (from parent to young bird) + horizontal transmission

How is mycoplasma infection prevented and treated?

• Prevention: vaccine, autogenous

• Tx: antibiotics- macrolides

What coronavirus affects gamebirds?

Pheasant coronavirus

What are the signs of cornavirus infection in gamebirds?

• Adult – sudden death, urates in kidneys, drop in egg production/ hatchability

• Young birds with swollen kidneys, urates deposition of visceral organs

How is pheasant coronavirus diagnosed, prevented and treated?

• Dx: PCR

• Prevention and Tx: no specific, some use inact. IBV (infectious bronchitis virus) vaccine in parent birds but biosecurity top priority

Recall the signs of Newcastle disease.

• Dullness, depression, diarrhoea, neurological

• Drop in egg production/quality

How is newcastle dz dx, tx + prevented?

• Dx: PCR

• Prevention/treatment: No specific tx, live and inactivated NDV vaccines, Biosecurity