A considerable number of owners of farms and subsidiary farms, buying broiler chicken, think that it will be cheaper and more reliable to grow such chickens in terms of using safe growth stimulants. And many have already gone this way. It turned out, however, that a certain proportion of quite surmountable drawbacks are added to these advantages, one important place among which is occupied by diseases of broiler chickens, whose symptoms are easily recognizable, and treatment methods tested by many years of experience.
Broiler resistance to disease
When broilers suddenly begin to sneeze and wheeze in a new poultry farmer, the first thought is not about how and with what to treat them, but why it happens at all - after all, it seems to be generally accepted that the broiler chickens are resistant to diseases.
In fact, it is generally accepted not a fact, but a myth about this stability. Broiler species of birds (not only chickens) are specially bred hybrid breeds, besides gaining weight at an unnatural rate for nature. As a result, they are inevitably whimsical to conditions of detention, the deterioration of which entails some specific diseases. Therefore, when chickens sneeze and wheeze, you need to concentrate and choose what to treat them correctly.
The owner's approach should be similar to other manifestations of diseases, and even to the mortality of broilers, that is, it is necessary to quickly determine why broilers chickens die and what measures need to be taken urgently. 
Most of the diseases that cause chickens to die are non-infectious, so there is no need to do something to protect against infections.
Care should be taken about rational feeding to prevent hypovitaminosis.
Did you know? The mass of feed consumed by the broiler turns into a weight equal to half of it.
Noncommunicable Diseases of Broiler Chickens: Symptom Detection and Treatment
Considerable experience of growing broiler chickens clearly recorded the most dangerous temporary stages of their growth in terms of susceptibility to disease. These are:
- first five days;
- six days starting from the 20th day;
- six days starting from the 35th day.
Did you know? The English word broil, from which the term "broiler" originated, means to fry on fire.
Dyspepsia
A severe disorder of unstable digestion, called dyspepsia, explains well why broilers die in critical periods. The digestive tract, the stomach, the intestines of the chicken do not yet have the necessary number of enzymes, and their acidity is below the required level. Among the causes of dyspepsia, except, in fact, the weakness of the digestive system itself:
- Products that even slightly contain rot or mold.
- Poor water.
- Products that require too much energy and time to digest (fats, as well as barley and rye grains).
- Abundant feeding after suffering fasting.
- Sharp change of feed.
- Use as feed protein, silage, freshly cut grass.
- Deficiencies in the nutrition of hen-producing embryos.
With dyspepsia, chicks become lethargic. At the weakened chickens eyes do not open, necks are pulled out, they badly eat. Well, diarrhea in broiler chickens shows that they need to be treated. If diarrhea in chickens acquires characteristic colors (brown, whitish or green with yellowness), and even foam and mucus are present in the feces, then treatment of the dyspepsia that occurred (and its whole point - to eliminate the reasons just listed) should be prompt so as not to lose livestock completely.
Bronchopneumonia
If broilers wheeze, then the threshold of the chicken coop crossed bronchopneumonia, and it is necessary to decide what to treat with it. The wheezing is accompanied by a generally intense breathing of birds. In addition, the symptoms of bronchopneumonia are expressed:
- neck extended forward;
- open all the time beak;
- poor appetite on the background of a missing view and sitting instead of active movement;
- ruffled plumage;
- accelerating weight loss.
If, despite the preventive measures, broilers still began to wheeze, the veterinarian, having made the diagnosis, will tell you what to treat them with. The drugs used for bronchopneumonia, are known, more than others - erythromycin, gentamicin, belspirara oral. Of the relatively new means - enroxil.
Important! The dosage must be coordinated with the veterinarian.Experts do not distinguish sneezing as a characteristic feature of only bronchopneumonia, associating it primarily with infectious diseases. In this regard, you should not bother yourself with additional reflections on why broiler chickens still sneeze and what to treat them. You just need to do two things in sequence:
- treat chicken nostrils with streptocidal powder;
- Seek advice from a veterinarian who will make an accurate diagnosis.
Hypovitaminosis A
Vitamin A is extremely important for the body of the chicken (aka retinol), which is, firstly, an antioxidant, secondly, plays a significant role in maintaining the normal functioning of the immune system. Vitamin A is necessary for good vision and normal development of bone tissue.
Therefore, deciding what to do if broilers do not grow well, the first thing to do is to check if there are any other symptoms of hypovitaminosis A:
- night blindness, i.e., twilight vision disorder;
- inattention to the feed;
- wagging when walking against the background of general passivity.
Important! On the basis of hypovitaminosis A, diseases of the nervous and digestive systems can develop.
Hypovitaminosis B
Paralysis of the wings and legs, increased goiter and drooping of the head are characteristic signs of hypovitaminosis B.
In addition, broilers, in the body which lacks this important component, look, as a rule, chickens, reject much of the food and slowly increase in growth. It becomes clear why the chickens are lowering their wings and than they need to be treated immediately. Herbal flour and green, meat and fish supplements will add vitamin B to the chicken body.
Hypovitaminosis D
Metabolism involves normal calcium-phosphorus metabolism, and, accordingly, the sufficiency of vitamin D (calficerol) in the body. Chickens in this regard are no different from other cubs - the disappointing outcome of hypovitaminosis D is the emergence and development of rickets, which makes the bones of the skeleton too soft.
It is advisable to notice the appearance in time. symptoms, which are:
- general weakness;
- swollen abdomen in combination with anorexia and diarrhea;
- lameness of trembling limbs;
- increasing head size.
Recommendations:
- space and improved illumination;
- compulsory walking;
- balanced in terms of the content of vitamins and nutrients, food with the obligatory presence of calficerol and fish oil in it.
Hypovitaminosis E
This type of hypovitaminosis, caused by a lack of vitamin E, is observed in chickens who have reached, as a rule, three weeks of age. And for the next crescent the danger persists. In addition to the general weakness characteristic of other diseases, specific signs of hypovitaminosis E include convulsive twitching and partial paralysis of the limbs (wings can also descend).
Prevention and treatment are the same - in the food supplements are used (during the period of the disease more than usual) grass meal and germinated rice.
Broiler disease prevention
Prevention of treatment of broilers is reduced primarily to the optimal conditions of their content. To do this:
- place the young growth on a warm litter in a room where the air temperature, containing at least 17% oxygen, is brought to +32 degrees;
- do not plant too many chickens in one cage - they should not be crowded;
- warm drinking water to saturate with vitamin C and glucose (askorbinka - 2 g / l, glucose - 50 g / l) - this is exactly what you need to drink chickens from diarrhea;
- use small-scale feeding (not more than six times a day), adding low-fat cottage cheese, sour milk and whey to the diet, taking care that products that contain lime are not mixed in;
- timely replace wet and dirty litter;
- never allow hypothermia chicks.
Disinfection of the premises where broiler chickens are raised is usually recommended as a prophylactic measure for infectious diseases, but it does not become excessive at all to prevent non-transmitted diseases.Care for broiler chickens requires scrupulousness and endurance. Having learned how to treat chickens at home, it will be much easier to endure the entire season. The effort expended will pay off perfectly when the weight of the chicken herd increases ten-fold times in a month and a half (it can even be up to fifty).
