Aspergillosis The Silent Disease That Frustrate A Lot Of Poultry Farmers

Aspergillosis the Silent Disease That Frustrate A Lot of Poultry Farmers

Aspergillosis is an infectious respiratory disease with severe and devastating effects on poultry farms. It is often referred to in some quarters as the disease of the young bird. Though it can affect birds of all ages.

Aspergillosis affects birds mostly in confinement

READ ALSO: Brooding day-old chicks and the general management

Once aspergillosis has infected a particular farm. Most especially if a farmer is ignorant or handles the infection with levity. It can cost a devastating and enormous economic loss to the farmer.

Which may lead to frustration. And disappointment, especially if he is just joining the farming business. The diseases are caused by a fungus, aspergillus fumigates.

Species of Birds Affected

It affects virtually all birds from

Chicken

Turkeys

Quail

Ducks

Geese, and so on.

Young chicks are more susceptible to this wasting disease of poultry.

Inexperience farmers often confused the symptoms of this disease with other diseases of poultry. Such as chronic respiratory disease, Newcastle disease, etc or other infectious respiratory diseases of poultry.

Clinical Signs

Chicks infected with aspergillosis look depressed and thirsty.

Grasping for breath and breathing rapidly.

They look very thin and have cloudy eyes.

Clicking noises.

Inappetance: the birds lack the appetite to eat.

Wasting: No appreciable gain in weight

Lethargy

Coughing

Aspergillosis may lead to the eventual death of the birds infected. And with a mortality rate of the flock between the range of 5 to 50%. And in some cases of up to about 100%.

Aspergillosis is less prone to birds reared under free-range system

Treatment for Aspergillosis

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for aspergillosis, but it can be prevented and controlled.

Try as much as possible to avoid stressful conditions once the chicks arrived. Affected birds should be destroyed immediately to prevent further spread of the disease to other flocks or pen.

Prevention and Control of Aspergillosis

You can effectively prevent and control aspergillosis if you adhere strictly to the following bio-security rules:

Gets your day-old chicks from a reputable firm with a good history of healthy day-old chicks in order to avoid aspergillosis.

Strict adherence to sanitation procedures in the hatchery will minimize early outbreaks of aspergillosis.

Observe for crack and dirty eggs before placing them in an incubator.

In preventing aspergillosis always avoid situations that cause stress to your flock at all times.

Set only clean eggs in the hatchery always clean and disinfect all setters and hatchers to avoid spores from contaminated incubators.

The brooding pen should be well ventilated and clean.

Malnutrition is a common cause of aspergillosis, strives to provide standard feed from a reputable feed mill.

Avoid stuffy environment at all costs for your chicks, your pen should be well ventilated these will help in reducing the incidence of aspergillosis.

Always use high-quality litter during brooding for your chicks.

Try and provide fans in their pen especially in Hot and humid weather conditions to relieve stress due to heat.

Always provides birds with clean drinking water at all times to prevent aspergillosis.

Do not use spore-bearing wood shavings, and wood shavings that are wet or simple to avoid wet litter at all times to effectively control aspergillosis.