Coccidiosis...

Caecal Coccidiosis......

Importance of Herbs in Broiler Poultry

Importance of Herbs in Broiler Poultry

Herbs and plant extracts used in animal feed, called today phytogenics feed additives (PFA), are defined as compounds of plant origin incorporated into animal feed to enhance livestock productivity through the improvement of digestibility, nutrient absorption and elimination of pathogens residents in the poultry gut.
The large variety of plant compounds used as PFA are assembled according to their origin and treatment, such as herbs and spices (eg: garlic, anise, cinnamon, coriander, oregano, chili, pepper, rosemary and thyme) but also essential oils or oleoresins. The content of active substances in these products can vary greatly depending on what part of the plant is used (grains, leaves, roots, bark, flowers, or buds), the harvest season and geographical origin.
Turmeric is a spice coming from the rhizome of Curcuma longa. It is used as a food coloring, but also for medicinal purposes. The active component is curcumin, a phenolic compound at concentrations of about 1 to 5%. It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumoral activities. In infected chicken with Eimeria maxima, supplementation of feed with 1% (1 kg/100 kg) turmeric spice improves weight gain, reduces intestinal lesions and oocyst excretion. Curcumin exerts its anticoccidial effect through its antioxidant action on the immune system
Garlic (Allium sativum), thyme (Thymus vulgarus) and conflower (Echinacea purpurea) as feed supplements have recently been reported to exert a wide range of beneficial effects on the production performance (weight gain, feed conversion, egg production and quality) of broilers and laying hens.

Ref: http://www.gjasr.com/

PM lesions of ND in broiler poultry

Lesions of organs

IBD Vaccination in Broilers

IBD Vaccination in Broilers

Three categories of vaccines, based on their pathogenicity, have been described: 1) mild, 2) intermediate, and 3) virulent. The intermediate type IBD vaccines are most commonly used. These vaccines can stimulate the broiler to produce antibodies earlier than the mild-type vaccines, without significant damage to the BF as may occur with the virulent type vaccines.

The timing of broiler vaccination depends on the level of maternal antibody present in the chicks. High levels of maternal antibody at the time of vaccination will neutralize the vaccine virus. Thus, only a limited active immune response results, and chickens will be susceptible to disease as maternal titers decrease. If low levels of maternal IBD titers are present in the chicks, vaccination may not be effective on farms contaminated with virulent field virus.

Approximately 10 to 12 days are required after vaccination for chickens to develop minimal protective titers. During this "lag time," chickens are susceptible to IBD. In addition, virulent IBD viruses are able to break through higher maternal titers than milder vaccine viruses. Thus, if IBD field virus contamination on a broiler farm is high, nor broiler vaccination can stimulate protection in the flock before damage occurs.

If the maternal antibody titer is not uniform in the broiler flock, multiple costly vaccinations will be required. For example, some producers may vaccinate broilers at one day of age and again at fourteen days of age. This multiple IBD vaccination would be recommended when maternal titers are poorly uniform, which results from poor vaccine administration in breeders or when mixing broilers from different breeder flocks. In a recent study, even a group of breeders that had fairly uniform IBD titers had chicks with titers that were variable, with many chicks have little or no maternal antibody protection.

Although the 1 day of age vaccination would be of little direct benefit to broilers with high maternal titer levels, multiple vaccinations would provide some protection to chicks with lower levels of maternal antibody and would help reduce replication of IBD field virus and subsequent shed in the poultry house environment.

Ref: University of Florida IFAS Extension

Nephropathogenic IB

Severe kidney swelling with atrophied bursa might be due to IB with immunosuppression...

Ascities

Eyebright herbs ( Euphrasia officinalis) is very much useful in treating Ascities, doses @ 0.5gm/70kg bwt.for 7 days. In hindi it is called Kataki.

Ascities in Broilers

Several measures againt Ascities in Broilers Poultry

As mortality of broilers is increasing due to Ascities during winters, it causes a severe losses in this regions. As the Genetics has been blamed for Ascities  however,  a considerable number of ascites occurrences are triggered by microbial factors (E. coli, Salmonella sp., Aspergillus) coupled with contributing environmental and nutritional factors. Acidifiers have gained considerable attention in modern animal production as an efficient alternative to antibiotics. Dietary acidification with organic acids has been shown to contribute to environmental hygiene by preventing feed and water from microbial and fungal deterioration. Moreover, dietary supplementation with acidifiers decreases the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, thus improving animals' growth performance and health status. It is also proven that acidifiers successfully fight against gastrointestinal pathogens. With promising results in the alleviation of ascites in broilers. First, it is important to understand the underlying causes of an ascites occurrence in a poultry farm. In the case of ascites caused by genetics, feed restriction might reduce the effect of the disease. Slower growing birds have reduced oxygen needs, allowing the cardiopulmonary organs (heart and lungs) to keep up with oxygen demands of the birds. However, reducing the feed intake of broilers decreases the growth performance. In the case of ascites caused by microorganisms, recent studies with acidifiers have shown promising results. Of course, optimal management practices are also very important.

Several  measures have been shown to reduce the incidence of ascites in broilers.

1. Reduced feed intake :    Feed restriction be done in first two weeks post-hatch. 

2. Early switch to grower-finisher diets : Providing less dense diets during early age.

3. Skip-a-day feed regime : 

4. Meal versus pellet diets :  Higher fiber content, can be used to reduce feed intake indirectly, without limiting feed intake through management.

5. Vitamin C and E 

6. Sodium bicarbonate 
Adding one percent sodium bicarbonate in broiler feed can reduce the incidence of ascites, but adding the same compound in drinking water has been shown to aggravate the problem of ascites. 

7. Coccidiostats 
Using coccidiostats in feed has been shown to reduce the problems of ascites by half, especially when different coccidiostats are rotated within the same flock.

8. Acetylsalicylic acid 
Adding this widely available medication in drinking water has been shown, in some cases, to be of general help against ascites.

9. Feed protein 
Feeding diets with less protein (up to four percent less) can reduce the oxygen demand for the catabolism of excess protein, and this is important because ascites are generally associated with oxygen insufficiency.

Ref. www.wattagnet.com