Identifying signs of disease in poultry

If you suspect that your poultry may be unwell, the first step is to observe the flock carefully.

Observing your birds is best done while they are relaxed. Disturbing them or handling them can:

disguise the signs of disease (e.g. a gasping bird might stop mouth-breathing when handled)
increase the signs of disease (e.g. a nervous disorder, such as a tremor, might appear because the bird is frightened while being handled).

Common signs of disease in poultry

There are common signs of disease that you can use to detect potential illness in chicken and other poultry. Some of these include:

feather loss (unless birds are going through a natural moult)
general inactivity
discharges
abnormal droppings
dull and/or closed eyes
ruffled feathers
drooped wings
sitting on haunches or lying down.

The following table outlines the common characteristics displayed by healthy birds compared to sick or diseased birds in both adult and young poultry.

Adult poultry

Characteristic	Healthy birds	Diseased birds
Stance	Erect Tail held high	Tail and wings 'dropped' Head held close to body or twisted over back or between legs
Head	Clean comb and wattles Bright about the eye Clean nostrils	Discoloured Shrunken comb or eyes dull or watery Nostrils caked Face shrunken or swollen
Muscles	Bird feels 'solid' Struggles vigorously when held	Loss of weight and strength Uneven size of thighs Keel protrudes under skin
Legs and feet	Clean waxy scales Smooth joints Cool to touch	Dehydrated with prominent tendons Enlarged Warm to touch Cracked feet
Feathers	Smooth and neat	Fluffed out Stained in abdomen area
Colour	Breed and strain characteristics	Less colourful In hens excess yellow may be from reduced laying rate
Appetite and thirst	Eat and drink often	Lose appetite Drink excessively
Droppings	Grey Brown with white caps Definite form Caecal droppings may be frothy	White Green Red Yellow Very watery or sticky
Abdomen	Firm to touch Fat birds may feel hard	May be very hard or very soft
Vent	Clean Level with body surface	Inflamed around vent area Pasted over with droppings Protrusion of tissues
Breathing	Silent Beak closed (in hot weather birds may breath with mouth open)	Coughing Rattling Snickering Obvious panting movements

Young poultry

Characteristic	Healthy birds	Diseased birds
Navel area	Smooth Colour and appearance of normal skin	Thickened appearance and feeling of a 'button' or a knot of tissue Black string of dry tissue protruding Fluid exudate
Vent	Clean Level with body surface	Pasted over with droppings Protrusion of tissues
Legs and feet	Legs under body Toes straight and spread evenly	Legs sprawled Sores on hock joints Toes curved
Wing feathers	Extend to the base of the tail Feathers show no distinct break lines	Wings droop Feathers show clear 'fault lines' in vane

Keep records

Keeping records on general production figures such as daily mortalities, feed and water consumption and egg production is essential. A drop in production or change in feed conversion ratio can often be the first sign of disease. Keeping and monitoring records can help to detect an illness early.

Large numbers of mortalities is an immediate alert that a problem exists.

Source: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/

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Identifying signs of disease in poultry

Identifying signs of disease in poultry

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