Small Flock Poultry Health Disease Prevention and Good Management Small Flock Poultry Health Acknowledgements: The Small Flock Poultry Health manual has been funded by Growing Forward, a federal, provincial, territorial initiative. Articles for this manual have been contributed by authors from universities, government agencies, and companies across North America and have been included here with their permission. These authors and their respective institutions are gratefully acknowledged. Legal disclaimer: This document provides a general description of management and health for keeping poultry, especially for small producers and hobby flock owners. It should not be viewed as a substitute for legal advice. All legislation identified in this guide refers to British Columbia or Canada legislation. This publication should not be viewed as a substitute for legal advice. An individual or farming operation that requires legal advice as to legal requirements or potential liability should retain a lawyer who has examined the current state of the applicable law and has acquired an understanding of the operation’s particular circumstances. Certain examples and references are provided for illustrative purposes and may not constitute a complete statement of the law. The law with respect to Animal Health and Disease Control is changing and information contained in this publication may be outdated; it was current as of January 1, 2011. British Columbia legislation can be viewed at: http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96014_01 Federal legislation can be viewed at: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/H-3.3 The materials presented in the guide, except for law, were current at the time of publication. However, revisions may have occurred since publication. For information concerning revisions, contact the BC Ministry of Agriculture. Any mention of specific corporations or trade names is for acknowledgement or illustration only and is not an endorsement of those products. French translation upon request. Need more information? For more information on poultry health and management or to obtain a copy of this manual, call the Animal Health Centre, BC Ministry of Agriculture at (604) 556-3003 or 1-800-661-9903. Small Flock Poultry Health Introduction Introduction Keeping poultry can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. While it seems that it would be an intuitively simple task for those who enjoy owning and caring for animals, it is actually much more complex than, for example, caring for a dog. Poultry generally do not become a part of the household family and therefore must be provided with all the tools necessary in order to thrive in their own environment. This means not just providing food and water but also ensuring that the diet is balanced according to the type of birds, allowing access to a controlled environment, protecting from pests and predators, and so on. In recent years, a new term, “Biosecurity”, has gained prominence among livestock owners. This is a term that refers to the collection of procedures that are employed to keep livestock healthy and it is particularly appropriate for poultry. All the elements of poultry production, whether in a large scale or small scale operation, are essential to the execution of good biosecurity. Without adequate housing and management of that housing, without adequate management of the birds themselves, without good infectious disease prevention strategies, and without implementation of all those elements of poultry production, good biosecurity would be impossible. This manual covers all the elements of poultry production with the goal of helping the small flock owner keep their birds as healthy as possible. It covers areas including housing and management, basics of poultry diseases, disease prevention and control, and food safety. While not a complete encyclopaedia of poultry health and management it will help to guide owners in the care of their flocks. For those wishing to explore more detail in some areas, references are provided. This manual is a collation of information by many authors, and their contributions are gratefully acknowledged. The authors and their affiliations are cited with their particular pieces. Articles have been drawn from experts around North America, providing an excellent pool of sound information. Most are aimed specifically at small flocks, but some reference to commercial flocks is also included where concepts apply to both production cultures. Hopefully this manual will be informative enough to encourage healthy flock practices and to provide enough mental stimulation to encourage the quest for even more information. May 1, 2011 Bill Cox, DVM Poultry Veterinarian, Animal Health Branch, BC Ministry of Agriculture, 1767 Angus Campbell Rd. Abbotsford, BC V3G 2M3 iii Small Flock Poultry Health Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................iii Section III: Biosecurity Section I: Housing and Management Introduction to Biosecurity ............................................... 95 Management of the Small Flock ........................................1 Producer Self-Assessment Guide .................................... 97 Housing .......................................................................................3 Food Safety for Small Flock Owners ............................107 Housing Backyard Chickens ....................................................3 Small Scale Poultry Housing ....................................................7 Section IV: Some Common Diseases Designs for Small Poultry Structures ................................10 Important Poultry Diseases ............................................111 Lighting for Poultry .............................................................. 15 Foreword ....................................................................................111 Feed and Water ..................................................................... 17 INFECTIOUS RESPIRATORY DISEASES .............................113 Poultry Nutrition Information for the Small Flock .........17 NEOPLASTIC DISEASES .........................................................121 Feed and Water Management .............................................21 AVIAN ADENOVIRAL DISEASES .........................................123 Pest Management ................................................................ 25 MISCELLANEOUS VIRAL DISEASES ...................................126 Pest Management .....................................................................25 MISCELLANEOUS BACTERIAL DISEASES ........................132 Rodent Control in Livestock and Poultry Facilities ........29 INFECTIOUS VIRAL DISEASES OF DUCKS .......................135 Predators: Thieves in the Night ............................................37 PARASITIC DISEASES .............................................................137 Sanitation ............................................................................... 41 SOME IMPORTANT VITAMIN DEFICIENCY Introduction to Disinfectants ...............................................41 DISEASES .........................................................................141 Cleaning and Disinfection .....................................................45 Blackhead (Histomoniasis) in Turkeys .........................143 Step-by-Step Cleaning and Disinfection ..................... 49 Mortality management ...................................................... 53 Identification and Treatment of Common Lice and Mites ..........................................147 Assessing your management ........................................... 57 Common Poultry Lice ............................................................147 Section II: Basics of Disease Common Poultry Mites .........................................................148 Disease Fundamentals........................................................ 63 Treatment for Lice and Mites ..............................................152 Infectious Diseases: Spread, Prevention, Ascites in Broiler Chickens ..............................................153 and Control ..................................................................... 65 What are Infectious Diseases? ..............................................65 Cannibalism: Prevention and Treatment ..................157 Spread of Infectious Diseases ...............................................69 Factors Affecting Egg Production in Concepts in Prevention and Control of Disease in Backyard Chicken Flocks ..........................................161 Poultry .................................................................................70 Recognizing Illness in Poultry .......................................... 77 Section V: Suggested References Responding to Disease ....................................................... 81 Suggested References ......................................................173 I think my birds are sick, what do I do? .............................81 Textbooks ...................................................................................173 Foreign Animal Disease ..........................................................85 Online References ...................................................................173 Self-Quarantine Protocol for Small Farm Flocks.............87 Self-Quarantine Checklist ......................................................89 Appendix 1 Understanding Antibiotics ....................................................91