3 Killers among us
Aspergillus, Staphylococcus Aureus, E. Coli
They are among us everyday without us knowing it, they live on our skin, they live in our soil. It is not until we get a small cut or an compromised immunesystem they will cause us harm. I learn it the hard way that these killers are all to common among our birds.
STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS
Staphyloccosis
This bacteria helps the birds and us to get better resistance to other diseases. It lives on the skin or the mucusmembrane. This bacteria can cause devestaing destruction to a body if it gets an entrance way to to the body, such as a cut. Bumblefoot, one of the most common ailments to poultry are the biggest reason for staphylococcus infections.
A healthy individual most often does not get affected by the Staph bacteria. Most of the cases it can be seen that the individual had a weakend immunesystem for one or another reason, which makes the defense against the bacteria low.
It can also spread from an infected individual during maiting.
When the bacteria enters the bloodstream is when it becomes deadly, so called sepsis.
- The incubation period for the bacteria is 1-3 days and the progression is around 1 week (acute form, sepsis) while the chronic form is around 5 weeks.
- The Symptoms could be mistaken for Fowl Cholera, since they are very much alike.
- During the necropsy they will find liquid digestive fluid in the digestive tract and dark, swollen liver.
Dumptruck, Indian Runner duck
3 years old
It went fast. When he started to display symtoms it just took a few days before he passed. It started with him just avoiding the flock, then wanting to lay down alot. He did not eat and when I weighed him he had lost 400 grams in less than a month. The same day he passed he lost the ability to walk. He later the same eavning, felt that he could relax when I picked him up and he passed in my arms.
I had him sent for a necropsy, which really showed that something had reeked havoc on his system. He had lesions eveywhere. After a bacteria culture the caused was determined to be Staphyloccus Aureus and most likley he went septic since it just took a few days.
Dumptruck had an eye infection within his first year of life. The eye infection was determined to be caused by his own bacteria. This showed allready then that he most likley have had a weak immunesystem his whole life. Making him an easy target for an Staph infection.
ASPERGILLUS
Aspergillosis
A fungus that lives on the decaying organic matter around us. It is so common in both our birds envoriment and our own so its nearly impossible to prevent and do anything about it.
Aspergillosis are most common caused by Aspergillus fumigatus but can also be caused by other funguses.
Birds or we humans can get sick if we breathe in decaying litter, but it does rarely affect a healthy indiviudal, with a normal immunesystem. It is when they get a weak immunesystem this fungus become harmful. It will cause pneumonia, without a fast and correct treament it will be deadly. The disease is hard to diagnos, since it takes a while to show symtoms and when they start to show, they have been sick for a long time.
You can see already inside the egg if an embryo is affected by aspergillus. The egg will have a green looking apperence when candling. Newly hatched chicks which display symtoms such as gasping, swollen eye, with yellow fluid and fluid from eyes and nose.
There is two versions of Aspergilios acute (also called brooder pneumonia) which is the more common one. It has an incubation period of 2 to 5 days and the mortality is higher than the chronic one, 10%. The chronic version (also called Bronchomycosis) are not as common as the acute one. It has a incubation period of several months before they start symtoms. The mortality is 5% of the chronic one. Aspregillios does not transmit from bird to bird.
- Why does aspergillios happend?
The spores of aspergillus fumigatus and other funguses live naturally in the enovirment of birds and poultry. They will thrive around feeder and water stations and also inside them. - How do I prevent it?
If you get a reoccurance with aspergillosis you should look over your ventilation system. Keeping a dry set up is key. Regulary disinfect water containers and feed stations. (1% of Virkon will do alot)
Aspergillosis has no cure but can be managed with medication. The medication is hard on the system and most often very toxic for any animal. Alot of side effects comes with the medication and you have to weigh in the pros and cons, deciding to treat it. The market lacks an amount of good antifungal medications.
A necropsy will show mold in the airpipe, waterbelly and chessy nodules in the lungs and airsacs. The lungs will have a grey, yellow apparance
Panic, Silkie Chicken
6 months old
Panic was a cross beak silkie rooster. He had a rough start in life with his cross beak and he later devolped a severe scoliosis. He was half the size of the normal silkie rooster, showed that he most likley had a system that was not working. It started with him loosing weight, having alot of air in his crop (I first suspected sour crop). He lost weight so fast and he could not gain anything from the food I tubefed him. With him being so tiny, he did not have alot of weight to begin with. He declined rapidly and the weekend before he passed, he was gasping alot. He was so small so the vet could not even test for aspergillios, he did not have enough blood. Even if the bloodtest showed positive. He would not have made it thrue the medication, with weakend kidneys.
I saw in his eyes that he could not go on and he got to pass peacefully at the Vets office, next to me and a flock mate. Knowing he was loved.
Researching for this article I am pretty sure he had the chronic version and was infected with aspergillios when he arrived here.
E. COLI
Colibacillosis
Also called coliforminfection. A disease caused by the bacteria Escherichia coli.
The symtoms of the bacteria vary alot and most often very complex. How susceptible your birds will be depends on the strain of the bacteria and also how old the bird is.
Some of the symtoms
- Sepsis
- Airsacculitis
- Pericaditis
- One eye can go blind but still be healthy
- Swollen leg joints with yellow fluid
- Yellow, watery droppings
- Laying hens will have an upright posture and most likley will be dead within 6 months (egg peritonitis)
- Newly hatched will be dead within 6 days with swollen navel and a bad odur.
- Growing birds can get lame, lethagic, fever and swollen joints
Just like Staphylococcus, E coli needs and entrance to go havoc in the system of a body. Most common entrance for the E coli are thrue:
- The respiratory tract
- Wounds on the skin
- Cloaca
- The mucusmembrane of the digestive tract
The bacteria in it self can cause a range of symtoms but can also go hand in hand with other infections such as diffrent respiratory diseases, infectious bronchitis, infectious synovitis and newcastle disease.
The range of the disease can vary between actue, mild and chronic.
- Why does Colibacilosis happend?
This bacteria lives naturally in the birds envoriment and will only affected the ones with a weak immmunsystem or it will come as a secondary infection.
Most often the E coli are picked up from somewhere, like a reservoir of fecal matter, soil or infected water or food. The bird ingest the infected droppings somehow. It can come from a flock mate, wild birds, mammals, beetles or even the common housefly. - How can I prevent Colibacilosis?
Have a good hygiene around your birds and good ventilation. Keep the water containers and feeders clean (use a good disinfectan) and keep roadents away.
E. coli can be hard to treat but do everything you can. Keep infected birds in a clean, warm envoriment. Keep fed with an high protein diet and give them Vitamin E. Antibiotics can help in a early stage of the infection.
Professor Ratigan "Poppi", Silkie Chicken
3 years old
In the end, it was her own body that destoyed her. It started as a classic sour crop case, it was treated for a long time as sour crop with not ever getting better. She did first test negative for any infection, but later we found out that this was a false negative. Her body has created barriers around the infection, abcesses started to appear everywhere in her body and one of them was place right in her esphagous. Despite being on the right antibiotic the infection did not respond to it. Due to the barriers around the infections, the antibiotics could not do its work.
The infection spread fast in her last 7 days, making it hard for her to breathe. Despite all this she still free ranged and seemed healthy. In the end, when we saw the Xray, we know she would only get worse. We could wait until this time came, but in the end we decided to let her pass with dignity.
Poppi had never laid an egg normally. She was on the suprelorin implant for the most of her life. This makes me wonder if something was going on in her body from the start that did weakend her immunsystem, making her get this infection.