What are the methods for assessing the health status of a chicken flock?

For chicken farmers and the keepers and technicians at chicken farms, assessing the health status of the flock is an important part of ensuring the profitability of chicken farming. Mastering this skill requires a certain foundation in animal husbandry and veterinary knowledge, as well as regular sampling for physiological and biochemical testing. Through summing up experience in production and careful observation and judgment, the core of the skill of assessing chicken flock health can be summed up in one sentence: look at the droppings in the morning, listen to the sounds in the evening, and inspect the whole flock during the day.

1. Look at the droppings in the morning. Look at the form: relatively thin droppings in the shape of a dry stick indicate insufficient drinking water; if the droppings are sticky, thin and soft, or contain undigested feed particles, it indicates inflammation in the intestinal tract and indigestion. Look at the color: if the loose droppings contain yellow or white mucus, it indicates gout, colibacillosis or fowl typhoid; if the loose droppings contain green feces, it indicates avian influenza, Newcastle disease or cholera. If sulfur-like droppings are passed, it indicates that the chickens have histomoniasis; if the droppings are bloody or look like tomato, it indicates that there are chickens in the flock with coccidiosis or hemorrhagic enteritis, etc.

2. Listen to the sounds in the evening. Listen to breathing: if you hear snorting, sneezing, rales, coughing or screeching, it indicates that there is respiratory infectious disease in the flock. Listen to defecation sounds: if you hear the sound of thin, soft droppings being passed, it indicates that some chickens in the flock may have digestive tract disease; if you hear a splashing water sound, it indicates that some chickens have enlarged kidneys and impaired water metabolism.

3. Usually inspect the whole flock. Flock examination: after entering the chicken house, you can gently tap an iron bucket, iron basin or other object that can make a sound, suddenly producing an appropriate noise. At this time, pay attention to whether any chickens in the flock show no response to the noise and are still lying with their eyes closed and drowsy, then look at the proportion of chickens that show no response or slow responses, which can give a rough understanding of the disease situation in the flock. Individual examination: refers to a detailed examination of diseased chickens, such as body temperature, ocular conjunctiva, oral cavity, cloaca, etc. When dead chickens are found and you cannot make a correct diagnosis yourself, they should be sent immediately to a professional veterinary department for confirmation, and then correct measures should be taken, so as to avoid a minor illness turning into a major one. Ma Yong