How to prevent and treat Newcastle disease in chickens? These methods you need to master

Newcastle disease in chickens is an infectious disease caused by a virus, commonly known as chicken plague, also called Asian chicken plague. It generally occurs more often in cold winter weather or in seasons with changeable or sudden weather shifts. Newcastle disease in chickens is extremely contagious and has a very high mortality rate, causing devastating losses for farmers. So today let us take a closer look at Newcastle disease in chickens and its prevention and treatment methods.

1. The harm of Newcastle disease in chickens

Newcastle disease in chickens is extremely harmful. It is contagious to all kinds of chickens, and the speed of infection is extremely fast, with extremely high morbidity and mortality, having a major impact on poultry farming. Newcastle disease in chickens mainly spreads among chickens, but it also has a certain impact on pigeons, ducks and other poultry, as well as specialty bird farming. Although vaccines have now been developed and the disease is basically controlled, there is still a possibility of outbreaks, and it may also give rise to more harmful diseases.

2. Causes of the disease

The Newcastle disease virus is a type in the family Paramyxoviridae and is extremely contagious. It can agglutinate the red blood cells of humans, chickens, guinea pigs and mice, and then through adsorption, penetration, uncoating, biosynthesis, assembly and release, it causes the virus to spread. It mainly enters the body through the respiratory tract or mouth from the feces, carcasses and saliva of sick chickens and virus-carrying chickens, as well as contaminated feed and water, leading to the onset of the disease.

3. Symptoms of the disease

The Newcastle disease virus has a certain incubation period, generally one week, and during this week it is basically normal. After the virus breaks out, it shows difficulty breathing, coughing and gasping, and occasionally the head and neck become stretched out and the mouth is opened to breathe. At the same time, it is accompanied by reduced appetite, diarrhea and gradual weight loss, and finally death. Some also have sour-smelling fluid flowing from the mouth, fever, snoring, twisted neck and lameness. These are all symptoms of Newcastle disease in chickens.

4. Prevention and treatment methods

The prevention and treatment of Newcastle disease in chickens needs to follow a process. It is mainly divided into six steps: feeding management, disease prevention and treatment, chicken coop disinfection, vaccine injection, isolation and treatment, and supervision and testing. We cannot rely on vaccines alone for prevention and treatment. The most important thing is to improve the immunity of the flock through strengthened feeding management, hygiene and cleaning, and epidemic prevention and disinfection. After an outbreak, immediately isolate the birds, inject vaccines, and promptly cull sick chickens. Vaccine injection needs to be done according to different ages, and you can consult about the specific vaccine doses. For example, attenuated vaccine is used at 7 days of age, and strain I vaccine is used from 4 to 26 days of age.

5. Prevention and control measures

The prevention and control measures for Newcastle disease in chickens are mainly two aspects: strengthening feeding management and scientific vaccine immunization. When raising them, the farming site should be chosen in a relatively secluded place to reduce stress reactions. Next is to strengthen nutritional feeding, maintain nutritional balance, and improve health levels. Finally, carry out strict disinfection, adopt standardized feeding management rules, and monitor the physical condition of the flock at any time. Vaccine prevention and treatment need to be carried out according to prescribed procedures, with regular antibody testing to understand the immune effect and keep timely control of the disease.

The above is what the editor has introduced to you: the harm of Newcastle disease in chickens, the causes of the disease, the symptoms at onset, prevention and treatment methods, and its prevention and control measures. I hope it can be helpful to everyone. If you like it, remember to follow us.