What to Do When Chickens Get Cecal Hepatitis? A Detailed Guide to Comprehensive Prevention and Treatment Measures

Cecal hepatitis is an infectious disease caused by Histomonas meleagridis of the family Trichomonadidae, mainly infecting chickens and turkeys, and can cause varying degrees of inflammation in the ceca and liver, with severe cases leading to death. Because the skin on the head and face of affected chickens turns purplish-blue or black, it is also known as "blackhead disease."

To treat affected chickens, 0.05% metronidazole is often mixed into the feed, while 0.05% vitamin C and 1% glucose are added to the drinking water, fed continuously for 3 to 5 days as one course of treatment, then stopped for 3 days, followed by another course. This method can effectively control the condition. In the early stages of the disease, chlorophenylarsine can be used at a dosage of 1 mg/kg to 1.5 mg/kg body weight, prepared as a 1% solution with distilled water, and injected intravenously, repeated once after 3 days if necessary, with remarkable efficacy. Furazolidone and phenothiazine can also be used for treatment. The dosage of furazolidone is 0.04%, mixed into the feed, used continuously for 7 days, with good results; the dosage of phenothiazine is 0.5 g to 1 g per chicken, administered orally or mixed into the feed. It should be noted that phenothiazine can only expel adult Heterakis gallinarum worms and is ineffective against immature worms, so medication should be continued. Neoarsphenamine (914) at 15 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg body weight, mixed into the feed for affected chickens, or at 30 mg/kg to 50 mg/kg body weight, prepared as a 10% solution with distilled water and injected intravenously, also has good therapeutic effects. For affected chickens that eat little or not at all, 1.25% metronidazole solution can be administered by gavage, 1 mL per chicken each time, 3 times daily.

For clinically healthy chicken flocks, metronidazole is mixed into the feed at a dosage of 200 mg/kg of feed, combined with an appropriate amount of compound vitamin B, with 3 days as one course of treatment, used continuously for 5 courses.

Because the vector of this disease is Heterakis gallinarum, @#@230@#@ farms should pay special attention to the prevention and treatment of Heterakis gallinarum in chickens. Commonly used drugs are levamisole or ivermectin. Levamisole is safe and effective, and can be administered orally, in drinking water, or mixed into the feed, at a dosage of 20 mg/kg to 40 mg/kg body weight. After deworming, the feces should be piled up for fermentation.