Prevention and Control Methods and Technical Key Points for Goose Influenza

This disease is a widespread acute, respiratory and septicemic infectious disease, occurring mainly in winter and spring. Goslings weighing around 500 g are most susceptible (adult geese are less commonly affected), and in severe cases the morbidity and mortality rates reach 80-90%. Sudden climate changes, excessive temperature differences in the goose house, long-distance transport and poor feeding management can all lead to the occurrence of this disease. The disease is transmitted mainly through the respiratory tract, and contaminated feed and drinking water can also spread it.

1. Symptoms The main feature of sick geese is difficulty breathing, with large amounts of serous discharge flowing from the nostrils; some also have watery eyes and occasional snoring, and may even breathe with the mouth open. They often shake their heads forcefully to throw off the nasal mucus, and frequently bend the head backward to wipe the nasal discharge on the feathers on both sides of the front part of the body, making the feathers of the entire gosling flock dirty and wet. The course of the disease is mostly 2-4 days. Severely affected geese develop diarrhea, paralysis of the legs, and lie crouched on the ground unable to stand; even if they manage to stand, they immediately topple over. Mildly affected geese generally survive and do not die. Sick geese show obvious fibrous membrane proliferation in the respiratory organs; the trachea and bronchi are congested and hemorrhagic, with translucent exudate in the lumen; the lungs are congested; the endocardium and epicardium have hemorrhagic spots or hemorrhagic patches of varying sizes; the liver is slightly enlarged and congested; the gallbladder is enlarged and filled with bile; the kidneys are congested.

2. Prevention and Treatment 1. Ensure good cold protection and warmth for goslings within 4-50 days of age, strictly prevent excessive temperature differences in the house, and make sure the house temperature is 27-28°C at 1-5 days of age, 25-26°C at 6-10 days of age, 22-24°C at 11-15 days of age, 20-22°C at 16-20 days of age, and 18-20°C at 21-30 days of age, and control the relative air humidity in the house at around 60%.

2. Keep the inside and outside of the goose house clean and sanitary with ventilation and light transmission, change the litter frequently, and rinse the drinkers and feed troughs daily with 2% sodium hydroxide solution followed by clean water, to ensure the daily drinking water is sanitary.

3. When the outdoor temperature changes suddenly, young geese must not leave the house or be put out to pasture, and even less should they enter water. It must be noted that goslings aged 40-50 days are best kept out of water. At the same time, ensure the feed is of high quality and complete in nutrition, and mix the feed reasonably; within 30 days of age, add 8-10% concentrated feed such as chick feed to the green fodder every day.

4. Inject each bird subcutaneously in the neck with 0.5 ml of inactivated pure culture vaccine of Haemophilus, 3 times in succession with an interval of 5 days each time, or give 1.5 ml orally the first time and another 0.5 ml after 5 days, which has a good preventive effect.

5. Intramuscular injection of penicillin 10,000-20,000 units per bird twice a day for 2 consecutive days; or intramuscular injection of streptomycin 12-15 mg per bird twice a day for 2 consecutive days; or intramuscular injection of 30% analgin 2 ml twice a day for 3 consecutive days, all have good therapeutic effects.

6. Oral administration of 0.2-0.3 g phthalylsulfacetamide per bird twice a day for 2 consecutive days has a relatively good therapeutic effect.

7. Mash garlic into a paste and administer it with sugar water.

8. Take 500 g each of brown sugar and plantain (Plantago asiatica), add 7 kg of water, decoct the juice and mix it into the feed; this can feed 250 sick geese, administered twice a day for 2 consecutive days for full recovery.