What are the characteristics of nutritional and metabolic diseases in chickens?
1. Slow onset, high incidence, and a relatively long course; most cases remain subclinical for a long period.
2. Body temperature is generally low or within the normal range, no contact transmission occurs between chickens, and affected chickens mostly show diverse clinical signs such as arrested growth and development, anemia, and disorders of digestive and reproductive function.
3. Early diagnosis is difficult, but such diseases have characteristic changes in blood or urine biochemical indices or pathological changes in organs and tissues. The cause can be identified through testing and analysis of feed, soil, or water quality.
4. Supplementing a certain nutrient or element in deficiency cases, or reducing the supply of a certain substance in excess cases, can prevent or treat the condition.