How to prevent and treat sudden death syndrome in laying hens? A detailed guide to practical measures

Sudden death syndrome in laying hens, also called laying fatigue syndrome, generally refers to the phenomenon of sudden death or paralysis in caged laying hens. In some cases, chronic cases also produce soft-shelled or thin-shelled eggs and reduce the laying rate. So what causes the sudden death of laying hens? How should it be prevented and treated? Let's take a look at the detailed introduction.

1. Causes of the disease

In the high temperatures of summer and autumn, the climate is hot and humid, while the flock's stocking density is too high and the rearing equipment is poor, resulting in poor ventilation in the chicken house and excessively high temperatures. The flock's respiration speeds up, causing the body's acid-base balance to be lost, leading to respiratory alkalosis and sudden death. In addition, during summer feeding, the feeding method was not changed, with feeding 3-4 times a day, and feed was still added during high temperatures, which invisibly increased the burden on the chickens' hearts, leading to heart failure and sudden death.

2. Pattern of onset

This disease mainly occurs in laying hens, among which flocks in early laying and at the laying peak are most affected. It often occurs when the weather suddenly turns hot, and surrounding chicken farms all experience it. At the beginning, the flock continuously shows paralysis. If discovered in time, the paralyzed chickens can be picked out and will recover to normal, while some chickens die at night. In the early morning, the dead chickens can be picked out, and it will be found that the dead chickens have protruding cloaca, with a relatively high proportion of obese chickens.

3. Prevention and control measures

In hot weather, ventilation and air exchange measures should be strengthened to relieve the flock's heat stress response and avoid hypoxia. Biotin can be added to the feed, which can reduce the mortality rate of this disease, generally adding about 300 mg of biotin per kg. Vitamin C and potassium chloride can also be added to the feed to alleviate the condition. At the same time, antibiotics should be used to prevent enteritis and salpingitis, which has a certain therapeutic effect. For flocks with more severe onset, the lights can be turned on 1-2 times from night to early morning to let the flock drink water, reduce the viscosity of the blood, lighten the burden on the heart, and lower the mortality rate. Paralyzed chickens can be placed in a cool place.

The above is an introduction to the prevention and control measures for sudden death syndrome in laying hens. I hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please follow us.