Histomoniasis in chickens: causes and symptoms, treatment methods and prevention

Poultry diseases threaten livestock in household plots and large enterprises for the mass breeding of chickens, turkeys, guinea fowls, geese, ducks and other varieties. This causes serious material damage, so it is extremely important to resist diseases. One of the dangerous diseases that can destroy a lot of birds is histomonosis in domestic chickens.

Causes of histomonosis in chickens

The disease is provoked by the penetration into the body of protozoa from the flagellate class. These are histomonads capable of infecting the most sensitive chicks of chickens and turkeys in the age group from two weeks to three months.

Histomoniasis negatively affects the protective barrier function of the bird's intestines, leading to inflammation, general intoxication and reduced absorption of nutrients from ingested food. Protozoa lead to infection of tissues, especially the liver, leading to dysfunction of organs, more often to peritonitis. In the absence of timely treatment, up to 70% of all young animals die.

The source of infection with histomonosis are insects: fleas, mosquitoes, earthworms and other representatives of this group, which can be eaten by chickens and other poultry. You can also become infected from poor-quality food, dirty bedding and unwashed feeders and drinkers, as well as during transportation in undisinfected cages or boxes.

The rapid development and spread of histomonosis leads to the maintenance of a large number of birds in a cramped room, as well as the joint presence of chicks and adult chickens.

Histomoniasis occurs in two stages:

1. Flagella.
2. Amebic.

Also, the disease can occur in acute and chronic forms. In the acute form, chicks and adolescents die quickly, within a few days. The chronic form continues throughout the life of a chicken older than 3 months, reducing it and leading to the spread of the disease.

Signs and symptoms of onset

Due to the characteristic blackening of the scalp in poultry, the disease has acquired another name - "black head". When infected with histomonosis in an acute form, the comb and scalp darken, the bird looks untidy and disheveled, the feather is stained with guano. Chickens are lethargic, with reduced appetite, they have sagging wings and signs of severe diarrhea.They can cover their heads and eyes, huddle together.

In the chronic form of histomonosis, chickens eat worse, do not differ in vigor, lose their bright plumage color. The disease is most pronounced in summer, because at this time of the year the maximum number of insects are available to chickens, which can be sources of the disease.

After opening a carcass infected with histomonosis, enlarged liver and spleen, inflamed intestines, curdled contents of the caecum, ulcers, adhesions, brown fluid in the abdominal cavity are found.

Diagnosing the problem

To determine the cause of the defeat of the poultry population, it is necessary to conduct laboratory diagnostics. By external signs, it is extremely difficult to distinguish histomonosis from other common infections (colibacteriosis, trichomoniasis, tuberculosis, leukemia or eimeriosis). For diagnosis, scrapings are taken from the mucous membranes of the intestines and the contents of the caecum are examined under a microscope.Smears are stained according to Romanovsky, and they are also sown on Petrovsky's medium. The final diagnosis of "histomonosis" is made on the basis of the totality of the results obtained, evaluating both the external signs and the results of laboratory tests.

Treatment of disease in chickens

The main condition for the successful treatment of histomonosis in chickens is the timely detection and accurate diagnosis of the disease. To get rid of the simplest microorganisms, drugs from the group of imidazoles are used. These are "Metronidazole" ("Trichopolum"), "Tinidazole", "Nitazol" and a number of other similar drugs.

Metronidazole

For treatment with this drug, it is dissolved in warm water and fed to young animals three times a day. If the chicks do not want to drink the medicine on their own, it is instilled into their beaks in the form of a solution of 0.1 milligram of the drug per kilogram of chicken body weight. For adult sick chickens, the drug can be added to the feed. To do this, Metronidazole tablets are ground into powder and sprinkled with products at the rate of 1.5 grams per kilogram of bird weight.

Treatment of histomonosis lasts from 5 to 7 days, then the chickens reduce the frequency of giving and the dosage of the drug to once a day. "Trichopol" is used in a similar way.

Furazolidone

This drug is added to feed at a concentration of 0.02-0.04%.

After a course of treatment, chicks and chickens need to be treated with probiotics to restore internal balance in the body. The veterinary drug "Vetom" is best suited for this purpose. With its help, it is possible to avoid the development of dysbacteriosis, which will have an extremely negative impact on the condition of an already weakened bird.

Also, without fail, all poultry will have to undergo deworming, as this is necessary to strengthen the overall immunity and restore the he alth of chickens. The following preparations are used for this:

1. "Piperazine" at a dosage of 0.5 grams per kilogram of body weight.
2. "Phenothiazine" at a dose of 1 gram per kilogram of body weight and some other means.

Treatment duration is 2-3 days.

Prevention measures

In order to avoid the defeat of chickens with histomonosis, the following requirements must be observed:

1. Keep young and adult birds in separate rooms.
2. Clean frequently to remove droppings.
3. To carry out disinfection of the collected litter by storing it in layers in piles. Due to the tight packing, oxygen does not enter inside, and pathogens die.
4. Wash and regularly disinfect drinkers and feeders with special preparations.
5. Regularly disinfect rooms where poultry is kept, whitewash walls and ceilings with lime.
6. When purchasing new birds or chicks, keep them in quarantine, away from the main stock.
7. When signs of illness are detected, the diseased chicken or chick should be immediately removed from the total mass and the necessary disinfection steps should be taken.
8. Start diagnosis and treatment as early as possible. So more likely to save the chickens. With a progressive disease, a high percentage of birds (up to 90%) die.

Histomoniasis is a dangerous disease of chickens, turkeys and other poultry. You can cope with it by maintaining perfect hygiene and attentive attitude to the feathered wards.

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