Grand Prairie News

ARE YOUR BABY CHICKS SICK?

(By A. H. Prince)

Arkansas County Agent

Several reports have been received telling of the losses of baby chicks. Most of these state that the chicks were affected with some form of diarrhea.

All persons who are handling baby chicks would do well to give some thought to the CAUSES of this trouble so that preventative measures may be taken as far as possible. The following information is quoted in part from an article by E. L. Burnett and R. C. Bradley of Cornell University and also from Farmers Bulletin No. 1337, U. S. Department of Agriculture:

Bacillary white diarrhea is a destructive disease of baby chicks. The losses resulting from it have become a serious burden to the poultry industry. Almost everyone concerned with the hatching of eggs or the rearing of chicks has had experience with it. While the investigation of this trouble is not complete, enough has been learned about it to enable poultrymen to keep it under control if they will apply intelligently the information available.

Chicks improperly fed and poorly cared for may develop a diarrhea. At times the losses from this cause are very heavy. This condition, however, should not be confused with bacillary white diarrhea. Although usually the mortality is larger in bacillary white diarrhea than in the ordinary diarrhea, this alone will not enable the owner to differentiate between the two. The finding of the specific germ and certain changes in the organs of the chick is necessary for an accurate determination of the trouble.

The disease is widespread. It is distributed so universally that it is not possible to map the localities where it exists and those that are free from it.

The cause of this disease is a germ known as bacterium pullorum. It grows rapidly on the media commonly employed for cultivating bacteria in the laboratory. There is no difficulty in finding it in diseased chicks after death. It is readily destroyed by common disinfectants, such as corrosive sublimate, carbolic acid, and creolin. Sunlight also is effective as a destroying agent.

The chicks are infected from one of the following sources:

The eggs from which infected chicks were hatched were laid by hens with infected ovaries. It is believed that such hens were infected when they were chicks and recovered, the germs remaining in the body and localizing in the ovary. A certain percentage of the eggs from such hens contain the germs.

Chicks leaving the eggs in a diseased state will transmit the infection to the others.

After diseased chicks have been removed from the brooder, the germs will invariably be left behind on the floor and on the utensils. These germs will remain alive for a period of months. Healthy chicks placed in such a brooder and with such equipment will pick up the infection with the food. The proper care of the brooder and the equipment after an outbreak of the disease is important.

It is in the adult that the disease exists in the latent state. The germs localizing in the ovary usually do not cause the hen to exhibit recognizable symptoms. Bacterium pullorum does not produce diarrhea in adult birds as is often supposed. Some of the eggs from hens with infected ovaries contain the germs. The percentage of eggs that are infected from such hens varies with different individuals. The examinations that have been made of eggs from infected hens show that in some cases not more than one egg in twenty is infected, but in other cases a much higher number of eggs were found.

It is in baby chicks that the disease makes itself apparent. Poor hatches with many chicks dying in the shell have been found in some cases to be due to infected eggs. The chicks leave the eggs in a diseased state or else become infected soon after. A few diseased chicks in a brooder will spread the infection to others. As the chicks grow older they become more resistant to the germs. The first ten days are considered the danger period. Chicks may become infected during that time, develop the disease, and die later.

The mortality is usually high. The chicks will crowd around the brooder stove or other places where extra heat is obtainable. Diarrhea is evidenced by a matting of the down about the vent. The infected chicks chirp frequently and have a hump-up appearance. General liveliness is absent.

All of the chicks may not die. Those that survive may gain vigor and begin to develop. The possibility of the survivors to harbor the germs must be kept in mind. If it is desirable to rear the survivors, they should not be used as breeders later. Probably the best solution to the problem is to raise the chicks to the broiler age and dispose of them on the market.

A successful treatment for sick chicks has not yet been found. It is not advisable, therefore, to spend time and money in trying to save affected individuals. It is important to know, however, that the disease is bacillary white diarrhea. Other forms of diarrhea may be helped by proper food and care.

There is no satisfactory means whereby the germs in the bodies of infected adults can be removed or destroyed. So far as we know such fowls and their eggs can be used as food when properly cooked.

During an outbreak of the disease in chicks the following suggestions will be found helpful in preventing its spread:

1. Divide the flock of chicks into small units by partitioning off the brooder.

2. Remove daily all chicks showing symptoms of disease. Kill and dispose of them by burning or burying.

3. Keep the feeding and watering equipment as clean as possible.

4. The floors should be cleaned daily and disinfected with a 3 per cent creosol solution. Dry litter can then be placed on the floor.

After an outbreak of this disease has been observed and after the survivors have been removed, the floors and all equipment with which the chicks have come in contact should be well cleaned with hot water and allowed to dry. This should be followed by disinfection with a 3 per cent creosol solution, as an insurance that other chicks placed in contact with this same equipment will not contract the disease.

It is not desirable to place healthy chicks with survivors of this disease until the survivors are old enough to be allowed on the ground. Even then the possibility of the chicks becoming infected should not be ignored.

(Continued next week)