I belong to another forum (farming people etc) and someone on there from the south-west of Britain casually mentioned that a new chicken she had just bought died suddenly alongside another older one - she mentioned that it must have been unwell as its comb had ‘a slightly blue tinge’. This made me wonder, do all ill chickens show this symptom or is it more connected to viral illness or is it even specific to avian flu (which would be pretty unnerving in this case)? I’ve seen the symptom mentioned but how significant is it?
Here is a description of the clinical signs of bird flu as is posted on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The mention of the combs and wattles being cyanotic means they have turned blue in common language. I am not a veterinarian, but I am pretty sure there are other diseases that can also cause this in chickens. I once was a farmer and one very important rule is that if you purchase a new animal it is best to quarantine it for a while before you put it with the other animal on your farm. If yoiu do put them with the others and the animal you purchased gets sick and then the other animals get sick the same way, then it is time to call a vet because you probably have just introduced an infectious disease into the herd/flock.
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Clinical signs
The clinical signs are very variable and are influenced by factors such as the virulence of the infecting virus, species affected, age, sex, concurrent diseases and environment.
In virulent (or highly pathogenic) AI of the type traditionally associated with fowl plague, the disease appears suddenly in a flock and many birds die either without premonitory signs or with minimal signs of depression, inappetence, ruffled feathers and fever. Other birds show weakness and a staggering gait. Hens may at first lay soft-shelled eggs, but soon stop laying. Sick birds often sit or stand in a semi-comatose state with their heads touching the ground. Combs and wattles are cyanotic and oedematous, and may have petechial or ecchymotic haemorrhages at their tips. Profuse watery diarrhoea is frequently present and birds are excessively thirsty. Respiration may be laboured. Haemorrhages may occur on unfeathered areas of skin. The mortality rate varies from 50 to 100%.
In broilers, the signs of disease are frequently less obvious with severe depression, inappetence, and a marked increase in mortality being the first abnormalities observed. oedema of the face and neck and neurological signs such as torticollis and ataxia may also be seen. The disease in turkeys is similar to that seen in layers, but it lasts 2 or 3 days longer and is occasionally accompanied by swollen sinuses. In domestic ducks and geese the signs of depression, inappetence, and diarrhea are similar to those in layers, though frequently with swollen sinuses. Younger birds may exhibit neurological signs.
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http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/health/diseases-cards/avian.html
Hmmmm, I imagine she would have mentioned haemorrhage if it had been present so probably it was just something common in chickens that it died from. Just pulled me up short for a moment when she mentioned it and made me realise that I know so little about chickens that I wouldn’t know what a ‘normal’ illness in fowl looked like.
Thanks Okieman for your post. I intend to past this information along to our neighbors who let their chickens run loose.
Excellent work WIW: What would we(the world) do without people such as yourself being so vigilant. (How’s that for a pat on the back). Please keep posting.
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