How to keep your poultry healthy and disease free

 Poultry health, disease prevention and biosecurity

Ensuring that your flock is in good healthy is the corner stone for a successful poultry farming. Whether it's layers farming, broilers farming or improved kienyeji farming, disease outbreaks can destroy your entire farm investment within days. That's why it's very crucial to implement strong biosecurity measures.

1. Why poultry health matters

The healthy of your poultry directly impacts the productivity, growth rate and marketability of your poultry and poultry products. Healthy birds always produce good quality eggs, healthy poultry gains weight faster, healthy flocks lowers the mortality rate, healthy birds are marketable as the demand gets high. So investing in health management is not a waste but it helps in saving money when you look at it in long term,

2. Common poultry diseases

It's advisable to understand the common diseases that are most frequent in your region, this helps in prevention and proper planning. Some of the common diseases that affect poultry are; Newcastle disease, Gumboro disease(Infectious Bursal Disease), Fowl pox, Coccidiosis, Marek's disease, Salmonellosis and E.coli infections and others.

a. Newcastle disease- is a highly contagious disease. it's symptoms are respiratory distress, nervous signs, diarrhea and can lead to sudden death. The best way to prevent is regular vaccination.

b. Gumboro disease- is a disease that usually affects young chicks. it's symptoms are ruffled feathers, depression, diarrhea, poor growth etc. The best prevention is vaccination according to the age schedules.

c. Fowl pox -it's a viral disease causing lesions and reduced egg production. The best prevention is vaccination of young birds and maintaining of good hygiene.

d. Coccidiosis - it's usually caused by parasites in litter and droppings. Some of the symptoms are bloody diarrhea, poor growth, high mortality etc. The best prevention are keeping housing clean, providing medicated water etc.

e. Marek's disease- it's a viral disease causing paralysis and tumors. The recommended prevention is vaccinating chicks at day old.

f. Salmonellosis and E.coli infections -it's a bacterial disease causing diarrhea and mortality. The best prevention is good hygiene, clean water and avoiding contaminated feeds.

3. Vaccination and biosecurity

Vaccination is the most and cost effective way to prevent diseases. Every farmer should follow a proper vaccination schedule based on the type and breed of his/her birds. Different types of poultry require different vaccinations. It's advisable to consult a veterinarian before administering any vaccination. Also it's recommended to administer the vaccines carefully and keep a proper record.

Biosecurity - refers to preventing diseases from entering your farm. Most of the outbreaks occur due to poor biosecurity

The best biosecurity practices for farmers are

- Controlling the access to your farm.

-Separating new birds after arrival before mixing them with your existing flocks.

- Proper cleaning and disinfecting of feeders, drinkers and coops regularly.

- Securing and protecting your farm

- Wearing farm specific clothing

- Controlling water sources and avoiding contaminated waters.

- Proper disposal of wastes to prevent disease spread.

Proper and strong biosecurity measures reduce the risk of disease and are usually cheaper than treating sick birds.

4. Nutrition

All birds require proper feeding with balanced diet feeds for proper growth and strengthening of immunity. Malnutrition can affect birds badly, so you should ensure the feeds are enough and with all needed nutrients.

Ensure layers get adequate calcium for proper formation of eggshells.

Provide protein rich feeds for proper growth.

Avoid stale or moldy feed which can be having toxins.

5. Detection and response

Prompt action can saves your flocks. Farmers should do the following

i. Regularly inspect birds for unusual behavior, droppings or appetite changes

ii. Isolate sick birds, to minimize the spreading of disease.

iii. Regularly consult veterinary officers for proper diagnosis and treatment.

iv. Always keep proper records of symptoms, the treatment and the outcome.

v. Whenever you see a loophole or a problem, try to solve before it gets out of hand.

Remember; early detection will prevent small issues from becoming big and from leading to catastrophic losses.

6. Cost effective health management tips

For starting farmers, it's advisable to start with small flocks to minimize financial risk.

It's recommendable to purchase chicks from reputable hatcheries to ensure they are of high quality and the right breeds and healthy.

Cleanliness is very crucial in preventing your flocks from being affect by diseases. Thus regularly clean housing and equipment.

Always remember a farmer should never stop learning, learn from other experienced farmers, watch farming videos, read farming articles and also from extension officers.

It doesn't have to be expensive methods but still you can use affordable methods and be successful.

Preacher is better than cure, also it's cheaper and more effective than curing diseases after outbreaks.

Healthy birds are more productive, they grow faster and get higher market prices.

7. Seasonal risks

I know you have ever heard of this statement, "It's not everyday is a Saturday", and it's the truth that not all seasons are same. Some seasons are more favorable than others. In some seasons the risks are high while in other seasons the risks are minimal. For poultry farmer, some seasons are tough and has high disease risks.

Rainy season, has a high disease risk due to the cold weather and the dampness. Dampness and wetness in flock houses lead to coccidiosis and fungal infections. Also in rainy seasons there is usually difficulties in transportation

Hot seasons also have some disadvantages as the heat stress can weaken immunity and also lower egg production due to the stress.

Also there are festive seasons which increase the market demand for poultry products.

Every season has it's own advantages and disadvantages, it depends on the farmers choice on how to deal and adjust his/her farming. Farmers should anticipate the risks of each season and upcoming seasons and adjust management practices accordingly.