Ascaridia, Heterakis, Capillaria, Syngamus trachea, Gape worm
Worms pose a constant challenge to poultry, and this year has proved no different. The more common types of worm - Ascaridia, Heterakis, Capillaria, Syngamus trachea, Gape worm all live…
Egg Peritonitis
The weather has been horrendous and we have seen problems associated with birds trudging through the soaked ranges. It is inevitable that the birds that go out onto the range will drink from the muddy puddles and ingest a host of bugs that can affect bird health. Probably the biggest cause of death in laying birds is egg peritonitis or E.coli peritonitis and the drinking of that dirty, infected water certainly doesn’t help! The term egg peritonitis actually covers disorders of the egg-laying tract including impaction of the oviduct, peritonitis and infection of the oviduct. E.coli, however, tends to be the bug that kills the bird.
Eggs – ‘Natures Superfood’
Eggs are a very versatile product and they can be used in many forms, from cooking eggs alone by various methods, or using eggs to bind other foods together. We have a very strong and growing egg market here in the South West which is something to be very proud of so eating eggs regularly can only strengthen our industry as well as yourself! Top tip... A fresh egg will sink in water, a stale one will float!
Beak Trimming
This month I thought I would talk about beak trimming and the current position of the potential ban being brought into force. My next article will look into how this practice affects aggression in laying flocks with a case study. Nearly every commercial flock in the country has probably seen some kind of aggression in their birds during their laying period and debeaking is one tool used to manage the damage caused by injurious pecking, such as cannibalism, feather pecking and vent pecking...