Veterinary Services

Infections of the respiratory tract were seen in pheasants and red-legged partridges. Ocular discharge, mucoid sinusitis, "snicking" and feather loss around the eyes was reported to be present in 20 out of 500 pheasant poults aged eight weeks, two weeks following purchase.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum was detected by PCR in swabs from the oropharynx and conjunctiva, and a diagnosis of mycoplasma sinusitis was made. The same diagnosis was made in adult ex-layer pheasants in which the main clinical presentation was swelling around the eyes. Pasteurella multocida and an unidentified mycoplasma species were isolated from caseous material in the sinuses.

Respiratory distress and death occurred in red-legged partridges aged 14 weeks. Post mortem examination revealed large numbers of live adult gapeworms (Syngamus trachea) in the trachea of affected birds, with dried blood-stained debris in the oropharynx. The birds had received feed believed to contain a licensed anthelmintic for at least 10 days, but subsequent feed analysis discovered that no medication was present in the feed. Gapeworms and coccidiosis also caused problems in red-legged partridges aged six weeks reared on gravel over soil – it was thought that the birds may have scratched aside the gravel, exposing underlying soil that was contaminated with coccidial oocysts, gapeworm eggs, or earthworms containing gapeworm larvae. A different respiratory condition, aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, was confirmed in pheasants aged eight weeks. The three live birds submitted for post mortem examination were recumbent with a tendency to fall into lateral recumbency as a result of spread of the fungus from the respiratory tract to the pneumatised bones of the spinal column.

Diarrhoea, weight loss and increased mortality was associated with the motile protozoa Spironucleus (Hexamita) meleagridis in pheasants aged from three weeks to 14 weeks, often in combination with coccidial burdens of varying severity. The birds at the lower end of the age scale had a combined Spironucleus and coccidial infection and were from a site that had had previous problems with these organisms. In one batch of pheasants aged nine weeks, a combination of spironucleosis and inclement weather caused sufficient mortality that the possible involvement of Newcastle disease virus had to be excluded.

Ill-thrift and deaths in a group of red-legged partridges at the time of release were attributed to a combination of coccidiosis and spironucleosis. The first batch of birds had been released without significant losses but problems arose in the second batch of released birds and eventually spread to the older birds that had already been released. Controlling the combined infection was complicated by difficulties in medicating the drinking water and a marked reduction in feed intake.

Multiple granulomatous lesions in the liver and caeca of red-legged partridges aged 14 weeks were attributed to histomoniasis on the basis of the detection of protozoal trophozoites on histopathological examination of the liver. Granulomatous lesions in the liver and spleen of partridges of a similar age from another unit were shown to be caused by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Necrotic enteritis or ulcerative enteritis was suspected following a significant increase in mortality in partridges aged 12 weeks. Necrotic lesions were present in the intestine, and Clostridium perfringens was isolated from the liver and intestine.