Veterinary Services

Deaths from rotavirus infection continued to be seen in birds in the first two weeks of life. On one unit with a problem of increased mortality, drooped wings and diarrhoea, post mortem examination revealed perihepatitis and pericarditis, and a combined infection with rotavirus and Salmonella Typhimurium DT2 was found. The same phage type of salmonella was also isolated from a different batch of pheasants aged 12 days that had diarrhoea and were not thriving. However most of the game birds submitted were between three weeks and three months of age.

Coccidiosis was particularly severe in red-legged partridges aged three weeks and five weeks – in an incident involving five-week-old birds, 160 deaths were reported in a group of 500 birds. Coccidiosis was associated with ill-thrift in partridges aged six weeks, in which dehydration was apparent at post mortem examination although no evidence of diarrhoea was seen, in pheasants aged five weeks that appeared chilled, and in pheasants aged six weeks from a site where the pheasants were in poor condition and where mortaility was higher than expected.

Infection with Spironucleus (Hexamita) meleagridis was a common diagnosis in pheasants aged three to nine weeks. Presenting signs varied from evidence of huddling and chilling to lethargy to weight loss, diarrhoea and increased mortality. A variable response to tetracyclines in the drinking water was reported, with some sites reporting a recurrence of signs following withdrawal of the medication. One site reported that most of the losses occurred in a pen that was being worried by a bird of prey. Mixed burdens of Spironucleus and coccidia were also commonly seen.

A six-week-old capercaillie which had failed to thrive was submitted for post mortem examination. The caecal contents were semi-liquid and gassy, and motile protozoa with the appearance of trichomonads were seen in wet preparations.

Small numbers of gapeworms (Syngamus trachea) were present in some of the pheasant submissions, but were seldom considered to be significant. Conversely, respiratory distress and death caused by gapeworms was seen in red-legged partridges aged 10 weeks and 14 weeks. One incident occurred despite the provision of feed believed to contain a licensed anthelmintic, but subsequent feed analysis revealed that no medication was present in the feed despite the declaration on the feed label.

A small number of pheasants aged six weeks were reported to have runny eyes or swollen heads. Mycoplasma gallisepticum was demonstrated in oropharyngeal and conjunctival swabs by PCR, and was subsequently cultured.