Veterinary Services

Baby chick nephropathy was diagnosed in a small group of chicks aged three days. Postmortem examination demonstrated pale kidneys, urates in the ureters and on the epicardium.  Delayed placement of the birds may have triggered this condition.

Two layer replacement pullets aged 10 weeks were received from a multi-age site experiencing poor growth and high mortality. Both birds were thin, with excess mucus in the proventriculus and distension of the duodenum and small intestine with watery flocculent contents. Large numbers of “megabacteria” or gastric yeasts (Macrorhabdus ornithogaster) were demonstrated in smears from the proventriculus of both birds. Many coccidial oocysts were seen in smears from the duodenum and intestine. An underlying hygiene problem was suspected.

Poor egg production and increased mortality were reported in a flock of layers aged 30 weeks. The birds were imported from continental Europe as day-old chicks. Necropsy revealed the oviduct impacted with albumen and yolk material. It appeared to be blind-ended, terminating in a small cyst. Given the history that the birds were imported, SAC C VS recommended serology on flock mates for infectious bronchitis variant strain D388. This strain has caused abnormalities of the oviduct in chickens in other countries such as The Netherlands and Germany.

An upsurge in mortality in turkeys aged three to four weeks was caused by “round heart disease”. As the name suggests, affected birds had enlarged misshapen hearts, sometimes with a build-up of ascitic fluid.

A batch of turkey poults aged seven weeks was submitted following a rise in mortality in the group of 400 birds. Affected birds were listless and some yellow-coloured faeces were noted. At necropsy pale circular lesions were seen on the surface and cut surface of the liver, and the caeca were thickened with necrotic cores (Fig. 5 - see top right-hand side). Histomonosis was diagnosed. The turkeys were kept on the same premises as a large shed of chickens.

Game birds

Spironucleosis was responsible for weight loss, diarrhoea and death in two batches of pheasants aged 11 weeks and red-legged partridges aged 16 weeks. A combination of spironucleosis and gapeworms caused the deaths of pheasants aged eight weeks. Inclement weather was considered to have exacerbated the problem.

Wet muddy conditions and skin damage may also have played a role in an outbreak of erysipelas in pheasants aged eight weeks. Feather loss was apparent in three of the four submitted birds. One bird had pale swollen kidneys and three birds had splenomegaly and an increased volume of clear pericardial fluid. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was isolated from the tissues of all four birds.

Bilateral purulent sinusitis, most likely associated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum, was seen in an adult ex-layer pheasant. Concurrent burdens of gapeworms were also present.

Racing pigeons

Pigeon paramyxovirus (PPMV-1) was confirmed in two thin, live, current-year racing pigeons presented with a history of green watery diarrhoea affecting many birds in the loft. The birds were not vaccinated against because of difficulties in obtaining the PPMV-1 vaccine earlier in the year. Neither bird had demonstrable antibodies against PPMV-1 but the virus was isolated from the tissues of one of the birds. PPMV-1 infection in pigeons is a notifiable disease and the Divisional Veterinary Manager of the local Animal Health office was informed.

Wild birds

Presumed trichomonosis was diagnosed in greenfinches (Carduelis chloris) and chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) from four locations. All had significant necrotic changes in the oesophagus/crop. Similar lesions were noted in a house sparrow (Passer domesticus) found dead in a nestbox in a henhouse. This bird also had an enlarged spleen and, unlike the greenfinches and chaffinches, a heavy growth of Salmonella Typhimurium DT 56 variant was recovered from the viscera.

A thin feral pigeon (Columba livia), found moribund near a game bird rearing enterprise, was found to have very fluid intestinal contents associated with the motile protozoan organism Spironucleus species. Similar organisms have been found in reared pheasants and partridges on this site, but it is unclear if the organisms found in the pigeon were the same as those found in the game birds.