Outbreak of disease in the poultry farm is a major challenge. The impact when not quickly curtained sometimes can lead to great loss of invested capital and profit (and sometime actual closedown of the farm). Thus, knowing the common turkey diseases and the risk the birds are exposed to in-terms of their health and well-being is very essential to the farmers’.
We shall discuss some of the common diseases affecting the turkey birds and the symptoms for quick detection and identification of infected birds.
Coccidiosis – It is caused by a single celled parasite capable of destroying the turkey’s intestinal wall lining.
Signs noted in birds infected by the disease include –
- · Appearance of blood in the droppings of the bird
- · Loss of weight in the bird
Paratyphoid
– It is a bacteria disease caused by some Salmonella serotypes (that are not host-specific). The disease is common among young birds within the age of two (2) weeks.
Symptoms of the disease include –
- · Loss of appetite
- · Weakness and mortality of the birds
- · Diarrhoea in infected birds.
Blackhead – It is a protozoa disease spread among the birds by the roundworm Heterakis
gallinarum. The poults are more susceptible to the disease while it takes a longer time for it to be known in older birds.
Symptoms of the disease include –
- · Yellowish droppings
- · Drooping wings
- · Possible blackish colouration in the head of the bird
- · Slowness of the bird