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Just as the pheasant family suffers from the same diseases, so the anatidae family, which includes geese, ducks and swans, suffers from the same diseases.
And many diseases are the same for everyone. These include salmonellosis, colibacillosis, pasteurellosis.
But very often, the acquaintance of private owners with goose breeding begins with viral enteritis, with which the purchased goslings were infected while still in the incubator. Although, most likely, the goslings were infected with salmonellosis, since enteritis is an inflammation of the intestine, which can be caused both by infectious causes and by any non-infectious factors. For example, eating burning substances.
Plague of ducks (enteritis of ducks)
The disease is common to ducks and geese, which is also called duck viral enteritis. The causative agent is a DNA-containing herpesvirus. With viral enteritis of ducks, multiple hemorrhages occur in the liver, lungs, spleen, pancreas and thyroid glands, and kidneys. Observe the defeat of the gastrointestinal tract of birds, exhaustion, the development of abscesses.
Goose enteritis is also distinguished by a similar characteristic, but the diseases have different signs and time of course.
The incubation period of the disease is from 3 days to a week, can be up to 20 days.
The disease has three forms: hyperacute, acute and erased. With a hyperacute form, an outwardly healthy bird suddenly dies. In acute cases, birds observe: thirst, watery diarrhea, semi-paralysis of the limbs. Goslings cannot walk normally, fall to their feet, cannot stand. There is also a refusal to feed, and eye diseases: conjunctivitis and swelling of the eyelids.
An erased form of the disease occurs in dysfunctional flocks of birds, where this type of disease has been walking for more than the first generation. In such geese, immunity is formed and clinical signs of enteritis appear in an erased form: depression, loss of appetite. At the same time, the mortality rate of young animals from enteritis reaches 90%.
Treatment of duck enteritis
There is no specific treatment for enteritis. For prophylaxis in prosperous farms and threatened zones, a virus-vaccine against duck distemper is used in accordance with the attached scheme.
disease prevention
Currently, duck enteritis is not registered in Our Country, which does not cancel the requirements for compliance with sanitary and veterinary measures to prevent the virus from entering farms. All birds at risk of infection are vaccinated with live vaccines as directed. In the event of duck enteritis, all sick and suspicious birds are slaughtered and disposed of. Conduct a thorough disinfection of the premises with a solution of caustic soda, formaldehyde or bleach. Imported birds are quarantined for 1 month.
Viral enteritis of geese
Another misfortune to which geese are subject. Affects the gastrointestinal tract, lungs and liver. Accompanied by the death of goslings. The drop can be 100%. The causative agent is a DNA-containing virus, but from a completely different family that has nothing to do with duck distemper. Goose viral enteritis affects only geese and musky ducks.
The disease has other names:
- goose flu;
- illness Hold;
- hepatitis;
- gastroenteritis;
- goose plague;
- viral hepatitis of goslings;
- goose influenza;
- ulcerative necrotic enteritis.
The virus is resistant to substances used in the conservation of biological preparations: ether and chloroform. Up to 2 years can remain active in 40% glycerol. At a temperature of 4°C, it can remain active for up to 5 years. It dies in an hour at a temperature of 60 ° C, at 70 ° C the virus is inactivated after 10 minutes. Sensitive to conventional disinfectants: formaldehyde solution inactivates the virus after 15 minutes.
The incubation period lasts from 2 to 6 days. The course of the disease is acute. The duration of the disease is from 2 days to 2 weeks.
Goslings under the age of 10 days huddle, tremble, strive for warmth. In the first 5 days after the appearance of a sign of the disease, from 60 to 100 percent of the goose livestock die.
After 10 days, the goslings fall to their feet, lower their wings, pluck each other’s feathers, lag behind in growth, and do not respond to sounds. The waste of young animals of older age is up to 30%.
In the chronic course of the disease, 20-30% of geese stop growing by the age of 7 weeks and enteritis is observed. In a chronic course, the mortality rate is normally 2-3%. In especially severe cases, up to 12%.
In adult geese, the disease is asymptomatic.
You need to buy goslings only in farms that are guaranteed to be free of geese from viral enteritis.
The disease, fortunately, is treatable, albeit in a difficult way. Goslings under the age of 5 days are administered serum or blood of convalescent geese for prevention or treatment. Blood is injected subcutaneously, twice, with an interval of 2-3 days. The injection is made in the neck area in a volume of 0,5 – 2 ml.
Antibiotics are also used to suppress secondary infections.
But an outbreak of the disease is easier to prevent than to look for the blood of recovering geese.
disease prevention
Compliance with veterinary instructions for the prevention of viral enteritis of geese. For the prevention of enteritis, virus vaccines are used for goslings and adult geese according to the instructions.
In the event of an outbreak, the import and export of hatching eggs and live geese is prohibited. The incubation of goose eggs is permitted only for slaughtering for meat on the farm itself. Clinically ill goslings are slaughtered, sick goslings are raised for up to 2,5 months, after which they are slaughtered for meat.
Daily goslings of later broods are pierced subcutaneously with the serum of convalescents. Restrictions can be lifted only 2 months after the last recorded case of the disease and disinfection.
Staphylococcosis birds
The second name is micrococcosis. The disease is caused by pathogenic staphylococci. Manifested by symptoms of blood poisoning, dermatitis, arthritis, inflammation of the infraorbital sinuses, cloacites.
Symptoms of staphylococcosis in geese
The disease usually occurs with injuries. In ducks and geese, it is expressed in diseases of the legs and bones: polyarthritis, osteitis, osteomyelitis, paralysis of the limbs, inflammation of the tendons. In addition, the birds have intestinal upset and intense thirst.
In the acute course of the disease, in case of infection of goslings under the age of 10 days of age, death occurs within 6 days. At an older age – depression and diarrhea.
In subacute and chronic course, inflammation of the joints and extremities occurs, in the end, gangrene of the wings may develop, which is preceded by hemorrhagic edema. Cloacitis may develop.
In the chronic course of the disease, appetite also decreases and exhaustion progresses. Death occurs 2 to 3 weeks after the onset of the disease. The death of birds is not one hundred percent, but the surviving bird recovers slowly and limps for a long time.
Treatment and prevention of the disease
It is possible to treat only symptomatically, alleviating the condition of the sick goose, since the treatment of staphylococcosis directly has not been developed.
As a preventive measure, sick and suspicious geese are slaughtered. Feed is examined for the presence of staphylococci. Carry out aerosol disinfection of premises, without removing geese from there, with solutions of lactic acid, triethylene glycol or resorcinol. Neutralize bedding and litter.
Goslings on grazing are recommended to be treated with antibiotics of the penicillin group, to which staphylococcus aureus is sensitive.
salmonellosis
The disease is common to domestic and wild mammals and birds. Humans can also become infected, so although leptospirosis can be cured, care must be taken when dealing with a sick animal.
Salmonellosis is caused by a group of bacteria, often specific to each species. Young animals are especially susceptible to salmonellosis.
Symptoms of the disease
In birds, salmonellosis occurs in acute, subacute and chronic forms. The incubation period of the disease is up to 3 days.
In goslings under the age of 20 days, salmonellosis will occur in an acute form, in which a decrease in appetite, drowsiness, diarrhea, and purulent conjunctivitis are observed. Salmonella also affects the central nervous system, causing seizures. Goslings roll over on their backs, randomly jerk their heads, make swimming movements with their limbs. Mortality in acute course can reach more than 70%.
At an older age, salmonellosis occurs in a subacute form. Of the symptoms noted purulent conjunctivitis, rhinitis, inflammation of the joints of the extremities, diarrhea.
After three months, the geese are already ill in a chronic form, characterized by diarrhea and developmental and growth retardation.
Treatment of salmonellosis
Treatment in birds is carried out in a complex manner, using specific drugs and immunostimulants.
Before treating a goose for any disease, it is necessary to conduct laboratory tests to differentiate diseases. Often this is not possible, and then you have to treat the geese at random in the hope of hitting the target. In particular, in the video, the owner suggests coccidiosis in goslings, which they contracted from adults. But it is stipulated that he sold the goslings with an antibiotic for three days. Antibiotics do not work on coccidia. This means that either the goslings actually had something else, or the disease passed into a chronic stage. Maybe it was salmonellosis.
The danger of joining in one herd of small geese and old geese.
Noncommunicable diseases of goslings
Non-contagious diseases of geese are often the same as those of other birds. Goose catarrh is similar to that of turkeys, and prolapse of the oviduct is no different from prolapse of the oviduct in a chicken.
In the absence of infection, goslings fall to their feet for the same reasons as turkeys:
- large body weight, at least twice the live weight of the wild ancestor;
- lack of a sufficiently spacious range and ultraviolet;
- low-quality feed;
- traumatic injuries of the paws.
In goslings, the problems of physical weakness of bones and ligaments are more pronounced than in turkeys, since the goose spends part of the time in the water and does not travel long distances on foot.
Prolapse of the oviduct
In birds, this problem occurs due to too large eggs or inflammatory processes in the reproductive organs. Contrary to advice on the Internet, practice has proven that this disease is not treated and the bird will have to be slaughtered.
In mild cases, the oviduct can be set back, but such a bird will no longer rush. Therefore, it will be useless in the economy.
If you let the bird go for a walk with a fallen oviduct, it will pick up infections and fall on its own.
Blockage of the esophagus in a goose
May occur due to feeding dry food with limited water supply. Often, owners, not wanting a “swamp” in the poultry house in winter, limit the birds at this time of the year in the water or believe that the geese will be able to get drunk by eating snow. Both of these opinions are wrong and water should always be freely available.
Symptoms of the disease
Excited behavior of the bird, shortness of breath, open beak, unsteady gait. The esophagus and crop press on the air passage and the bird can die from suffocation.
Treatment and prevention of the disease
For treatment, you can try to introduce sunflower or vaseline oil to the bird and squeeze the contents of the esophagus out with your hand. For prevention, ensure constant access to water. Geese drink a lot.
Conclusion
The main problem of goslings is infections that goslings are infected with in the incubator. To prevent trouble when buying goslings or hatching eggs, you need to require veterinary certificates. And for the normal development of healthy goslings, it is necessary to provide them with a spacious range with the possibility of grazing.