CS-Lancaaf. Farming, Saturday, May 13, 1995 DISORDERS OF THE SKIN AND FEATHERS OF DOMESTIC POULTRY Patty Dunn, DVM Animal Diagnostic Lab Abnormalities of the skin and feathers can be important, easily observed, outward signs of disease or management problems in chick ens and turkeys. In general, healthy birds tend to “preen” or groom themselves, often resulting in smooth, clean, glistening feathers. Unhealthy, depressed birds often present an unkempt, ruffled appearance. Birds with upper respiratory infections may have dirty, dark ened feathers around the eyes as well as on the outside feathers of the wings near the shoulders. Affected birds have eye and nasal discharges that accumulate around the eyes and beaks which they rub onto their wings. Dust and litter tend to stick to these areas of mucoid secretions, causing dark, dirty areas on white feathers. Birds with dianhea may have fecal soil ing around the vent area, and birds on wet litter often have manure caked on their toes and foot pads. Abnormal skin coloration can also be associated with suboptimal health. Pale skin or blue/gray col oration (cyanosis) of the head and extremities is a sign of blood loss, anemia, or poor oxygenation of die blood. Broilers in advanced heat failure from ascites syndrome often show this symptom. In some markets, broilers are fed extra carotenoid pigment containing feed ingredients in order to impart a deep yellow color to the skin. Pale shanks or other pale skin in these birds may indi cate coccidiosis or other intestinal problems resulting in malassimila tion of the pigments and other nutrients. Nutritional deficiencies are well documented causes of skin/feather abnormalities. Thickened, cracked skin and crusty lesion around the head and feet are seen with defi ciencies of pantothenic acid, bio tin, or zinc. Profound vitamin E deficiency can result in bloody fluid accumulations in the subcuta neous tissue. Various amino acid deficiencies qan result in develop mental problems in feathering, particularly in young, growing birds. These nutritional deficien cies should not occur in poultry that arc correct for the specific spe cies. production type, and age of bird. ■ Contact irritation, generally from continuous contact with wet litter, manure, or rough litter or other abrasive surfaces, can cause ulcerated footpads, breast buttons, and breast blisters, especially in heavy strains of birds. High bird density and poor litter conditions predispose to “scabby hip syn drome,” in which crusted scars are present on the outer thigh, flank and back skin of broilers. Skin trauma scratches, wounds, etc. from toenail dam age or excessive picking and fight ing can be common in certain man agement situations. Large, aggres sive male breeders may cause excessive loss of back feathers and skin scratches in hens. The breaks in the skin can lebd to generalized bacterial infections and death in some instances. Proper beak trim ming and toe trimming, appropri ate lighting, and good male broad er management can help alleviate these problems. Squamous cell carcinoma, a skin “cancer” of unknown origin, causes small ulcerated areas of skin with raised borders. These lesions are generally not seen on live birds because of feather cover age and they do not cause ill-health in the affected bird. When two or more of these lesions are seen on a broiler carcass after picking, the carcass is condemned for aesthetic reasons. Known infectious causes of integument disorders in poultry include several viruses, bacteria, molds and parasites as follows: Viruses • Pox virus infections cause nodules and crusty, raised lesions on the skin of the head and facial appendages (wattle, comb). Lesions may also be found on the feet, vent or other parts of the body including the inside of the mouth. • March's Disease virus can cause enlargement of feather folli cles and various degrees of red dened, raised tumors on the skin. Extensive raised, reddened areas on the shanks of the legs of broilers is called “Alabama red leg.” A gangrenous dermatitis-like condi tion has been associated with chick anemia agent, also referred to as chicken-infectious anemia virus. • Reticuloendotheliosis virus can cause feathering abnormalities in association with a “runting syndrome." • Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus can cause striking edema of the face with vesicle or blister formation and dark, necro tic areas on the combs and watdes. • Virulent strains of Newcastle Disease can cause puffiness around the eyes and neck due to subcutaneous edema fluid accumulation. • Various enteric viruses such as reovirus can indirectly cause feather problems due to interfer ence with, normal digestion and absorption of nutrients necessary for proper feather development The result is rough, bent feathers with stress lines and abnormal feather orientation in which feath ers stick out at odd angles (“heli copter feathers”). Bacteria • Gangrenous dermatitis is a skin conditiort caused by a mixed bacterial infection of staphylococ cus aureus with Clostridium per fringens or Clostridium septicum. It can cause high mortality in com mercial chickens and is highly associated with previous immuno suppression. The skin becomes necrotic, feathers pull out easily, and bloody fluid is present under the skin. This “weeping" skin lesion on the wings is commonly called “blue wing." * Erysipelas classically causes a swollen, dark red to purple snood on tom turkeys, or a generalized red and congested appearance to the skin. Other acute bacterial sep ticemias may also cause the skin to appear flushed. • Wattles may be greatly swol len on chickens with chronic fowl cholera due to Pasteurella Muito cida infection. • Infectious Process or “IF* is a common cause of condemnations in broilers. The subcutaneous tissues of the abdomen and legs contain yellow exudate, and e. coll bacteria are usually isolated from the lesions. It is likely that other factors are involved in the deve lopment of IP. Molds A fungal skin infection known as favus or ringworm is rarely seen in the modem poultry industry, but occasionally occurs in small spe cialty flocks. • The yeast Candida Albicans Students Practice Sheep Shearing Skills CAMPBELLTOWN (Lebanon Co.) —The Bth session of the Lan caster County Sheep and Wool Growers’ Association’s Shearing School was held April 7-8. Bucks County Extension Agent Mike Fournier was the sheep shearing instructor and Lancaster County Extension agent Chester Hughes was the workshop coordinator. The class met at a farm in Campbelltown. Rod Nissley, sheep producer, volunteered his sheep flock for the shearing stu dents to practice their new skills. Twelve enthusiastic students ranging in age from late teens to early sixties completed the two day workshop, shearing 68 head of white-face ewes. Since the sheep shearing school began, 141 shepherds have been trained in the art of sheep shearing in this Penn State Cooperative Extension program. Since taking the shearing course, there have been five indi viduals who have collectively more than 7,500 sheep (2,500 in 1994). One of these individuals reported an income of over $9,000. The sheep shearing school started in 1987 to address the need for more skilled shearers in south east Pennsylvania to accommo date the numerous small sheep DOYLESTOWN (Bucks Co.) Delaware Valley College (DVC) students competed against twenty-nine other college teams from throughout the United States in the student marketing competi tion of the National Agri-Market ing Association (NAMA) Confer ence held in St. Louis, Mo. Industry professionals, includ ing representatives from Rumrill- Hoyt Advertising, FMC Corpora tion, and the Beef Industry Coun cil, judged the event The students placed third in their heat missing the next round by a very narrow margin. It ha.d been six years since a team from Delaware Valley Col lege competed in the prestigious event When asked about making a presentation of this magnitude, senior Ken Harman said, “It (the competition) has involved many hours of work, but I’ve learned as much from working on this pre sentation as I have in many of my classes because it was so practi cal.” Students also gathered ideas for future presentations by watching other schools and by observing The Best of NAMA, an awards sometimes causes "vent gleet" in laying hens, characterized by white encrustations on the skin and feathers of the vent area. External parasites such as mites and lice cause skin irritations to the birds they infest. In heavy num bers, they can also cause profound blood loss and anemia. • The northern fowl mite is the most economically important pest in this group, as it is a common parasite in caged-layer complexes. • The scaly leg mite is uncom mon today, but still exists in some small flocks of chickens. This mite burrows under the skin scales of the tower legs and feet, causing raised scales and scabs that may John E. Zerphey, Halifax, shears sheep at the two-day shearing workshop. flocks, scattered tnroughout this ers is available at (717) 394-6851. re gjo n - The second day of the work- The workshop provides a list of shop, all attendees reported stiff available sheep shearers for small and sore muscles. There was a flock owners to complete this greater appreciation for the pro spnngtime chore. More informa- fessional sheep shearers, who can tion about this list of sheep shear- shear 50-60 sheep in one day. Students Gain Professional Experience ceremony featuring advertise ments and commercials developed by member industries. NAMA provides students with the opportunity to interact with agricultural suppliers as well as marketing and communications professionals. Senior Amy Welker said. “I feel that the NAMA Conference and student marketing team competition were very valu able experiences. By interacting with other student chapters, indus try representatives, and profes sionals, and by attending develop ment meetings, I learned new ideas which will help me make valuable career connections.” Dr, John Avery, who advised the college’s KAMA Chapter commented on his team’s success, noting they were among the top 10 in outstanding chapter competi tion and received compliments on their marketing team’s perfor mance. Parasites MILK. IT DOES A BODY GOOD. progress to actual deformation the lower limb. Chiggers, bed bugt and ticks are rarely problems ig commercial confined flocks in the mid-Atlantic region. - The causes of skin or feather disorders are many and varied. In some instances, changes in the integument may not impact signif. icantly on the productivity of the flock as a whole. However, out ward skin symptoms may be important clues to specific disease entities affecting the productivity of the flock as a whole. Investigation into these, prob lems can point to management and disease control deficiencies that can be improved upon in the future to maximize health and profitabili ty in your poultry operation. 1995-96 chapter president Les lie Cline looks forward to partici pating in next year's competition, scheduled for San Diego, Calif, in April. She said, “Students present ed plans with as much competence as any professional. Those of us who competed, as well as those of us who watched the competition, came back from the conference; highly motivated to accomplish even more next year." Participating in the NAMA Conference were seniors Steve Dietrich of Germansville; Ken- Harman of New Castle: Ricardo Siemsen of Doyles town; Travis < Werlcy of ShoemakersviUe; Amy Welker of Gettysburg and Diane Yoder of McVeytown. Also parti cipating were junior Julie Dolin of, Herndon, Va.; sophomores Leslie Cline of Ashaway, R.I. and Lonce t Scott of Philadelphia; and fresh man Bill Kitsch of Dorothy, N.J.
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