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.