The Harmattan season is here already.
As we all know, it is usually associated with wide fluctuation in temperatures. The nights are very cold while the day is very hot with harsh winds carrying dust particles into every corner.
This unfavourable environmental condition contributes significantly to the increase in Catarrh, Cough and CRD cases experienced by farmers at this time.
1 out of every 5 farmers who consulted with me in the last 3 weeks complained of respiratory issues. Chances are high that your birds are also facing this challenge.
I shall therefore in this post, list some things you can do to keep your birds safe in this period.
Here are some tips below:
i. Use the Curtains of your chicken house as a protective shield. The curtains should be closed during extreme winds in the day time, opened during the heat and properly closed throughout the cold night
ii. Keep dust away as much as you can. Avoid extremely dusty litter. Wood shavings are better than saw dust at this time. Also extremely dusty feeds can be sprinkled with water before giving to the birds
iii. Consider including organic CRD preventive medication in the medication schedule of your birds at this time. I will show you how to prepare your own formulation at the end of this post.
iv. Birds in brooding should be given brooding drug containing Erythromycin or Enrofloxacin to build their immune system to combat CRD
v. Avoid making fires or burning waste close to the pen. Smoke travels far these days
vi. Pay close attention to your birds. Monitor the temperature several times a day. At night, you should check on them frequently too
vii. Quarantine any new birds before adding them to your flock! This lets you check they are healthy before introducing them to your birds
viii. If you spot any ill birds, separate them immediately to prevent the spread of infectious disease
HERE IS HOW TO IDENTIFY BIRDS INFECTED WITH CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASE (CRD)
They exhibit frequent shaking of head, Gurgling sounds in the throat, slimy discharge from the nose, sneezing, breathing with mouth open, and coughing. Sometimes reddening of the eye along with eye discharge may be present in one or both eyes and the face may swell slightly.
SYNTHETIC TREATMENT OF CRD
Isolate the bird from the flock and place in a safe, comfortable, warm location with easy access to water and food.
For synthetic treatment, Doxycycline and Tylosin combinations have been very effective. My favorite brand is Tylodox-Extra WSP.
When treating CRD, administer the drug to the entire flock including those that have not shown signs yet.
ORGANIC TREATMENT OF CRD
Organically, CRD is treated using ginger, scent leaves, garlic and cayenne pepper. The steps to preparing the mixture is as follows
i. Measure an equal quantity of ginger and garlic and half the quantity of cayenne pepper. For instance, you can measure 500 g of ginger and 500 g of garlic with 250 g of cayenne pepper.
ii. Blend the mixture using as little water as practically possible. If you are using a blender, add just enough water to allow the mixture to blend properly. We want to have a paste that can be fetched using a spoon at the end of the blending.
iii. Pour the blended mixture into a plastic plate. It is best to prepare a fresh solution daily. Otherwise, keep refrigerated and use up within 3 days
DOSAGE
Fetch 3 table spoons of the mixture and dissolve into each liter of their drinking water i.e. 3 table spoons per liter of water.
Serve them this mixture continuously for 3 days .
On the fourth day, give clean fresh water.
On the fifth and sixth day, give scent leave extract. The extract is simple to make. Just blend scent leave such that you have a mixture as thick as 5Alive juice. Mix 30ml of this mixture to a litre of water. Give continuously for the fifth and sixth day. Remember to prepare fresh solutions daily or keep refrigerated.
On the seventh day, give clean fresh water.
By this time, the CRD symptoms should have cleared off.
I hope this helps.
I sincerely wish us well on our farms. Thanks for reading me.
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