Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
see in a lifetime. However, some ailments appear in most places where poultry are kept,
and will likely show up in your flock as well. They are included here.
Blackhead
Blackhead is primarily a protozoan disease of turkeys, although it occasionally occurs
in chickens. The amazing life cycle of the organism that causes blackhead includes liv-
ing in the intestinal worms of chickens in its early life stages before being picked up in
chicken droppings by the turkey orally. Poults usually acquire this disease when they're
about six to eight weeks old. Once introduced, it develops quickly in the intestines of
the turkey's young body.
Symptoms
The name of this disease might have a newcomer looking for turkeys with black heads,
but it is a misnomer — it really doesn't turn black; in fact, the turkey's head actually
loses most of its color when affected. The key identifying blackhead symptom is the
mustard-colored droppings produced when the liver is failing.
After the turkey dies, a quick autopsy tells you whether or not the bird had blackhead.
If it was blackhead, the liver will have large sunburst-type spots. Usually the liver is en-
larged two to three times the normal size. The intestinal walls, in many cases, have large
ulcerations, are spotty, and emit a horrible odor from the internal decomposition of the
bird in its final few days.
Typically, the bird does not live to the point where you can see all these manifesta-
tions, but in many cases the liver will be a dead giveaway, and the sulfur-colored drop-
pings you will see in your yard are an instant clue that you've got a problem. Frequently
an infected bird tries to find a tub or other container of water where it can stand. I am
sure they are miserable with fever and are trying to cool down.
