Poultry Health Care in the Organic System - Humane and Healthy Poultry Production - page 45

System/organ affected —toes, head feathers, back feathers, vent.
Agent —breeding; crowding; bright lights in brooder; boredom or lack of exercise; feed
and water troughs too few or too close together; feed too high in calories and too low in fiber;
external parasites; injury or bleeding.
Progression —some picking like vent picking can escalate rapidly once blood is drawn.
Symptoms —dull broken feathers, bare patches; bloody raw vent.
Percentage affected —limited to flock-wide.
Mortality —vent picking may lead to death.
Transmission —a learned behavior that can spread rapidly through a young flock.
Prevention —reduce light intensity; spend time with birds, handling and walking among
them; observe birds to identify and isolate bullies (especially turkey poults); use more docile
breeds; avoid overcrowding and stress; provide birds with forage or range; in winter provide
birds with whole grains, alfalfa hay, or root vegetables; ensure a balanced diet.
Alternative treatments —apply bitter apple or Listerine to picked area; give 1 tsp. salt/gal
drinking water in the morning, then again in the afternoon and repeat three days later; nail a
piece of raw salt pork or beef suet to the wall for pecking; hang bunches of nettles, comfrey, or
heads of cabbage; for hens, reduce egg size by reducing levels of linoleic acid and high energy
when hens do not need it; increase fiber in diet.
Homeopathic treatments —give Helleborus niger.

Poisoning
Birds in free-range systems may be more susceptible to natural poisoning than confined birds.
While organic birds are not usually exposed to chemical poisons like herbicides, rodenticides,
parisitides, pressure-treated lumber, or strong disinfectants like commercial confinement birds,
they may face other dangers. When on range, birds may encounter a number of poisonous
plants in paddocks, along fences, or in hedgerows. Pastures should be scouted yearly to identify
and remove toxic plants. Maintaining abundant high-quality forage for the birds to graze will
also help prevent the consumption of undesirable plants. See table 9 for a list of plants toxic to
poultry.

Table 9. Toxic Plants

Common name Botanical name Toxic parts

Blue-green algae all

Bryony Bryonia cretica

Buttercup Ranunculus spp