Chickens: White Muscle Disease

Young chickens are prone to many diseases. Therefore, it is very important in the first days, weeks of life of small feathered pets to take care of their maintenance, care and feeding. Quite serious and dangerous among the numerous ailments is the white muscle disease of chickens. It is very hard to bear, unpleasant.

When a disease occurs in chickens, metabolic processes in the body are disturbed. First, toxicosis is observed in feathered pets, and after some time they develop degenerative-inflammatory processes. First of all, this disease has a negative effect on the muscles of chickens.

Basically, the cause of the appearance of white muscle disease is caused by a deficiency in the body of the microelement selenium, as well as vitamin E. This usually happens when feathered pets eat monotonously, or if the feed contains an insufficient amount of protein, vitamins and minerals that contribute to the normal growth of chickens .

During the course of the disease, chickens must be taken out for a walk, let them go for a walk. Keeping them indoors all the time will only worsen the situation.

White muscle disease can affect any breed and usually in the first weeks of a chicken’s life. It can significantly reduce the number of birds in the backyard. Up to 60% of affected chickens can die.

The main symptoms of the disease of chickens are lack of appetite, lack of energy, so the young animals move little, ruffled plumage. After a while, the chickens begin to limp, then they have convulsions. It is difficult for the bird to move normally and it crawls along the floor, pushing off with its feet. Also, in sick individuals, swelling of the head and neck appears, the skin first turns red, and then turns blue.

Treatment of chickens is possible, but only at an early stage. The later the disease was discovered, the more hopeless the case becomes. Treatment is carried out by adding products containing vitamin E and selenium to the poultry feed, or by injecting drugs intramuscularly.

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Anna Evans

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