10 diseases in poultry and their symptoms

February 20, 2025

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Disease is an abnormal condition of the
body of an organism. Diseases affect both
the structure and function of an organism

In today’s article, I will be talking about
10 common diseases in poultry and their symptoms
for you to easily identify them in your poultry farm
if any of them occurs. So stay through and read to
the end to get the best out of this article.

But, before we proceed I had like to quickly state
that diseases in poultry are classified into this
four main categories which are

Viral/infectious diseases
Bacteria diseases
Parasitic diseases
Deficiency/nutritional diseases

All the diseases below are from either
of the above named categories

1. Newcastle Disease

This is a viral or infectious disease caused
by paramyxovirus. It is highly contagious and
often spread by direct contact with respiratory
discharges or droppings from affected birds.
Though there is no known cure for Newcastle
disease, but, it can be prevented with the
use of vaccines.

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Symptoms Of Newcastle Disease:

Nervous signs: Twisting of the neck, tremor and paralysis.
Yellowish-green and an abnormal watering feaces.
Loss of appetite.

2. Fowl Cholera

Fowl cholera is a bacterial disease caused by
Pasteurella multocida.
It is a highly contagious disease and it
spreads through contaminated drinking water as
well as droppings from infected birds.

Symptoms Of Fowl Cholera:

Sudden death.
Lameness may occur in a chronic case.
Nersal, ocular and oral discharge.
Swollen joints.
coughing.
Dejection.
Comb, wattles and face may turn a bluish colour.

3. Coccidiosis

This is one of the most dangerous and highly
contagious diseases in poultry.
Coccidiosis
is a parasitic disease of the intestinal
track and it is caused by coccidian protozoa.
This disease spreads through contact with infected
birds and ingestion of infected tissues. Coccidiosis
can easily be prevented through proper clean up of
the poultry pens.

Symptoms Of Coccidiosis:

Blood stained feaces or bloody diarrhea.
Retarded growth.
Weakness or listlessness.
Ruffled feathers.

4. Salmonelloses

Salmonelloses is also a contagious diease caused
by a bacterial. It can be transmitted via infected
birds.

Symptoms Of Salmonelloses:

Poor growth.
Dehydration.
Diarrhea and weakness.
Enlarge liver with necrosis.

5. Egg Drope Syndrome (EDS)

Just as the name implies, this disease
affects laying hens.
Egg Drope Syndrome (EDS) is a viral or infectious disease
which leads to sudden
drope in egg production when present in
your flock.

Symptoms Of Egg Drope Syndrome:

A drope in egg production which can be up to about 40%.
Production of soft-shelled, thin-shelled or shell-less
eggs.
Egg size reduction may also occur.

6. Cage Layer Fatigue

This is a condition that affects caged hens that
are at their peak in terms of egg production.
It is a relative condition that may be associated
with osteoporosis in chickens.
Cage Layer Fatigue is believed to be caused by
malnutrition hence it is a nutritional or deficiency
disease.

Symptoms Of Cage Layer Fatigue:

Fragile bones.
Affected birds may tend to always lie down.
Reduction in feed intake may also occur.

7. Histomoniasis

This is a parasitic disease caused by Histomonas
meleagridis which is an anaerobic protozoan parasite.
Histomoniasis is also known as blackhead disease that
mostly affects turkeys and chickens.
Isolation of infected birds is an effective
way of preventing the spread of this parasitic
disease.

Symptoms Of Histomoniasis:

Dropping wings.
Listlessness.
Yellowish coloured droppings.
Unkempt feather.

8. Marek’s Disease

This is a higly contagious viral or infectious
disease that commonly affect chickens, though,
turkeys, quil, pheasants and gamefowl can also be
affected by this viral disease.
It is one of the most common diseases in poultry.
While no effective treatment has been discovered
for this disease yet, vaccines can be used to prevent
its potential outbreak.

Symptoms Of Marek’s Disease

Vision impairment.
Paralysis of the legs, wings as well as the neck are clinical signs.
Weight loss is also a sign.

9. Infectious Bursal Disease (Or Gumboro)

Infectious Bursal Disease or Gumboro is a viral disease
caused by “infectious bursal disease virus(IBDV).
It has no known affective cure and it is one
of those diseases that are mostly
part of the vaccination routine in most of the poultry
farms.

Symptoms Of Infectious Bursal Disease (Or Gumboro):

Sudden death may occur at the onset of the disease
Vent pecking
Poor appetite
Dehydration

10. Fowl Pox

Fowl pox is a viral disease of poultry caused by
viruses of the family poxviridae. This disease is
said to be a slow-spreading virus and it is
mostly prevented with the use of vaccines.
Fowl pox occurs in dry and wet form.

Symptoms Of Fowl Pox

Blindness
Facial swelling
Weight loss
Pox also occurs in the comb of infected birds.
Lowered egg production