Research article · 2024 · Full text
International Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Animal HusbandryDigestive tract impaction: An unusual cause of mortality in backyard chicken
Volume 9(5) · Pages 723–725 · DOI: 10.22271/veterinary.2024.v9.i5k.1801 ↗
Research areasCardiac Structural Anomalies and RepairOrthopedic Surgery and RehabilitationCongenital Anomalies and Fetal Surgery
Abstract
Author-writtenRepeated incidence of upper digestive tract impaction was observed in Gramapriya young chicks reared in open foraging system. The impaction was due to the ingestion of shade net strings. Accidental intake of shade net strings caused mechanical obstruction, inflammation and secondary bacterial infection resulted in mortality of young chicks. Mortality was also observed in birds in which the shade net string encircled at the base of tongue which caused strangulation and ischemic necrosis. Close monitoring and removal of shade net strings in the foraging area stopped the mortality in chicken.
Summary
Source-checkedPlain-language reading of the full paper, prepared with AI and checked against the text. Each point links to the authors' own words.
Why it matters
- Backyard poultry rearing is a traditional agricultural activity in India that supports rural households by providing food, income, and empowering women. View evidence ↗
- The backyard poultry population in India reached 317.07 million, showing a growth rate of 45.78% compared to the previous census, significantly outpacing the 4.5% growth of commercial poultry. View evidence ↗
- While diseases and predators are known threats, foreign body impaction in the upper digestive tract is another cause of mortality in backyard chickens. View evidence ↗
The question
- The study aims to investigate mortality in backyard chickens caused by foreign body impaction in the upper digestive tract. View evidence ↗
What they did
- The study used 50 Gramapriya day-old chicks housed in a portable backyard poultry cage modified into a brooding unit with electric bulbs for heat. View evidence ↗
- The chicks were kept in a cage covered with a shade net for protection from cold air until they reached 4 weeks of age. View evidence ↗
- Starting from the 5th week, chicks were allowed to forage in an enclosed area, and the shade net was removed up to 1.5 feet from the ground to facilitate night monitoring. View evidence ↗
- The strings remaining from the cut end of the shade net served as the source of foreign body impaction for the chickens. View evidence ↗
What they found
- A five-week-old bird died showing signs of isolation, inanition, and anorexia; post-mortem revealed a black shade net string encircling the base of the tongue, causing strangulation and an oedematous tongue. View evidence ↗
- Another bird presented with anorexia, ruffled feathers, ocular discharge, and a black shade net string hanging from its mouth, along with a perforated abscess behind the lower beak. View evidence ↗
- Necropsy of the second bird showed the shade net string packed as a ball in the oral cavity, congested oral mucosa, and cloudy air sacs. View evidence ↗
- The ingested string caused ischemic necrosis of the tongue by arresting blood supply, and the resulting oral breathing led to cloudy air sacs. View evidence ↗
- When the shade net string formed a ball in the oral cavity, it caused inflammation and secondary bacterial infections that led to abscess formation. View evidence ↗
- The ultimate causes of death in the affected birds were anorexia and septicaemia. View evidence ↗
What it means
- The authors found that mortality could be prevented if the impaction was detected early and the string was manually removed. View evidence ↗
- The authors recommend that poultry farmers be educated on the risk of foreign body impaction and implement close monitoring and removal of potential threats in foraging areas. View evidence ↗
Visual summary
1 visualsIllustrations explain the paper; they do not show study data.
Mechanism of Impaction
AI-generated conceptual illustration (backyard chickens). It explains the idea and does not show study data.
View source evidence ↗Figures & tables
From the original paper
Figure 1
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Figure 3Introduction
Backyard poultry rearing is a traditional allied agricultural farming activity which plays a vital role in alleviating poverty, nutritional food supply, women empowerment and ensuring subsidiary income to the rural households in India. The total backyard poultry population in India is 317.07 million which increased by 45.78% over previous census against 4.5% increase of commercial poultry population (BAHS, 2019) [2] . Poor production potential and lack of knowledge on latest manage mental techniques are the major problems faced by the backyard poultry farmers. Spread of diseases from wild birds and predators will cause significant loss in backyard poultry farming and this study deals with the mortality in backyard chicken due to foreign body impaction in the upper digestive tract.
Case history and clinical findings
Fifty (50) numbers of Gramapriya day old chicks were purchased and maintained in a portable backyard poultry cage which was modified into brooding unit by providing electric bulbs as a source of heat to young chicks. The cage was completely covered with shade net to protect the day old chicks from cold air. The chicks were maintained inside the brooder cage up to the age 4 weeks.
From 5 th week onwards, the chicks were allowed to forage in an enclosed area and the shade net covering of the poultry cage was removed for a height of 1.5 feet from the ground for the easy monitoring of chicks during the night time. The strings hanging from the cut end of the shade net covering acted as a source of impaction to backyard chicken. From 5 th week onwards, repeated incidence of morbidity was observed due to the ingestion of shade net strings. A five week old bird, died with the history of isolation, inanition and anorexia. On post-mortem examination, oral cavity revealed, swollen pale and oedematous tongue. The black coloured shade net string tightly encircled at the base of the tongue causes strangulation. No specific lesions were observed in other organs. A week later, one more bird presented alive in the condition of anorexia, ruffled feathers, ocular discharge and a black coloured linear shade net string hanging from the mouth. An abscess with perforation was also observed behind the lower beak region. The bird died at the time of examination. On necropsy, it was observed that, the shade net string trapped and tightly packed in the form of ball inside oral cavity. The oral mucosa was congested. The air sacs were cloudy in appearance.
Discussion
Now a days, extensive system of poultry rearing is gaining popularity among poultry farmers as the produce obtained from these birds have high marketing demand. But, at the same time, the birds reared under extensive or backyard system are exposed to various threats like predators, spread of diseases from wild birds and digestive tract impactions due to the ingestion of foreign bodies. Foreign bodies such as nails, bale net wrap, shade net string, linear grass forage, and other metal objects pose a major threat to backyard chicken as they lack teeth to screen them. Anny S Huang et al., 2019 [1] , reported that ingestion of non-feed material may be attributed to stress, overcrowding, nutritional deficiencies and boredom. Ingesta such as compacted feedstuff, bread or tortilla pieces, soft plastic and wood shavings can also cause obstructions and impactions. In the present study, the ingested shade net string encircled at the base of the tongue arrested the blood supply to the tongue resulted in ischemic necrosis. In such cases, oral breathing causes cloudiness of the air sacs. Strangulation due to Gastrointestinal impactions resulting from ingestion of bale net wrap has already been reported (Benjamin et al., 2015) [3] . The ingested shade net string trapped inside and tightly packed in the form of ball caused inflammation and induced secondary bacterial infection resulting in the formation of abscess. The birds affected with upper digestive tract impactions unable to prehend feed which could be the reason for anorexia and poor body condition. The cause of mortality is due to anorexia and septicaemia. Mortality was prevented when the condition noticed in the early stage and the ingested shade net string was removed manually. But, the condition gets worsen in unnoticed birds.
Conclusion
Based on the above study, it is observed that the backyard chickens are more prone for digestive tract impactions due to various foreign bodies. Hence, the poultry farmers should be sensitized about the vulnerability of back yard chicken to foreign body impaction. Close monitoring of birds and removal of potential threats causing impaction in the foraging area should be ascertained to counteract the problem.
Figures and tables from the paper
References
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