I have been looking for a solid answer regarding this topic: Why do rickets occurs mostly in young chicks? Anyone having better knowledge is welcome to join this discussion...
Thanks
I have seen rickets in chicks , mostly within the 2 to 4 weeks of age.One case had 40 % of broilers affected. The feed was the problem with no minerals at all.
The legs were literally of a plastic nature and could bend and spring back as soon as released.
Rectification of the feed led to recovery within two weeks time. Some birds, however, remained reluctant to move and finally processing plant had higher condemnations than normal
Dr. Humphrey Mbugua
Hi every one,
The rickets in young chicks could be due to following reasons.
1) REO virus disease: it could be transferred from parents if noticed in early ages of the chicks life or established at farm in later ages. The symptoms would be ruffled feather, lameness in one or both legs, dislocated hock joints, twisted one or both legs side wise, very big variation in body weight uniformity.
2) Parent nutrition: the chicks hatched out from under nureshed parents could develop lameness signs in very early days of chicks life. This could be due to the deficiency of vit. D3, Zinc, Manganese and phosphorous in parent ration.
3) inadequate vitamins and minerals in chicks feed: Ration deficient in Vit. D3, Manganese, Zinc, Calcium and phosphorous could result in lameness of young chicks. It could be more severe if parent ration also had marginal quantities of these nutrients.
4) Accidental high dose of coccidiosates like clopidol and inophores may also cause lameness in young chicks.
i have seen all the above said conditions in various flocks of broiler breeders and commercial broiler flocks.
Well, What i observed in flocks before putting up this thread,was,
Lameness around 14-25 days.
Broiler Birds have no apparent signs of swelling or plastic type bones,
Relatively healthy birds were prone to this condition.
If effected bird is picked up from hall n kept in open air or separate withing shed but near fresh air source,it recovered in 6-10 hours.
Sugar solution introduction helped to reduce morbidity .
A senior vet linked this situation to sub-clinical IBD.
Thats why i was confused n looking for solid evidence,
Infection may retard nutrient absorption in the young chicks, thereby limiting the amount of Ca and P in their bones. Chicks are very sensitive to nutritional inadequacy and imbalance. Check the quantities of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D3, and the ratios between them for the chicks. The correct quantities might have been provided, the ratio between them is similarly important if the Ca, P and Vitamin D is to be well utilized by the chicks.
Infections causes imbalance of Ca,P&D3 as these nutrients r inter-related resulting to lameness,but infections lead to pathogenic conditions of specific organs as well as deficiency of other nutrients like Vit.A,B-Complex,Vit.C&Vit.E;so lot of care must be taken to treat d infection first followed by booster dose of Minerals & Vitamins until normalcy attains with Optimum Feed Consumption & Conversion.It is a vast subject as Chicks care is like our Baby care.--Dr.Bijoy Nanda
This sounds most probable reason because signs of spiking mortality syndrome are much similar to that case im discussing here... But still in that case, treatment remains concern ,as for spiking mortality syndrome,no specific effective treatment is present.
Hi, do you use any quinolone drug to your chickens esp. the first week of their age? For veterinary drug, we've learned that quinolone drug will interact with the magnesium ion, which is necessary for cartilage formation. Except for poultry, every animal's species vet will not give quinolone for the young animals. In addition to mineral error in your feed and fast-growing broiler, why don't you think about your medication?
