Kita Agro

Spraddle leg & Crooked Toes in Chicks- Causes and Treatments  Print Page S praddle leg, also known as ‘splay leg,’ is a deformity of a chicken’s legs, characterized by feet pointing to the side, instead of forward, making walking difficult, if not impossible. Spraddle leg can be permanent if left uncorrected, but it’s simple to correct, so let’s look at how to fix it. CAUSES One cause of spraddle leg is slick floors that result in chicks losing their footing. The legs twist out from the hip and remain in that position unless corrected. Other causes are: temperature fluxuations during incubation a difficult hatch that makes legs weak leg or foot injury brooder overcrowding a vitamin deficiency PREVENTION Providing traction for tiny feet is the best way to avoid spraddle leg (in cases where it can be avoided). Chicks should not walk directly on dry newspaper. Safer options are paper towels or  rubber shelf liner  covering newspaper. Va

DEAD IN SHELL YOUNGSTERS AVIARY By Dr  Colin Walker   BSc, BVSc, MRCVS, MACVSc (Avian health)  I regularly receive calls from aviculturists that fertile eggs are failing to hatch i.e. that the embryos these eggs contain are dying in the incubation period. Many aviculturists immediately think of Salmonella when they see this, when in fact all infections together including Salmonella account for less than 5% of all dead in-shell youngsters. So just why do these youngsters die? Most young that die in the egg usually die either in the first few days of incubation, or alternatively the last few days of incubation. In the first few days, embryo death is usually due to either inadequate incubation leading to too low a temperature to keep the chick alive, excessive jarring of the egg that either fatally damages the chick or yolk, or alternatively, a genetic problem affecting the chick which is incompatible with life. Towards the end of incubation, chicks usually die as a result of problems