Western
Meeting of Poultry
Clinicians and Pathologists
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Clinicians and Pathologists
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High Condemnations due to Cellulitis in Broiler Chickens – What might have caused it? Stewart Ritchie Canadian Poultry Consultants Ltd.
350 x 40-foot double decked barn, housing 17,500 + 4% baby chicks per floor. Chicks were courced from a single hatchery and the broiler hatching egg source was randomized at the hatchery by creating 2 separate stacks after the chick counter. The birds were shipped to a single processing plant at 37 days of age. The following results were attained (calculated using on farm records and commercial records). On farm mortality for both floors was just under 4 percent. No evidence of sickness was noted in the barn. The birds weighed 4.3 pounds on the top floor and 4.2 pounds on the bottom floor. The feed conversion was 1.74 on the top floor and 1.76 on the bottom floor. The condemnation rate was 1.2 percent on the top floor (majority were cellulitis and ascites) and 4.4 percent on the bottom floor (majority were cellulitis). A computer controlled the farm environment and all readings appeared normal. The owner of the farm did not enter the barn until the birds were 29 days of age. During the walk through it was noted that 7 of the 12 brooder pilot lights were not lit and the birds appeared to be gathering in groups and away from the walls in areas were the brooders were not funcitoning. The computer read out at the farm appeared normal. It is theorized that the cool temperatures experienced by the birds in the bottom floor resulted in increased stress and opportunity for scratching. It is extremely important to note that the level of husbandry has a direct affect on bird health and performance. |
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