Cannibalism, High mortality and
Drop in Egg Production Associated
with Low Sodium in the Feed
Canadian Poultry Consultants Abbotsford
Flock Information
• Type of Birds: Commercial Layer Chickens
• Age:23 weeks old
• Flock Size: 6096
Barns are divided by Wall
• Second Flock Age: 44 weeks
• Flock Size: 6030
Housing System
• Barn Dimensions: 30 X 190 Feet
• Farmers Automatic
• 2 Rows
• Multi-deck i.e., 3 Tier
Bird Density
• Capacity: 8 birds per cage
• Actual: 6-7 birds per cage
Ventilation System
• Pad Cooling System
• Ceiling Ventilation
• Two 52 Inch Fans
• One 40 Inch Fan
Manure Removal System
• Automatic Manure Removal Belt
• Once a week
Feeding System
• Chain Feeding System
• Type of Feed: Mash
• Frequency of Feeding: 7 times/day
• Separate Silos for each barn
• Chore Time Feeding System
Lighting
• Fluorescent 15 watts Light Bulbs at 60%
• 3 Rows
• Spaced at 8 feet
• 20-25 Lux at top tier
• 16 hours a day
• 8 hours of darkness
Water
• Well water
• Thorough Cleaning and Disinfection during
Downtime
• No continuous water treatment
• Two nipple drinkers with a splash cup for each
cage
Vaccination Status
• Marek’s and ILT at the Hatchery
• Live Bursal
• Live AE
• Live ILT (TCO)
• Live and Killed ND and IB Coverage
History
• Two Commercial Layer Flocks at one Location
• Major Complaint: Cannibalism , High Mortality
and Drop in Egg Production
• Field Call was requested
Differential Diagnosis
• Management: out of feed , out of water , lighting
(too dark or too bright) , temperature extremes
• Improper Nutrition
• Mycotoxins
• Infectious causes:
• Fowl Pox
• Coccidiosis
Differential Diagnosis
• Infectious Bronchitis
• Newcastle Disease
• Avian Influenza
• Avian encephalomyelitis
• Fowl Cholera
• Mycoplasma gallisepticum Infection
• Infectious Coryza
Field Call
• Analysed the production data
• Walked through the barn
• Measured light intensity
• Collected Feed Sample
• Blood Sampling was done on that Day
• Brought fresh dead birds back to CPC for PM
Post-Mortem Findings
• Necropsy revealed the following
• Weight Ranged from 1.14 kg to 1.44 kg in
barn # 5
• Weight ranged from 1.11 kg to 1.37 kg in
barn # 6
• Pecking wound around vent areas in 6
birds
• Egg in oviduct in 3 birds
Post-Mortem Findings
• Toneless ovarian follicles in barn # 6 birds
• Thin Keel bone in 4 birds
• Moist feed in the crop
• Empirical Diagnosis: Cannibalism
Serology Results
•
•
•
•
Satisfactory titers for following
AE
IBV
NDV
Negative for following in barn # 5:
• MG
• MS
• MS positive flock in barn # 6 confirmed by HI
Daily Mortality in Barn 5 & 6
Barn # 5: 2.1% in two weeks
• 10
• 6
• 8
• 8
• 15
• 11
Barn # 6: 5.2% in two weeks
• 13
• 20
• 26
• 20
• 20
• 35
• 22
Drop in Egg Production in Barn # 5
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Barn # 5:
94.64%
86.34%
96.34%
93%
94.30%
90.99%
92.61%
Egg production before the start of the problem: 94.45%
Minimum egg production:91.14%
2-3% loss in egg production
Drop in Egg Production in Barn # 6
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Barn # 6:
97.37%
89.13%
88.01%
82.21%
74.35%
74.28%
64.27%
Egg production before the start of problem: 97.37%
Minimum egg production: 53.17%
44.19% drop in egg production within 13 days period
Feed Sample Results
Ingredient
• Protein
• Sodium
Barn # 5
21.4%
0.10%
Barn # 6
20.3%
< 0.10%
• Standard Na Levels: 0.14% to 0.17% based on daily ration
allowance
Precedents
• Low sodium for 28 days- 64% drop in egg
production ( Dilworth and Day, 1976)
• 0.017% Na in feed-complete cessation of
egg production in 21 days (Nesbeth et al
1976)
• 0.13% Na in feed- drop in egg production
from 60 to 15%
Food For Thought
• What changes are triggered in the bird
with low sodium diets?
• What happens to different hormones i.e.,
Prolactin , Corticosterone , Ovarian
Steroids ( Estradiol , Progesterone) ,
Thyroid Hormones , Adrenal Gland
Hormones, Pituitary Gland Hormones?
Hyponatremia in Humans
• Effects on Nervous System
• Sodium imbalance results in water retention and
cerebral edema
• Headache
• Confusion
• Irritability
• Seizure
• Decreased consciousness
• Coma
Thank You
www.canadianpoultry.ca