Vices are bad behavior in chicken brought about by stress due to poor management. They need proper attention and care for complete eradication.
The cost associated with poultry vices are;
- Mortalities
- Reduced productivity-less weight gain and egg production
- Treatment cost
- Loss of market
TYPES OF VICES
1 Cannibalism
This is a condition where birds in the flock attack their mates and eat their flesh. This imposes deep wounds, reduce production, and high mortalities
Causes:
- Overcrowding
- Bleeding on external genitalia due to laying stress
- Protein deficiency in diet
- Deficiency of arginine and methionine in the diet
- Deficiency of salts and minerals
Prevention:
- Debeaking at week 14
- Isolation of wounded birds
- Sufficient feeds at all times
- Peaceful environment for laying birds
- Adequate vitamin-mineral mixture and salt in poultry ration
- Egg eating
Birds deploy a tendency to eat their eggs. This starts due to the presence of cracked eggs or accidental breaking of eggs and once the birds develop a test for it, they start breaking their own eggs.
Causes:
.Soft egg shellS
.Lack of proper bedding materials in the nest
.Presence of eggs for a longer period in the nest
Prevention
- Isolate the affected birds
- Increase calcium and protein in the diet.
- Debeaking
- Reducing light in the laying nest
- Reduce the interval of collecting eggs in the nest
- Vent pecking
This occurs in well-feathered birds and the cloaca remains to be the only targeted region.
Causes;
- Too much light and overheating
- Overcrowding
- Poor nutrition
- Prolapse
- The idleness of the birds
Prevention;
- Correct stocking density
- Debeaking
- Proper lighting
- Provision of perches and roosts
- Toe pecking;
it may result from;
- infestation of parasites
- exposed wounds
- too much light
Prevention ;
- Minimize light in the poultry house
- control parasites
- isolation of birds with wounds
- Feather pecking
This is where chicken plucks feathers due to external parasite infestation.
Prevention;
- control of parasites with an appropriate insecticide.
- Egg hiding
This vice mostly affects the free ranged birds; whereby they hide eggs in fields and bushes
Prevention;
- Provide laying nests in the poultry house with comfortable bedding for laying.
- Pica
This is a behavior in which birds eat materials not fit for consumption ie feathers, litter material, and threads.
Causes;
- inadequate feeds
- Phosphorous deficiency
- Bright litter material
Prevention
- provide adequate feeds
- provide feeds rich in phosphorous
- proper management of litter and consistency of the litter material used