Livestock Disease Tables
Livestock Disease Tables
A guide encompassing common diseases and their symptoms, treatment, and prevention for livestock including poultry, rabbits, sheep, goats, pigs, and calves.
December 2017
By Steven Thomas and George P. Looby
Backyard Livestock (The Countryman Press, 2017), by Steven Thomas and George P. Looby, acts as a reference for anyone who keeps animals as a sustainable food source. Laying out up-to-date information on breeding, feeding, disease prevention, housing, and management for livestock, complete with clarifying diagrams, full color photography, and a catalog of supplemental reading.
Understanding and preventing diseases that can effect your livestock is essential for identifying potential threats. Listed below is an overview of common diseases organized by species.
Poultry
|
INFECTIOUS |
POULTRY |
CAUSE | SYMPTOMS | TREATMENT | PREVENTION |
| Brooder pneumonia | Young chicken and turkeys especially | Fungus: Aspergillus fumigatus | Rapid breathing, labored, depression | None | Strict sanitation in brooder equipment |
| Blackhead or histommoniasis | Turkeys especially | Protozoa: Histoma meleagridis | Listless, ruffled feathers, dark blue head | Carbasone, nitarsone, dimetridazole, ipronidazole, acidified copper sulfate, plus others | Strict sanitation; rotate ground; keep other birds away |
| Botulism Lembunich | Ducks | Bacteria: Clostridium botulinum (toxin) | Sudden death | None | Sanitation |
| Coccidiosis | All species | Coccidia, one or more variety for each species of bird | Bloody droppings in chickens |
Amprolium, sulfonamides; get the current recommendations |
Sanitation |
| Duck plague | All species | Herpes virus | Sudden death | Keep wild fowl away from flock, and vaccination | |
| Fowl cholera | All | Bacteria: Pasteurella multocida | Rapid death | Sulfaquinoxaline, tetracycline | Vaccination |
| Fowl pox | Chickens, turkeys | Virus | Poxlike sores on unfeathered areas of body | None | Vaccination, in areas where disease is a problem |
| Viral hepatitis of ducks (DVH) | Ducks under 7 weeks | Picornavirus | Sudden death | None | Rat and wild duck control; strict iso- lation of young ducks; vaccination of adult breeder stock from older birds |
| Hemorrhagic enteritis of turkeys | Ducks under 7 weeks | Group II adenovirus | Sudden onset, bloody diarrhea | None | Vaccination (given in drinking water) enteritis of turkeys |
| Infectious bronchitis | Chickens | Coronavirus | Coughing, tearing | None | Good nursing, vaccination |
| Infectious coryza | Chickens | Bacterium: Hemophilus gallinarum | Facial swelling may close eyes, discharge | Erythromycin | Buy replacement from clean flock; a bacterin is available |
| Infectious laryngotracheitis | Chickens | Virus | Gasping, coughing with hock extended | None | Vaccination |
| Influenza | All | Virus | Signs are those of a cold | None | Reportable disease |
| (Note: Avian flu—especially the H5N1 strain, which has become such a concern lately—falls into this category, but so far is limited to Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.) | |||||
| Infectious serositis, “new duck disease” | All | Bacteria: Pasteurella antipestifer | Eye and nose discharge | Sulfaquinoxaline, penicillin, steratomycin | Bacterin available |
| Newcastle disease | Primarily ducks | Virus | Coughing, sneezing, with nervous system involved in severe cases | None | Vaccination |
| Pullorum disease | Chickens, turkeys, ducks | Bacteria: Salmonella pullorum | Symptoms inyoung poultry: listless, whitish diarrhea, do noteat | None | Control by testing of breeding flocks; eradication program; vaccination |
| Pullorum disease | Chickens | Virus. One of the first cancers proven to be caused by a virus | Paralysis, some- times only depression | None | Vaccination |
Rabbits
|
INFECTIOUS |
CAUSE | SYMPTOMS | TREATMENT | PREVENTION |
| VIRAL DISEASES | ||||
| Infectious myxomatosis | Virus; poxvirus | Milky eye discharge; ear edema; nasal discharge | None | None |
| BACTERIAL DISEASES | ||||
| Pasteurellosis, “Snuffles” | Pasteurella multocida | Thin, purulent nose and eye discharge | None | Recovered animals may become carriers |
| Abscesses | Abscess on any part of body | None | ||
| Mastitis (Bluebreasts) | Staphylococci, Streptococci | Hot, swollen mammary glands | Penicillin variants | Good sanitation |
| Treponematosis, vent disease | Spirochete: Treponema cuniculi | Scabs and/or loss of fur in genital region | Penicillin var., entire herd | Do not use affected ani- mals for breeders |
| Hutch burn, urine burn | Wide range of possible organisms | Similar parts affected as vent disease | Antibiotic ointment; apply to affected parts | Keep hutches clean and dry |
| Enterotoxemia | Clostridium spiroforme | Sudden death | Onset usually too rapid to treat | Avoid diets too low in fiber |
| Mucoid enteropathy | Unknown | Constipation | None | Oral fluids to overcome dehydration |
| Tyzzer’s disease | Bacillus piliformis | Severe diarrhea | None | None |
| PARASITIC DISEASES | ||||
| Coccidiosis: hepatic and intestinal | Coccidia | Young rabbits may be off feed, dull | Sulfaquinoxoline in feed or water | Good sanitation; avoid fecal contamination |
| Ear mites | Infestation | Scratching at ear | Clean ear withperox- ide, then use ear mite medicine | Good sanitary practices |
| MISCELLANEOUS CONDITIONS | ||||
| Wet dewlap (moist dermatitis) | Various | Inflammation of the dewlap | Clip affected area-use antiseptic powder | Useautomaticdewdrop valves; elevatedrinking dishes |
| Hair chewing | Perhaps low-fiber diet | Chewing of fur | Change to higher fiber diet | High-fiber diet, e.g., good quality hay |
| Hairballs | Swallowing fur | Indigestion, gagging | None | High fiber diet—mineral oil, etc. of no value |
| Heat Exhaustion | Overexposure to bright sunlight | Heavy panting, elevated body temperature, and extreme lassitude | Immerse severely affected rabbits in cold water | Construct hutches to allow for good ventila- tion. Provide cold water and sprinkle hutches in hot weather. |
| Sore hocks (ulcerative pododermatitis) | Direct contact with wire mesh, especially in heavy breeds where there is an accumulation of urine-soaked feces. | Raw, weeping sores on hind legs | Difficult to treat. Affected animals should be culled. | Keep hutches clean |
| Malocclusion | An inherited characteristic | Failure of teeth to grind against each other, especially the incisors or front teeth. | Affected teeth should be clipped off. | Affected animals should not be used as breeders. |
Sheep
|
INFECTIOUS |
CAUSE | SYMPTOMS | TREATMENT | PREVENTION |
| METABOLIC DISEASES Those caused by feed intake or stresses affecting all the body systems due to conditions such as lambing | ||||
| Grass staggers, grass tetany, hypomagne- semic tetany | Low intake of magnesium; suddenly placing animals on lush pasture in the spring | Erratic behavior after being put on lush pasture | None | Magnesium supplements to fertilize pastures; feed dry hay before turning out |
| Parturient paresis | Unknown | Sudden onset 6–10 weeks prior to lambing, especially in heavy ewes: muscle tremors; stilted gait; down; death | Calcium solution I.V. or under skin | Good dietary management |
| Photosensitization | Light colored skin that has a hyperactive reaction to sunlight | Reddening and fluid (edema) in the skin. | Graze at night; steroids | Affected animals should not be used as breeders |
| Somebreedsofsheep(SouthdownsandCorriedales)haveadefectexistinginlivermetabolismthatpreventssubstancesthatpredis- posetheanimaltophotosensitizationfrombeingeliminatedintheusualway.Sheepofthesebreedsshowingthistraitshouldnotbe used asbreeders. | ||||
| White muscle disease | Selenium deficiency | Stiff gait, arched back unable to rise | Selenium injections | Selenium supplement in feed |
| Pregnancy toxemia, ovine ketosis | Any factor that disrupts feed intake in fat ewes carrying twins late in pregnancy | Nervous signs, inability to get on their feet; coma | Propylene glycol, steroids induce abortions, glucose | Induce exercise; feed away from shelter; avoid stressful situations wherepossible |
| INFECTIOUS BACTERIAL DISEASES | ||||
| Tetanus | Bacteria: Clostridium tetani | Often follows surgical procedures in early life; “saw-horse” appearance. | None | Administer tetanus antitoxin; later give toxoid |
| Overeating disease | Clostridium types C, D | Sudden death, especially in weaned lambs on full feed | No effective treatment | Bacterin to those on full feed |
| VIRAL DISEASES | ||||
| Bluetongue | Bluetongue virus spread by biting flies | Difficult breathing; reddening of muzzle, lips, ears; ulcer, erosions of mouth | None | Vaccine in affected areas only |
| OPP (ovine progressive pneumonia) | Retrovirus | Very slowly progressing disease in mature animals; slow, wasting disease | None | Test and slaughter program; isolate lambs at birth, and feed milk from known-negative ewes |
| Sore mouth, contagious ecthyma | Poxvirus | Lesions on lips, sometimes feet. | None | Recovered sheep highly resistant; vaccine available |
| Scrapie (Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy) | Prion (structure smaller than a virus) | Loss of wool, intense itching, altered gait; loss of condition in sheep usually over 2 years | None | Test and slaughter |
| “Black disease” (infectious necrotic hepatitis) | Clostridium novyi | Sudden death; toxin produced by organism, together with liver flukes, which have already damaged the liver. | None | Toxoid (vaccine) in fluke region |
| Mastitis | Often Streptococcus or Staphylococcus species | Hot, swollen udder; Abnormal secretion | None | Antibiotics; hot packs; frequent stripping |
| Strawberry foot rot | Fungus (actinomycete): Dermatophilus congalensis | Sores in lower leg | Penicillin variants | Self-limiting |
| Scours | Escherichia coli | Profuse diarrhea in newborn | Fluids to combat dehydration; antitoxemia drugs, antibiotics | Dip navels in iodine; strict sanitation in lambing pens |
| Joint ill | Erysipelothis rhusiopathiae | Swollen joints and some- times navel | Penicillin variants | Dip navels, strict clean- liness when castrating or docking |
| PARASITIC DISEASES There are a wide range of parasites that affect sheep. Some invade various parts of the digestive tract while lungworms settle in the lungs. | ||||
Goats
|
INFECTIOUS |
CAUSE | SYMPTOMS | TREATMENT | PREVENTION |
| CAE (caprine arthri- tis and encephalitis) | Lentivirus | Encephalitis in young goats, arthritis in adults | None | Butazolidin in arthritic form; remove kids from doe immediately after birth and feed pasteurized colostrum |
| Abscesses | Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosi | Abscess formation around head and neck. | None | |
| Urinary calculi (esp. in petwethers) | Metabolic imbalance | Urinate with difficulty or not at all | Surgery to create artificial opening | Feed diet with calcium-phosphorus ratio of2:1;addammonium chloride to diets;keep magnesium levellow |
| Mastitis | Several different bacteria | Abnormal milk ranging from watery to bloody | Variety of antibiotic preparations infused into udder; may need to run antibiotic sensitivity test to determine the best choice | Strict sanitation during the milking process; clean bedding and in general clean environment |
| Goatsaresubjecttomuchthesamerangeofdiseasesasaresheep.Themanagementofthevariousconditionsfollowsthelinesfol- lowed insheep. | ||||
Pigs
|
INFECTIOUS |
CAUSE | SYMPTOMS | TREATMENT | PREVENTION |
| Metabolic and nutritional iron deficiency | Milk naturally deficient in iron | Symptoms of anemia | None | Administer iron to newborn by injection; keep sod in pen |
| Hypoglycemia | Any factor that limits piglets’ milk intake, especially during first week of life | Low body temperature; listless; unresponsive | Give glucose intraperitoneally | Be sure sow has enough milk; that all piglets are getting their share; keep warm and dry |
| MMA or Mastitis- metritusagalactia syndrome (lactation failure in sows) | Not understood at this time, a complex interaction of many factors | Piglets show signs of starvation; piglets depressed; increased temperatures; sows listless; refuse to let piglets nurse | Corticosteroids and broadspectrum antibiotics | Good management practices; place piglets on foster sow if available |
| BACTERIA, SPIROCHETES, AND VIRUSES | ||||
| Bacterial brucellosis (a disease transmis- sible to man, especially when handling infected carcasses at slaughter) | Brucella suis | Abortion: temporary or permanent sterility: lameness | None | Test and slaughter |
| Atrophic rhinitis | A complex disease with many contributing factors | Twisted snout may be end result | Several drugs effective including trimethoprim, tylocin, and tetracycline | Keeping a closed herd; good sanitation |
| Enteric colibacillosis | Escherichia coli | Profuse watery diarrhea in young pigs | Restore fluid level; antibiotics as determined by sensitivity, previous experience | Avoid chilling and dampness; vaccinations of sows to increase level of necessary antibodies |
| Enteritis | Clostridium perfringens, Type C | Bloody diarrhea in piglets, 1–5 days | None |
Vaccination of pregnant sows is of some value to increase value of colostrum in affording protection |
| Edema | Escherichia coli | Disease of young pigs 5–14 days after weaning; rapid death; wobbly; paddling of legs; head twist | Antibiotics may help | Gradual change of feedfromcreepfeedto weaningration |
| Erysipelas | Erysipelothrix rhusipathiae | Several different forms of this disease: (1) sudden death; high temperature, walking stiffly or remain lying down; (2) may show skin discolorations as “diamond skin disease”; (3) arthritis; (4) heart valve involvement | Penicillin variants | Vaccination |
| Leptospirosis (may act as reservoir to cause infection in man) | Leptospira pomona | Abortions; being off feed; listlessness | None | Vaccinations |
| Mycoplasma pneumonia |
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae | Coughing, mild pneumonia; greatest problems: poor feed utilization and growth rate | Tylocin, Tetracycline | Establishment of disease-free herds |
| Pleuropneumonia | Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae | May be very severe with sudden deaths, especially in young pigs; extremely difficult breathing; high fatality rate | Several antibiotics have been suggested, including Tylocin and Trimethoprim |
All-in, all-out management (all pigs in a group introduced simultaneously into area where they will be raised and later removed simultaneously) |
| Salmonellosis | Salmonella cholerasuis | Nursing pigs have diarrhea but die from septicemia;olderpigshavebloody diarrhea | Some antibiotics may be of value, but no drastic changes may be seen | Intensive clean-up after outbreaks |
| Swine dysentery | Treponema hyodysenteriae (a spirochete) | A mucous, bloody diarrhea is the most common symptom | Do antibiotic sensitivity test and determine best antibiotic, which might include bacitracin, lincomycin, and others | Good sanitation; treatment of carrier pigs |
| Tuberculosis (a disease transmissable from animal to man) | Mycobacterium species. Pigs are susceptible to three types: cattle, bird, and man | Lymph gland involvement: a wasting disease | None | Good management (e.g. cleanliness, good ventilation) |
| VIRUSES | ||||
| Hog cholera (no longer present in USA), now more properly called “classical swine fever” (CSF) | DNA virus | Lethargy; off feed; high temperature | Hyperimmune serum | Vaccinations not always effective; worldwide test-and-slaughter policy in effect for any animals that test positive |
| Pseudorabies, “mad itch” | Herpes virus. The pig acts as a reservoir for the virus, which is highly fatal in other species such as cattle and sheep | In piglets, may see fever, trembling, convulsions; symptoms become progressively less severe as pig grows older | None | Bring in replacements from disease-free herds; segregation; isolation |
| Swine influenza, hog flu | Type A influenza virus | Rapidly spread throughout entire herd; high temperature; off feed; coughing; prostration | None | Good management with a stress-free environment |
| TGE (transmissible gastroenteritis) | Coronavirus | Vomiting followed by profuse, watery diarrhea; highly fatal in very young pigs, much less so in older pigs | None | Vaccinations |
| PARASITESThosewormsaffectingthestomachandintestinaltractofpigscanbecontrolledbythesametypesofmedicationsusedin otherspecies.Therearesomewormspeculiartoswinethatshouldbementioned. | ||||
| Kidney worm infestation | Stephanurus dentatus | Pigs tend to be “poor doers”; economic loss from contamination of affected organs and tissues | None | Maintain clean environtment; rotate stock to keep herd young through “gilts-only” breeding program. |
| Trichinosis | Trichanella spiralis | Primarily a public health problem where insufficiently cooked, infected meat is eaten |
None | Garbage containing pork should be cooked at 212° F for 30 min- utes before being fed to swine, or not feed at all |
Calves
|
INFECTIOUS |
CAUSE | SYMPTOMS | TREATMENT | PREVENTION |
| Colibacillosis | Escherichia coli | Diarrhea; dehydration; weakness; death | Electrolytes, fluids, antibiotics | Buy calves from reputable sources; avoid stress; keep isolated; draft-free, well ventilated housing (calf hutch excellent) |
| Pneumonia | Various bacteria and viruses | Cough; difficulty breathing; off feed; fever | Fluids, antibiotics |
More from Backyard Livestock
This excerpt is reprinted with permission from Backyard Livestock by Steven Thomas and George P. Looby, published by The Countryman Press, 2017.
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