Salt poisoning in broiler chickens

Authors: Howell J, Gumbrell RC
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 40, Issue 2, pp 85, Jun 1992
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Avian, Poultry, Production animal
Subject Terms: Minerals/elememts, Mortality/morbidity, Poisoning - chemical, Toxicology
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: The clinical signs of salt poisoning in young chickens are thirst, diarrhoea and weakness. When 13 500 broilers are simultaneously affected, the deterioration that occurs in their physical condition and in the litter beneath their feet is dramatic. Two flocks of meat chickens on a small unit in North Otago were affected in this way. The owner-operator produced broiler chickens in two adjacent sheds that each housed about 6500 birds. He also had a small egg-laying unit nearby. Those birds were in cages or wire-floored runs raised above floor level. He mixed his own feed from a variety of raw materials and had farmed successfully for several years. On 27 August 1991 he made two separate batches of feed, one of “starter” for a new placement of day-old chicks due the following day, and the other of “finisher” for feeding in a week`s time to a shed of 6-week-old broilers. During the next week there was a higher than usual…

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