AN-522

Causes of Leg Problems In Layers

Umar Iqbal
Roll # 37
2007-ag-1697

6th Semester
Submited To Prof. Dr. Aslam Mirza
Introduction

 Leg and skeletal problems are a very important

area especially from welfare points of view and are
common in some breeds of Layers.

 Studies of losses due to disease in egg laying birds

tend to be concentrated on birds in lay. However,
skeletal problems also cause losses during the
rearing period in birds destined for breeder and
commercial egg laying flocks.
Leg Problems in commercial egg laying flocks
during lay include

 Slipped tendons (Perosis)

 Rickets
 cage layer osteoporosis (fatigue)
 degenerative joint disease
 staphylococcal arthritis/tenosynovitis
 Cage Layer Osteoporosis
 Rickets and cage layer fatigue are nutritional diseases

 results in soft bones, with the leg bones often becoming bowed and
hampering the bird’s ability to stand and walk

 Cage layer osteoporosis is the most significant non-infectious skeletal

disorder in caged layers.

 The condition is primarily nutritional in origin but strain of bird and

environment are also important in its incidence.

 osteomalacia is often the term used for the disease in adult birds &
rickets is generally used to describe the condition in young poultry

 Caged layer fatigue is a related condition observed in caged laying

hens
 What causes rickets and cage layer
fatigue?

 Rickets is caused by

 deficiency or imbalance of circulating calcium, vitamin

D3, phosphorous
 imbalanced or deficient diet
 some mould toxins
 Delay in feeding
 High calcium feeds during high egg production
 A metabolic malfunction that impairs calcium absorption
or bone calcification during production stage
 Slipped tendon or Perosis

 It is a metabolic disease causing deforming leg weakness

 Seen in young poultry
 usually those under six weeks of age
 It results in

 flattening and enlargement of the hocks

 slippage of the Achilles tendon at the hock
 causing the foot and shank to extend laterally from the body
 it may be an inherited deficiency of galactosamine
 Perosis appears in only one leg of each affected chick
Perosis is caused by

 deficiency of

 a number of trace nutrients

 primarily manganese
 choline
 zinc
 pyridoxine
 biotin
 folic acid
 niacin may also be involved
 degenerative joint disease
 A condition of chickens cause remains to be confirmed,
but it may result from physical damage, or
developmental defects

 It Causes
 Lameness
 Damaged epiphyseal articular cartilage
 resulting in erosions
 cartilage flaps
 may be fissures of articular cartilage and associated
osteochondritis
Viral arthritis (tenosynovitis)

 a classic manifestation of reovirus infection

of chickens
 Transmission is by faecal contamination
 Birds can remain carriers for over 250 days
 caused immunosuppression by damaging the
cloacal bursa
 Cause Lameness, Swelling of tendon
sheaths , Inflammation at hock, Rupture of
gastrocnemius tendons ..
 ThanKs