Stress

• Stress is the sum of all nonspecific biological

phenomena elicited by adverse external
influences.
(Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary – 25th ed.)

• Stress is the cumulative response of an animal

resulting from interaction with its environment
(external) via receptors (Fowler, 1972).
Stress – things to note
• It is an adaptive phenomenon.

• Responses are primarily directed at coping with

external environmental change(s).

• The animal is stimulated by stressors

(environmental change) via receptors.

• The effects of individual stressors, on an animal,

are cumulative.
Responses to the stimulation of a receptor

May follow one of three pathways:

1. Voluntary motor response (CNS & PNS)

2. Sympathetic nervous system (adrenal medulla -

catecholamines)

3. Neuroendocrine system - Hypothalamic

adenohypophyseal adrenocortical pathway
(adrenal cortex - glucocorticoids)
 Heat & Chickens
• Heat Gain
Heat Loss
• Birds don’t sweat
• Major heat loss
mechanisms
• Evaporation of moisture
from respiratory tissues
• Convection ± wind chill
(ventilation)
• Conduction
• Drinking cool water
• Sources of heat for birds
• Muscular activity
• Digestion of food
• External environment
• Sources of heat in poultry
house
• Roof (esp. metal roofs)
• Birds
• Outside environment
 Temperature as a Stressor
• Heat stress
• heat gain + internal heat production > heat loss   body temp.

• Cold stress
• heat gain + internal heat production < heat loss   body temp.
 Temperature as a Stressor
• Heat stress can be a major problem in conventional houses
with uninsulated metal roofing

• Cold stress (in tropical environments)

• Poor brooding in conventional or tunnel housing
• Improper management of ventilation in tunnel housing

• The effects of individual stressors are cumulative

• Total effect of stressors = effect of heat ± effects of other stressors
Heat & Chickens
Heat & Exotic Birds
 Disease Terminology
• What is a disease?
• Clinical signs & lesions
• Clinical & subclinical
• Infectious & non-infectious
• Contagious & non-contagious
• Primary pathogen
• Opportunistic or secondary pathogen
• Vector
• Fomite
• Exotic & Endemic
 Clinical sign
• An indication of the existence of something

• Any objective evidence of disease; such evidence must be perceptible to the

examining veterinarian

• Compare to symptom -(subjective evidence of disease)

• Examples of CS:
• observations from:
• individual bird or flock
• records (farm)
• diagnostic test results
 Lesion

• A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an

organism, usually caused by disease or trauma.

• Gross lesion

• Microscopic lesion
Impact of disease on poultry producers

•  farm productivity   or no income

•  saleable product (quantity, quality)

•  profitability
• Gross profit = revenue – production costs
•  production cost (feed, labour, medication, time, mortality)
•  value of saleable product (quantity, quality, price) =  revenue

• Frustrated customers (stakeholders)

• Sick (diseased) customers

Disease on a poultry farm may impact on….
1. Other poultry producers*
 Same avian species
 Other avian species
2. Exotic (wild + pet) birds*
3. Non-avian species*
4. Human health*
*Locally and overseas
 A: Disease in Poultry

B: General Disease Control Strategies

Biosecurity &
Preventive Vet
Medicine
1o Pathogen
Contagious
Diseased 2o Pathogen
Duck Infectious GMPs

Non-Contagious
GMPs

Non-Infectious
GMPs
Disease prevention strategies (1)

1. Good management practices

• Non-infectious disease
• Non-contagious infectious diseases
• Opportunistic pathogens

2. Biosecurity & Preventive Vet. Medicine

• Primary pathogens
What is biosecurity?
• It is a term that encompasses all the measures that
should be taken to prevent viruses, bacteria, fungi,
parasites, vectors and fomites from endangering the
health of poultry flocks

• Objective is protection from contagious primary pathogens

• Must be based on appropriate isolation, sanitation

and traffic control*
• *traffic control = control movement of all vectors and fomites
What is PVM?
• The branch of veterinary medicine that aims to
prevent disease and promote health in animals.

• PVM includes all the practices that strengthen genetic

and immunological resistance to disease, provide
sound nutrition and minimize exposure to disease
agents as well as potentially harmful situations.

• Successful PVM practices must incorporate

appropriate husbandry & welfare practices for captive
animals.
 PVM includes…

1. Routine diagnostic testing and disease surveillance

2. Strategic use of approved drugs, chemicals and nutritional

supplements

3. Appropriate vaccination programmes

Preventive Veterinary Medicine
 Strategic use of approved drugs,
chemicals and nutritional supplements
 Coccidiostats
 Anthelmintics
 Antibacterials
 Insecticides & Acaricides
 Mycotoxin binders
 Mould inhibitors
 Nutritional supplements
 Prebiotics & Probiotics
 Disease prevention strategies (2)

1. Biosecurity & Preventive Vet. Medicine

Objective
• Protection from contagious primary pathogens

• How is the above objective achieved?

 Decreased exposure
 Biosecurity – prevent entry of pathogen, ↓ spread, sanitaIon
 PVM - ↓ pathogen numbers

 Increased bird resistance

 PVM

2. Good management practices

Biosecurity, PVM & primary pathogens

•  Exposure •  Bird Resistance

1. Biosecurity 1. PVM
• Isolation, sanitation &  Vaccination
traffic control
2. PVM  Nutritional
• Prophylactic use
supplements
 Coccidiostats  Immunomodulators
 Antibacterials
 Anthelmintics
2. GMPs
  stress
3. GMPs especially chronic stressors

• Litter management etc.

With respect to biosecurity, humans can ……

• Cause major problems

• Leading to breakdown of
biosecurity programmes

• mechanical & biological

vectors

• Transportation of fomites

• Via poor planning,

implementation and
monitoring of biosecurity
programmes
Top 10 Biosecurity Areas
(Vaillancourt, 2002)
6. Biosecurity monitoring
(compliance?) 5. Pest control

7. Effective vaccination programme

4. Farm and equipment sanitation
8. Control the movement of
equipment
3. All-in, all-out grow-out farms
9. Education of farm employees about
biosecurity
2. People sanitation
10. Adequate downtime between two
flocks on a farm

1. On-farm traffic control

Simple biosecurity model

Sources of Salmonella bacteria for a poultry flock

Biosecurity = Isolation, sanitation & traffic control