Omphalitis is a condition characterized by infected yolk sacs, often accompanied by unhealed navels in young fowl.
noncontagious and associated with excessive humidity and marked contamination of the hatching eggs or incubator.
or poults usually appear normal until a few hours before death.
Depression, drooping of the head, and huddling near the heat source usually are the only signs.
close, producing a wet spot on the abdomen; a scab may be present.
Opportunistic bacteria (coliforms, staphylococci, Pseudomonas spp , and Proteus spp ) are often involved, and mixed infections are common. Proteolytic bacteria are prevalent in outbreaks. The yolk sac
is not absorbed and often is highly congested or may contain solidified pieces of yolk material; peritonitis may be extensive.
Edema of the sternal subcutis may be seen.
hatching and continues to 10-14 days of age, with losses up to 15% in
chickens and 50% in turkeys.
may increase losses. \
produce chicks or poults with reduced weight gain. There is no specific treatment; antibiotic use is based on the prevalent bacterial type involved, but is probably of little value.
is prevented by careful control of temperature, humidity, and sanitation in the incubator. Only clean, uncracked eggs should be set. If it is necessary to set dirty eggs, they should be segregated from clean eggs. Sanitizing detergents must be used according to directions if eggs are washed. Time, temperature, and frequent changes of water are as critical as the concentration of sanitizer in
both wash and rinse water.
water (which should be warmer than the internal temperature of the egg), but should not be >60°C.
disinfected thoroughly between hatches.
with formaldehyde, vents should be closed. Thirty mL of 40% formaldehyde per 0.6 m3, or paraformaldehyde (in the strength recommended by the manufacturer), should be allowed to evaporate in the closed incubator or hatcher.
Bev writes:
Karen, is there any hope for chicks born with the yolk sac unabsorbed,or should these chicks be dispatched asap? Both of mine that hatched
that way died.
I'm not an expert on incubation or saving marginal chicks, and I'm not interested in saving every last one of a rare breed, so if this happened to me, I would dispatch them. They are more likely to die anyway.
I did a little poking around on the phenomenon, and it appears to happen more if the incubator is kept at too high a humidity during incubation (the egg doesn't lose enough water during development, leading to oversized "wet" chicks), or the hatcher is too warm, or if
dirty eggs are set (giving the bacteria on the shell a chance to infect chicks). Some of the terms you might look for are mushy chick syndrome or omphalitis, or open navels.
Karen Black Blodgett, OR _______________________________________________ Homestead list and subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead Change your homestead list member options: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/erthnsky%40bellsouth.net
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