Causes and prevention of cannibalism. 

Overcrowding

If the spacing is inappropriate, birds tend to compete for resources which result in aggression among the birds. Birds of different ages have different space requirements. It is therefore important to ensure that birds have adequate space to avoid discomfort and stress which may be a prerequisite for cannibalism. 

Inadequate laying nests

Hens tend to be aggressive if disturbed when laying. If the laying boxes are not enough, dominant hens will peck the weaker hens while competing for the laying nests.  it is advisable to maintain a ratio of 4/5 hens per box.  Too much light at the laying area can also encourage vent pecking. Reduce light in the laying area.

Nutritional deficiency

Research has shown that deficiency of protein, sodium, and phosphorus can cause cannibalism.  Birds lacking these crucial nutrients may start by pecking feathers before escalating to serious body-harm causing behavior. 

Inappropriate Light

Too much light is known to cause stress among birds.  Excessive light can either be prolonged hours of light or too much lighting in the poultry house.   Stressed birds can turn vengeance to their mates resulting in cannibalism. It is therefore important to ensure that proper lighting is always maintained in the poultry house.

Overheating

Just like inappropriate lighting, too much heat can cause stress in birds.  Poor housing or prevailing weather conditions can cause overheating which can make birds feel uncomfortable. Uncomfortable birds are prone to pecking.  Ensure that the temperature within the poultry house is maintained with the accepted range. 

Abrupt changes 

Birds like any other livestock get used to routine practices.  If there are changes in management practices, birds can feel uncomfortable and retaliate by pecking their mates.  Environmental changes often time induce stress in birds thus making them prone to pecking. In case management/environmental changes are inevitable, it is advisable to put extra effort in ensuring that the birds manage the change with minimal stress. 

Inadequate food/water

Birds should always be provided with adequate water and food.  Birds competing for either food or water will always fight for limited resources.  It is advisable to hang weeds or vegetable which are rich in fibre to ensure that birds remain full and therefore eliminating the likelihood of pecking due to idleness or hunger.

Conclusion

Cannibalism if not managed can spread very fast to the entire flock. Whereas there are several causes that can cause pecking to escalate to serious levels, it is important to treat each case independently. Understanding the behavior your flock is crucial establishing the root cause cannibalism. 

What is a brooder?

A brooder is a structure designed to provide warmth to the chicks in the absence of the mother hen.  A good brooder should have adequate heat to ensure that chicks get enough warmth to avoid overcrowding which often leads to increased mortality rate.  Source of heat for this structure will range from kerosene lumps to electric bulbs.  

The amount of heat to be provided is dictated by the number chicks in the brooder.  The brooder should be adequately heated.  When the source of heat is inadequate, chicks are seen overcrowding near the source of the heat.  On the other hand, if the chicks are seen keeping off from the heat source, then it means that the heat is too much and thus should be reduced. Apart from proper heating, a good brooder should have dry litter, adequate feeders, and drinkers.  Care must be taken to avoid the dry litter from catching fire especially in cases where kerosene lumps or jikos are used. 

Before your one-day old chicks arrive, make sure that there is clean water and that the temperature within brooder is at 33 -35ºC.  The structure should also be disinfected a few days before the chicks are received.  Feeds should also be provided. For day old chicks, often you may have to dip the beaks of these chicks into the water to encourage them start drinking water.  Depending on your supplier, chicks can come when vaccinated but if that is not the case then you must organize for the same.  

Clean water and feeds…

Clean water and feeds should be available in the brooder throughout.  Proper hygiene should be maintained in the brooder to avoid cases of disease outbreaks.  If water is allowed to stay for long in the drinkers without being replaced, there is always likelihood of bacterial growth which might cause infections and disease. Feeds should be always kept clean.  One should avoid stale or moldy feeds which might also be the source of diseases or nutritional deficiency.  The number of feeders and drinkers to put in the brooder depends on the number of chicks. But what is important is ensuring that your birds get access to water and feeds easily. Clean your feeders and drinkers as more often as necessary. As a rule of thumb ensure that the entire poultry structure as well as the feeding equipment are clean always. This is the first step in keeping diseases at bay. Shallow drinkers are recommended to avoid the chicks drowning. The choice of feeders can vary but go for the ones that will ensure the chicks feed without causing wastage of food. Depending on the seasonal temperature and the housing type, the brooding can take 4-6 weeks.  The temperature should however be reduced steadily during the 6 weeks of brooding

Moulting is a natural process where hens shed and renew their feathers. During moulting hens reduce or even stop egg production. Many farmers are often left panicking when their chickens shade feathers overnight and stop laying eggs or drop egg production drastically.  The birds loose feathers gradually and bare patches of skins in different parts of the body are always seen.

What causes moulting?

Whereas moulting is a natural process, there are number factors (According to British Hen Welfare Trust) that can trigger it.

• Hormones secreted by the thyroid gland.
• Physical exhaustion and fatigue
• Completion of the laying cycle (birds lay eggs for a certain period)
• Reduction of day length, resulting in reduced feeding time and consequent loss of body weight.

Moulting and egg production

During moulting, your hen requires a lot proteins and calcium to facilitate new tissue and feather formation, this explains why her egg production declines due to the inadequacy of these nutrients.  It is therefore advisable to feed the birds with food richer in proteins and calcium to ensure that moulting does not take longer than expected.  Moulting has often time be used by farmers to tell good layers/high producers. Good layers take longer time before they moult and the process itself takes a shorter time. These hens may even lay eggs during moulting and cease laying few days before moulting climaxes. Poor layers resume moulting after shorter periods and the process normally takes longer time compared to the time taken by high producers. It seems poor layers like the moulting phase!

Moulting and cannibalism

Birds are left with bare patches of skins during moulting. This may tempt other birds to start pecking the moulting chickens and therefore causing physical harm. Deliberate efforts must, therefore, be put in place to ensure that birds do not harm one other during this inevitable yet natural process.

Summary 

Mouting process affects egg productivity of your birds and therefore proper care must be taken to ensure this phase is managed correctly. If moulting is left to take longer than expected, the farmer will incur more costs considering that hens will always record very poor production during this time. Proper nutrition should be given to the birds to ensure that they do not take too long in moulting process since this can adversely affect their bouncing back to normal production. Whereas this article has dwelled mainly on moulting in laying hens, it is important to mention that moulting affects even birds of other ages. So, if you happen to see your cock losing feathers, it could be as a result of moulting. Nevertheless, moulting should not be confused with cannibalism. 

1. Deficiencies of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals etc.
2. The consumption of toxic substances such as poisons.
3. Physical damage e.g., environmental extremes and injury.
4. Parasitic invasion – internal or external 
5. micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses.

Regardless of what causes the disease, its effects on poultry have seen many farmers count losses or abandon farming altogether. This article highlights some of the major routine practices that can be crucial is poultry disease prevention and management.

Vaccination 

Most of the poultry diseases can be prevented through vaccination. As they say prevention is better than cure, it is advisable that farmers vaccinate their birds against those diseases whose vaccines are available. In case of disease outbreak, birds vaccinated against such diseases have a higher chance of not getting infected as compared to those that were not vaccinated. Below is a list of these common poultry diseases:

• Avian encephalomyelitis
• Chicken anaemia
• Egg drop syndrome 76 (EDS 76)
• Fowl cholera
• Fowl pox
• Infectious bronchitis
• Infectious bursal disease
• Infectious coryza
• Infectious laryngotracheitis
• Marek’s disease

Quarantine sick birds

Sick birds should be segregated from the flock as soon as possible. Most poultry diseases are communicable, and some can wipe out the entire flock of birds with a short time if. After isolating the sick birds, call a qualified vet for diagnosis and treatment. Some farmers are known to vaccinate sick birds.  Never vaccinate sick birds. Proper diagnosis is important if the right medication is to be administered. 

Multi-age flocks

Older birds have better disease resistance than the younger ones.  Mixing young birds with the older ones make the former more vulnerable in case of a disease outbreak. 

Parasite control 

As mentioned above, parasites are some of the disease causative agents.  Birds should be inspected regularly for external parasites and the insecticides used in case of pest invasion. Treatment for worms should also be done regularly. 

Hygiene

Unhygienic conditions can breed some of the disease-causing microorganisms. Farmers should always observe hygiene if they are to keep some of these diseases at bay. Poultry house, waterers and feeders should always be kept clean.  Just like humans, birds should also be given clean water and feeds. 

Biosecurity 

There is a need to minimize the interaction of your birds with disease-causing agents such as wild birds.  Birds from neighboring farms can also be disease agents. To reduce the risk of diseases being brought to your farm by these agents, there is a need to set high standards of biosecurity. Farmers practicing free-range poultry farming method are often at high risk especially when there is a disease outbreak. 

Conclusion

Every poultry farmer desires for a disease-free environment for his or her birds.  Disease prevention and management require that several routine practices are put in place as mentioned above. Let us prevent them, before we are forced to look for the cure of these devastating diseases.