An unusual presentation of bacterial septicemia in broilers underscores the importance of obtaining a good history and obtaining input from bird caretakers, David French, DVM, a staff veterinarian with Sanderson Farms, told Poultry Health Today.
Broilers in two of the company’s divisions started getting sick at 35 to 40 days of age. There were respiratory signs as well as severe fibrin production in the abdominal cavity, particularly around the heart. “They had a pericarditis, a perihepatitis and a polyserositis that was so dramatic that visiting veterinarians were grabbing their cameras to get pictures of it,” French said.
