Infectious bronchitis 2

Clinical symptoms of respiratory infectious bronchitis

The incubation period is 36 hours or longer. It spreads quickly among chickens, has an acute onset, and has a high incidence rate. Chickens of all ages can be infected, but chicks aged 1 to 4 days are most seriously affected, with a high mortality rate. As the age increases, the resistance increases and the symptoms decrease.

Sick chickens have no obvious early symptoms. They often become ill suddenly and develop respiratory symptoms, which quickly spread to the entire flock.

Characteristics: breathing with mouth and neck stretched, coughing, serous or mucus secretions from the nasal cavity, and wheezing. It is more obvious at night. As the disease progresses, systemic symptoms worsen, including listlessness, loss of appetite, ruffled feathers, drooped wings, lethargy, fear of being crowded, and individual chickens’ sinuses are swollen, tearful, and gradually lose weight.

Young chickens present with sudden rales, followed by difficulty breathing, sneezing, and rarely nasal discharge. The respiratory symptoms of egg laying are mild, and the main manifestations are a decrease in egg production performance, the production of deformed eggs, sand-shell eggs, soft-shell eggs, and faded eggs. The albumen is as thin as water, and there is lime-like material deposits on the surface of the eggshell.