Poultry

Symptoms of mycotoxicosis Sub-Clinical:

  • Early mortality
  • Vaccine failure
  • Immunosuppression
  • Increased downgrades
  • Higher disease incidence

Symptoms of mycotoxicosis Clinical:

  • Reduced health
  • Poor fertility
  • Low egg production
  • Poor hatchability and embryonic mortality
  • Poor egg shell quality
  • Tibial dyschondroplasia
  • Poor feathering
  • Diarrhea
  • Lesions of the beak
  • Liver/Kidney & bone disorders
  • Kidney damage
  • Poor performance
  • Reduced egg size
  • Poor growth
  • Reduced feed conversion
  • Leg problems
  • Carcass condemnation
  • Mouth lesions
  • Intestinal lesions

Aflatoxin affects all poultry species. There is no acceptable or safe dose of mycotoxins. A dose that does not affect flocks for the short term could be toxic over prolonged periods of time.

Feed is the main culprit for bringing in mycotoxins into the poultry production. Straw may also be contaminated with concentrations of mycotoxins at the harvest time, although any kind of litter can be polluted during unfavorable storage conditions.

Mycotoxin levels found in most field situations tend to be low. Yet the combination of low levels of mycotoxins with the stresses associated with commercial production situations and/or exposure to disease organisms can increase and antagonize effects in poultry which otherwise are usually lower and undetectable.