Gout in Poultry

Gout in Poultry

When you hear the word Gout

I bet your pet chicken isn't the first

thing that pops into your mind.

Well, guess what...

Chickens can get gout and it kills.

So what is gout?

Gout is a chronic and progressive disease.

It is caused by too much uric acid in the body.

The excessive uric acid leads to the 

formation of tiny crystals of urate that

lodge in the tissues and joints.

When these crystals lodge in the joints 

they cause lots of pain and joint destruction.

They can also lodge in the kidney, 

reducing kidney function and in poultry,

 it can lead to rapid death.

How does gout happen and affect my birds?

Birds excrete nitrogenous waste 

as urate bound with mucus in their urine.

Renal disease decreases the amount of uric acid removed from 

the blood causing an acute or chronic increase in uric acid in the body.

Most cases of gout in poultry are a result of dehydration,

eating laying feed before laying age (>3% calcium content),

renal infection by renal damaging strains of 

infectious bronchitis or infection by a 

avian nephritis (causes inflammation of the kidney) virus.

Chronic disease is less common,

but is seen in cases with chickens with hereditary defects in

uric acid metabolism or that are fed excessive protein.

Gout and Kidney Stones.

The same excess urate acid crystals that cause

gout can also build up in the kidney and create 

kidney stones

Kidney stones are common in older laying chickens.

Most cases are due to feeding 

high-calcium laying feed to hens not in egg production,

infection with infectious bronchitis virus, or

severe Vitamin A deficiency.

If the kidney stones cause a complete blockage

in both ureters the birds will die . 

If the blockage is incomplete or

only affects one ureter the birds will survive,

but in a compensated state, 

suffering with renal failure and chronic

urate deposits in the joint spaces.

How do I know if my chicken has Gout?

The symptoms of gout are pretty 

vague and could be similar to many other diseases.

Most birds are depressed and lose weight.

I have been told by some breeders that

their birds would crouch or sit and

their combs and wattles would be pale.

These birds usually died within hours of the 

onset of these symptoms.

The only way to know that your bird

has gout is to have them tested after they die

with a necropsy.

Some birds will develop malformed toes 

and feet from the buildup of urate crystals in the

joints of the feet.

Prevention

To prevent gout in your flock

wait to feed your birds laying feed until after they

have started laying. 

Don't start your birds on layer feed 

before they begin laying,

 it's not necessary, it wont make them 

start laying any sooner and is 

potentially very dangerous.

If possible, don't give your roosters laying feed.

Don't give your birds extra protein.

Feeding things like canned cat food or

game bird feed, both of which are very high

in protein, can be very dangerous for your birds.

Try to keep your birds secure and always

quarantine any new birds.

You don't want to introduce any virus or disease,

some of which are damaging to the kidneys.

Make sure your birds always have access to 

clean, fresh water. 

Dehydration, especially during these

hot summer months can be very damaging to the 

kidneys and result in sudden losses or 

chronic kidney disease.

I hope this post has been helpful,

if you have any questions or comments 

please email me!

Enjoy your feathered friends!