Adverse links between wet poultry litter, footpad dermatitis and common disease occurrences

Footpad dermatitis (FPD) starts as an erosion of the footpad skin, which can look like a dirty mark that develops into broken painful ulcers if the skin gets damaged. The prevalence rates are usually seen around 20%, also reaching as high as 100% in poor management.

The disease is diagnosed by the observation of inflamed brown-black spots on the footpad of the feet that develops into necrotic lesions that can vary in size from superficial to deep. Progressing deep ulcers may lead to chronic abscesses and fibrosis of underlying joint structures. In chickens, the lesion can also be found on the hocks. In severe cases, the lesion can act as an entry point for secondary infections, which can cause partial condemnation of the carcass in meat processing plants.

The 4-tier scale for lesion scoring of Footpad Dermatitis in Poultry

• – Normal, no lesion
• – Mild lesion
• – Moderate lesion
• – Severe lesion

There are a number of things that can influence whether or not birds show an incidence of FPD. The biggest single factor is the corrosive effect of wet or damp bedding resulting from high levels of moisture, feces, and ammonia. Water provision, stocking density, climatic conditions, ventilation, and even feed, all can have an effect. Topping up bedding material at least once a week is recommended by industry practices; moving from wet to dry litter condition has shown to result in rapid healing of the lesions, as well as improved growth rate.

Essentiolitt: A poultry litter dryer and ammonia binder, is an efficient bioaerosol cleanser that improves the biosecurity of the farm. It reduces the wetness of the litter and destroys pathogens by acting as a disinfectant. Its antimicrobial spectrum creates an unfavourable condition for bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella sp, P. multocida, Clostridium sp, Campylobacter sp. Additionally, it reduces ammonia concentration in the litter ensuring healthy farm practices and a disease-free environment.

It is composed of Aluminiumsulphates, salts of organic acids, and a blend of essential oils. The special feature of the product is its least cost and handy application. It can directly be sprinkled over the litter in powder form. It is GRAS accepted and 100% natural product developed for commercial-scale organic farming.