Mycotoxinsare chemical substances secreted by fungi in the surrounding areas. The mostcommon toxins are ochratoxin and aflatoxin, which infect poultry as a result oftheir growth in the fodder. There are other types, such as T-2 toxin, tumonisins,and zearalenone.
These fungialso grow in the stored fodder in the silos, during transportation, and in importships, as transportation and storage take a long time. And then, when the fodderarrives at the farm or the hangar, the methods of storage, such as storing thefodder in places exposed to the sun and heat or in places with high humidity orpoor ventilation, and also when putting the fodder directly on the ground,represent an important factor in the growth of these fungi and that’s by Forms offungal poisoning:
• Acutefungal poisoning:
It occurswhen birds eat fodder with a high concentration of mycotoxins, causing them to beweak, lethargic, with ruffled feathers, and a yellow face.
• Chronicfungal poisoning:
It occurswhen birds eat fodder contaminated with low-concentration mycotoxins. This typeof infection is of great economic impact and causes the following symptoms:
- Loss of appetite, intestinal infections, and diarrheaof varying severity that make chickens weigh less than the required weight atthe end of the fattening period.
- Decrease in the efficiency of food conversion,bleedings in the form of red spots and sometimes blue bruises that spreadthroughout the muscles of the body and under the skin.
- Decreased egg production and high daily mortalityrate.
- Repeated occurrence of disease infections as a resultof weak immunity.
- Toxic effects on the liver, enlargement of the liver,and the change of its color to congested or yellow.
- Mycotoxins cause immunodeficiency, enlargement of thespleen and kidneys, kidney failure, especially the ochratoxin toxins, they alsocause an increase in water consumption, bleeding in various organs of the bodyand under the skin, and also cause ascites in the abdomen.
Treatment:
Putting anti-mycotoxins in the birds’ drinking water for 10 days, while using asuitable and powerful anti-toxin that eliminates all types of toxins.
Chemicalantitoxins:
It contains a number of organic acids such as acetic acid, propionic acid, citric acid,malic acid, and tartaric acid. These acids convert these toxins into non-toxicsubstances, and the body excrete them through the kidneys.
Biological antitoxins:
Extractedfrom cell walls such as the cell walls of mannan, beta-glucan, and some livebacteria, such as lactobacillus. These natural substances absorb toxins ontheir surfaces, preventing their absorption into the body and excretion fromthe body.
**Theanti-toxin must contain a diuretic in order to help expel the toxins, convertthem into non-toxic substances, and excrete them through the kidneys. It mustcontain a liver stimulant such as (silymarin, betaine, sorbitol, L-carnitine)as it treats the damage caused by the toxins in the liver, so, it will functionwell, and so will the gallbladder, as the bile juice plays an important role inremoving toxins from the body.
