SUMMARY Michigan has abundant resources for outdoor activity including upland gamebird hunting in the wild and on licensed hunting preserves. Due to the popularity of hunting, Michigan had a thriving gamebird industry prior to the economic downturn of 2008/2009. After the economic downturn, the number of gamebird preserves decreased. In order to understand the health issues faced by captive gamebird raisers while the industry was thriving, a 25-year retrospective study of gamebird submissions to the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory from 1983 through 2008 was undertaken. Although pheasants, quail, partridges, grouse and mallard ducks were raised, pheasants were the predominant species submitted followed by quail. Causes for submission included parasitic, bacterial, viral and miscellaneous causes. Pheasant submissions greatly outnumbered all other gamebird species followed by quail. Parasitic diseases were predominant with coccidiosis being the leading diagnosis in pheasants and partridges and Capillaria sp. infestation of the crop prevailing in quail. Bacterial diseases were the next most predominant with clostridial enteritis, both necrotic and ulcerative, in quail while a variety of bacterial diseases were found in pheasants and partridges. Rotaviral enteritis and adenovirus were the most prevalent viral diseases in pheasants, adenovirus being the predominant viral disease in quail and paramyxovirus the most prevalent in partridges. From these findings, gamebird submissions should be closely screened for parasitic diseases and the diagnosis confirmed at necropsy through scraping and examination of affected tissues.
Skip Nav Destination
Close
Article navigation
case report|
August 21 2020
Common Diseases of Michigan Gamebirds: A Retrospective Study
Richard M Fulton, D.V.M, Ph.D.;
Richard M Fulton, D.V.M, Ph.D.
Michigan State University Reviewer Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory 4125 Beaumont Road UNITED STATES Lansing MI 48910 517-353-3701 517-353-3701
Search for other works by this author on:
R. M. Fulton
R. M. Fulton
Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
Search for other works by this author on:
Avian Dis (2020)
Article history
Received:
June 16 2020
Revision Received:
August 14 2020
Accepted:
August 18 2020
Citation
Richard M Fulton, R. M. Fulton; Common Diseases of Michigan Gamebirds: A Retrospective Study. Avian Dis 2020; doi: https://doi.org/10.1637/aviandiseases-D-20-00069
Download citation file:
Close
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your Institution
3
Views
0
Citations
Citing articles via
Comparison of naturally-occurring versus experimental infection of Staphylococcus aureus septicemia in Laying Hens in two different age groups
Meaghan Meyer, Elizabeth Bobeck, Yuko Sato, Mohamed El-Gazzar
Infectious Bronchitis Virus Prevalence, Characterization and Strain Identification in California Backyard Chickens
Omar Antonio Gonzales Viera, Beate Crossley, Francisco Carvallo-Chaigneau, Emily Blair, Daniel Rejmanek, Őzge Erdoǧan-Bamac, Karen Sverlow, Alejandra Figueroa, Rodrigo A Gallardo, Aslı Mete
Longitudinal serological monitoring of commercial broiler breeders for fowl adenoviruses (FAdVs) – presence of antibodies is linked with virus excretion
Amin Mirzazadeh, Beatrice Grafl, Evelyn Berger, Anna Schachner, Michael Hess
An Uncommon Case of Trueperella pyogenes Infection in an Adult Backyard Rooster and a Retrospective Study; 2000-2020
Ana P Silva, H. L. Shivaprasad, Carmen Jerry, Simone T Stoute
Outbreaks of Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus in goslings characterized by central nervous symptoms
Claudia Hess, D. Jandreski-Cvetkovic, D. Liebhart, I. Bilic, M. Hess