Day 091 - 17 Feb 95 - Page 51


     
     1        then they obviously have been developing the condition on
     2        the farm.
     3
     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Put simply, that breed of bird is too big for
     5        its lung size, is it?
     6        A.  That is put-- yes, that is correct.
     7
     8   MR. MORRIS:  How long can the bird have that disease for before
     9        it dies, normally?
    10        A.  It is very difficult to know because the condition
    11        develops gradually and I suppose it takes four or five days
    12        for the condition to develop to a point where the bird may
    13        actually die.  It may be a little bit longer than that,
    14        I am not sure.
    15
    16   MS. STEEL:   Is there a problem with fatty liver and kidney
    17        syndrome at Sun Valley Poultry?
    18        A.  No, we do not have a problem with it.  We always do see
    19         ----- a small number of birds will normally die from the
    20        condition around 18 days of age, but it is only a few
    21        and  -----
    22
    23   Q.   A few, what, per shed or what?
    24        A.  Just a few in a shed, yes.
    25
    26   Q.   A few is a bit difficult; people have different views.  How
    27        many are you saying?
    28        A.  Well, say, you have a 20,000 bird shed at 18 to 20 days
    29        which is the time you would see fatty liver kidney
    30        syndrome, you might lose 15 in a house in a single day, and
    31        the condition may be lasts for a couple of days and then it
    32        disappears.
    33
    34   Q.   Is that connected to the diet and the breed of chickens
    35        that are used in broiler houses?
    36        A.  It is very difficult to know exactly what the
    37        connection is.  There is certainly dietary relationships to
    38        fatty liver kidney syndrome and it may be a marginal, it
    39        has been shown to related to a biotin deficiency.  There
    40        may be a marginal biotin deficiency just over that period.
    41
    42   Q.   What about acute death syndrome?
    43        A.  This is just something where it is well-recognised in
    44        birds, that they can have a heart attack and die, and that
    45        is really about it.  You cannot really make any more
    46        comments than that.
    47
    48   Q.   Is that fairly common?
    49        A.  You will always see some birds dying from that in any
    50        broiler shed. 
    51 
    52   Q.   Including Sun Valley? 
    53        A.  Anywhere in the world.
    54
    55   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is that something particularly related to
    56        broilers or birds of all species?
    57        A.  No, I think it is related to broiler birds, my Lord.
    58
    59   MS. STEEL:   Is that connected to stress?
    60        A.  Well, we do not really know, we do not really know.

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