PICA is a frequent disease in chicken production, also known as Pica, Pica, pecking, and so on. Pecking behavior of chickens is mainly caused by poor feeding management, improper feed modulation, environmental stress and other factors. It can be divided into feather-pecking, toe-pecking, anus-pecking, egg-pecking and other foreign body PICTOPHILIA.

1, the epidemic characteristics of the disease in winter and early spring, once the occurrence will be widespread. Seriously pecked by the anal feathers, tail feathers, back feathers were all pecked light, its skin exposed. 2. Common type of predilection 

(1) predilection for feather pecking is common in the period of chick moult and the peak period of hen laying eggs and moult. Feather-pecking is related to deficiency of sulfur amino acid, sulfur and B vitamins. About 70% of the chickens in captivity had a slight feather pecking habit, and about 30% ~ 40% of them had a serious feather pecking. Feather pecking is divided into self pecking and mutual pecking. Self pecking is caused by the imbalance of calcium and phosphorus in vitamins, micronutrient and feed. A peck is when a few chickens gang up on a chicken. 

(2) meat pecking can occur in chickens of all ages. Chickens pecked each other’s feathers or pecked off the feathers, was pecked chicken skin exposed, bleeding, developed pecking, some chickens pecked through the stomach, pecked out the internal organs and died. 

(3) pecking anus, easy to occur in the breeding period, especially when chickens occurred white dysentery, can cause a few or a group of chicken pecking, often due to the rectum, internal organs were pecked out and died. In addition, laying hens in the egg or mating, CLOACA eversion will be pecked by other hens, resulting in bleeding, prolapse and even death. 

(4) pecking at eggs, breeding hens are prone to pecking at eggs during peak laying season. Egg peckers occur mainly in layers, especially in high-yielding flocks. Feed lack of calcium or inadequate protein content, resulting in chicken soft-shell eggs, soft-shell eggs were crushed or eggs in the nest and the ground was broken after the trigger pecking. 

(5) the chicks are prone to toe-picking. Toe-pecking is more common when the feet of chickens are attacked by ECTOPARASITES, direct sunlight, the toes blood vessels are very small insects will also cause chickens peck each other’s toes, causing bleeding and lameness, and some chickens even toes were pecked. 

(6) PICA, suffering from a variety of malnutrition, chickens often peck a indigestible things, such as lime, feces, Straw, and so on. Chickens Need Grit to digest their food, and if they lack it, they often pick up foreign objects.

3, Causes Pecking 

(1) breed factor, native breed chicken and egg breed chicken easy pecking. Precocious hens are prone to pecking. 

(2) feed factors, improper ration mix, low protein content in the Diet, one or more of lysine, methionine, leucine, Tryptophan and CYSTINE are insufficient or too high, and vitamin deficiency will affect the growth and development of chicken Lack of minerals and micronutrient causes poultry to prefer salty blood stains; lack of coarse fiber and gravel, lack of coarse fiber, chicken intestine peristalsis is not sufficient, easy to cause feather pecking, anal pecking and other vices. 

(3) environmental factors, poor ventilation, high concentration of harmful gases, light is too strong or light uncomfortable, poultry house humidity, temperature is too high, poultry dysentery prone to Anal Peck. 

(4) disease factors, E. Coli, white dysentery and so on can cause feather pecking, anus pecking; chicken suffering from chronic enteritis, poor absorption of nutrients can cause peck each other; female poultry oviduct or Cloaca Eversion can also cause pecking; when poultry suffering from indigestion or Coccidiosis, adhesion of dirt around the anus can also lead to feather pecking, which can be induced by surface trauma, bleeding or inflammation. The chicken body surface has feather louse, Thorn Skin Mite, ringworm and so on parasite, the parasite stimulates the skin, causes self-pecking, sometimes self-pecks causes the traumatic hemorrhage, causes other chicken to chase pecks. 

4. Prevention and treatment

(1)Cutting off the beak is an effective way to prevent predilection for pecking. The first beaks were cut off at the age of 7-9 days, the upper beaks were cut off 1/2, the lower beaks were cut off 1/3, and the second beaks were cut off at the age of 12 weeks. In order to reduce the bleeding during beak-cutting, 1% ~ 2% multivitamin can be added in the drinking water one day before beak-cutting, and used for 3 days, feed should be added more than usual in the feed trough within 3D after beak-cutting to avoid pecking pain affecting feed intake. 

(2) to make a rational ration, a high-quality and full-price ration to meet the nutritional needs of chickens at all growth stages, with special attention to the supply of vitamins a, D, E and B vitamins, Cystine, methionine and micronutrient. In the case of nutritionally induced pecking, the Diet composition can be adjusted, for example, the energy feed can be reduced and the protein content of the Diet can be increased in the case of lack of crude fiber, the proper amount of bran or green feed can be added to the feed, the content of crude fiber is up to 5% . In the absence of micronutrient, it can be supplemented and balanced with copper sulfate, iron(2+) sulfate (anhydrous) , zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, disodium selenite, bone meal, Dicalcium phosphate, Shell or stone meal. For the pecking disease caused by salt deficiency, 1.5% ~ 2% salt could be added to the Diet for 3 ~ 4 days. If lack of sulphur, can add 1% sodium sulfate to feed continuously 4 days, change to 0.1% of the conventional dosage after effective. 

(3) strengthen management, reduce stress, daily feeding, water, cleaning, with enough water dispenser, Trough, to prevent hunger caused by pecking. Strict control of temperature and humidity, to avoid environmental discomfort caused by crowded stack, fidgety, increased peck. The temperature of the Brooder was 32 °c ー35 °c one week before brooding, and the relative humidity was 65% ー70% at 20 °C, 60% ー65% at 15 °C ー27 °C at laying stage. Strengthen ventilation, reduce the harmful gas content in the house