Gout in Poultry: Welfare Management of Urate Deposition Disease

Visceral and articular gout cause significant pain and welfare compromise in poultry through urate crystal deposition in joints and organs.

Key Facts

• Visceral gout causes white urate deposits on internal organs from renal failure
• Articular gout deposits urate crystals in joints causing painful swelling and mobility impairment
• High-protein diets, mycotoxins, and nephrotropic infections (IBD, IB) predispose to visceral gout
• Affected birds show depression, reluctance to move, and in visceral cases, sudden death
• Prevention through appropriate protein levels, mycotoxin control, and vaccination is more effective than treatment

Welfare Considerations

Gout in poultry causes welfare suffering through two distinct pathways. Visceral gout causes renal failure with urate deposition on internal organs — affected birds deteriorate rapidly and die, often without external signs. Articular gout deposits crystals in hock and toe joints causing painful, visibly swollen joints that impair mobility, feeding behavior, and social participation. Affected birds display pain behaviors including sitting, reluctance to walk, and separation from the flock. Prevention requires appropriate dietary protein management, mycotoxin monitoring in feed ingredients, and vaccination against nephrotropic viral infections. Allopurinol can reduce urate production in articular cases but is rarely practical at flock level.

What You Can Do

• Ensure dietary protein levels match the age and production stage of birds — excess protein increases gout risk
• Monitor feed ingredients for mycotoxin contamination using rapid test kits
• Vaccinate against infectious bronchitis strains that cause nephrotropic kidney damage
• Identify and cull birds with severe articular gout humanely — these birds cannot be treated effectively
• Investigate any cluster of kidney lesions at slaughter — these indicate flock-level gout risk