A Family Guide To Keeping Chickens (46 page)

Regular checks (see
Chapter 8
) will help you to spot potential problems early. When a hen reaches the stage where illness is immediately obvious (hunched and miserable), she is likely to be in a bad way and difficult to save. She may have spread infection to other chickens too.

A sick hen may be bullied and even turned out of the flock to protect the health of the others, so chickens are good at hiding their suffering. It will take a sharp-eyed owner to notice that one of the flock isn’t herself.

Always separate any chicken that appears unwell or is injured. Ideally the sick bird should be placed in a small coop within sight of the others so they don’t pick on her when she returns. Alternatively the patient can be installed in a large box – make sure she is safe from predators and vermin.

A sick chicken – by this stage she will be difficult to save

A normal dropping

You can tell a lot about your chickens’ health from their droppings. A standard dropping is brownish with a white tip (the urine). About one dropping in every ten will be sloppier and frothy. Occasionally a chicken will have a loose dropping or two, possibly as a result of something eaten, but if this continues it should be investigated, as should any other variations from the norm.

Appreciating the Causes of Disease

Factors that can contribute to poor health include the following, some of which have already been discussed in earlier chapters:

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Overcrowding

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Incorrect feeding

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Lack of clean water

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Lack of ventilation

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Poor hygiene

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Contact with vermin and wild birds

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Internal worms

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Keeping young stock with adult birds

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Dust and ammonia

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Infection brought from outside

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Stress

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External parasites

Keep the chicken coop clean to help prevent infection

Chickens are particularly susceptible to respiratory diseases. Ammonia breaks down the defences that help prevent harmful organisms from gaining access to the lungs, air-sacs and hollow bones of the chicken.

Keep dust to a minimum and don’t leave cleaning the coop until it starts to smell of ammonia.

A healthy flock can quickly be turned into a sickly one. Always keep new birds in isolation for at least three weeks. Don’t let them come into contact with the existing flock and be careful not to transfer disease yourself.

Many organisms can be communicated via human contact, clothing, boots and vehicles. Change after visiting a poultry sale, a show or even a neighbouring flock. Always disinfect carrying crates thoroughly and don’t lend poultry equipment (or poultry) to others.

Chickens are easily affected by stress. When you consider the number of animals wanting to eat them, maybe they do have reason to be a little nervous.

Any of these could give your chickens cause for concern:

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Being moved

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Being handled if they are not used to it

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The addition of new birds

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Any sudden changes to their routine or feeding

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Possible predators

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Low-flying aircraft

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Rain or hailstorms

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Becoming soaked in a downpour

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Snow (both when it arrives and when it goes, due to the change of ground colour)

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Sudden loud noises

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Parasites

Stress makes chickens more vulnerable to infections. When stressful situations occur, they will benefit from a boost to their immune systems (e.g. apple cider vinegar or a vitamin supplement).

Combating External Parasites

You may have realized that there is a constant war between the poultry keeper and the various insects that torment chickens. Frequent checking of the birds and henhouse, thorough cleaning and the use of repellents are all weapons in this war, which has to be won if your chickens are to survive.

This may seem a bit extreme but some parasites can kill chickens or at least weaken them badly. Many are carried by wild birds so netting the top of the chicken run is a sensible precaution.

Prevention is better than cure because some of these bloodsuckers are very difficult to shift. Let’s start with the number one enemy:

These are tiny grey/brown insects that turn red after they have fed on the chickens’ blood. They live in the henhouse (rarely on the birds) and come out at night to feed. In warm weather they can reproduce in a week and are able to survive in empty henhouses (i.e. without food) for months.

Red mite can transmit infections but more commonly their attentions make the birds anaemic and weak. A bad infestation can result in fatalities.

Clumps of red mite – greatly magnified