It is a rare chicken that will live completely disease-free, just like us and every other animal. If you're not familiar with keeping chickens, the first time one of your girls gets sick can be very stressful because the unknown seems overwhelming. This article aims to provide some basic information about some common chicken diseases, along with treatment options and links to more detailed information. Aussie Chook Supplies finds it useful to be aware of these diseases so that you can use this knowledge when you need it. There's also some general information about other health issues to be aware of... If you're new to chickens (you haven't had them before or haven't had them for a while), some of the information below may not be helpful to you. immediately relevant to you and your girls. However, it is still useful information to have and know...
In the wild, it became necessary for chickens to mask their diseases to avoid the chance that they might become prey for animals that would target them and increase their chances of survival. As a result, domestic chickens are very resilient animals and if they show symptoms, you should monitor them closely and intervene if their condition worsens.
The importance of quarantining new chicks
For several reasons, it is always a good idea to quarantine new chickens before adding them to your existing flock. Firstly, this gives you the opportunity to deworm and treat/prevent mites and lice if you don't know or suspect this hasn't been done recently.
Secondly, a new chicken can become stressed by the change of location and travel, and as a result this can cause sleeping sickness in a chicken that looked healthy when you first bought it. It's similar to how we can be fresh and healthy, but the stress of exercise can trigger a cold (or cold sore, for those of us familiar with cold sores). Quarantining new chooks allows them to recover or receive treatment in a less stressful environment, and minimizes the risk of your old established flock contracting a strain of disease to which they have no immunity.
Should you choose not to quarantine your new chickens because you do not have the space/facilities in your backyard or for some other reason, please be aware that you are putting both your new chicks and your existing chicks at risk. is about to get sick. Therefore, you need to be more aware of signs of illness and be prepared to treat them if necessary...
Mites and lice
Mites and lice are a common problem in poultry flocks and can be very persistent (read: difficult to eradicate). Both mites and lice are parasites that can feed on the chicken's blood, as well as feathers or skin waste (depending on the type). It is not unusual to see a few lice on a chicken and chickens should engage in the natural behavior of dust bathing to remove lice and mites as these are irritating to chickens.
A small number of lice can be easily treated, but an outbreak of lice or mites can cause significant health problems for your chickens if left untreated. Anemia is common in severe outbreaks, and the resulting weakness predisposes them to a number of other health problems.
The easiest and most cost-effective way to treat lice and mites is with Pestene powder. Another recommended product is Coopex (sold in our store), a permethrin-based insecticide spray that can be sprayed inside the chicken coop to prevent/kill mites and lice lurking in chicken coops. This product can also be used to spray chickens in place of Pestene powder and is very effective in treating an outbreak.
For more information about lice and mites, including the different types and photos, see the Good Samaritan Center on the Backyard Poultry website.
Worms and chickens
Chickens, like all other animals, are susceptible to worms. There are many different brands of chicken/poultry or bird worm solutions available from Aussie Chook Supplies, pet stores or wherever you buy your chicken feed. Follow the instructions on the label and it's pretty hard to go wrong. Most are small amounts that are measured and added to clean drinking water. Many chickens are reluctant to drink this water, so most owners withhold the water overnight and when they let the chickens out the next morning, they provide that day's worm water.
The first dose kills the hatched worms in your chicken, but not the eggs. Therefore, you should also remember to give a second dose 7-10 days after the first dose, to kill the new baby worms that were not present during the first dose.
After a while you may notice that the effectiveness of your dewormer decreases, so you may need to change the type of dewormer you use. You should also use a tapeworm treatment once a year to keep your girls in good health.
The role of stress in chicken diseases
Stress can cause sleeping sickness in a previously healthy chicken, and unfortunately, chickens can become stressed by a number of things, including:
* introduce him to a new environment (take your new chok home)
* introducing new chickens into your existing flock, which causes stress to your existing chickens,
* extreme and/or sudden weather changes (heat waves, long rainy periods, storms)
* is scared of enthusiastic dogs/small children
* attacks by foxes, wild cats, rats or birds of prey (crows, hawks, etc.).
Signs and symptoms of a sick chicken
Physical clues that a chicken may be sick include:
* runny or stuffy nose,
* bubbling or swollen eye,
* reduced activity (including not eating or drinking normally),
* crouch (or fluff their feathers),
* hanging tail,
* crouch (or fluff their feathers),
* changes in their stool,
* weakness or lethargy,
* sneezing, wheezing (as if you are having difficulty getting enough air) or a gurgling sound when breathing).
Chicken 'cold'
Chickens are susceptible to colds, with symptoms including sneezing, runny nose, breathing difficulties (just like humans) and swollen eyes. Usually the cause is mycoplasmic in origin (also called CRD or chronic respiratory disease) and resembles a common cold in humans. Dr. Colin Walker states on his website that "CRD is by far the most common and probably accounts for more than 80% of all chickens presenting with respiratory problems... Remember (as with many avian diseases) this is a stress component. , so for control the whole answer will not be the use of drugs.”
Given that CRD is called chronic, the fact is that birds affected may have recurring symptoms throughout their lives, so you will need to monitor their health (as you do with any pet). In times of stress (shedding, getting sick with another disease, introducing new flock members...) the surrogate chickens can excrete the bacteria and cause problems. That said, this does not mean that the surrogate chickens will continuously spread the disease to every chicken in your flock, every day, for the rest of their lives.
Good feed, a clean environment and basic care can often be enough to support the chickens' immune system to fight the virus on their own. If your chickens tend to sniffle a little occasionally, we recommend giving them Aussie Chook Supplies Healthy Chook Spice Mix or Aussie Chook Supplies Respiratory Support Spice Mix to strengthen their immune system and as a general health booster. Our spice blends are a blend of human-grade spices (including garlic and turmeric), milk powder and seaweed to provide micro levels of nutrients not commonly found in commercial foods.
If chickens become very weak, opportunistic secondary bacterial infections may occur and will most likely require treatment with antibiotics, available from your local vet. If you can keep stress levels low, introduce new herd members slowly (with a quarantine period) and increase their feeding during molting, you will reduce the spread of bacteria and the onset of CRD in your herd.
Transmission of diseases
It is very common for a majority of chicken keepers to say that their chickens are disease free, but it is probably more accurate to say that they are free of stress and symptoms. As described in this article, there are some common causes of illness, and stress can cause and/or worsen them.
If you have a closed flock (do not introduce new chicks until you have replaced the flock as a whole) and practice good husbandry, it is quite possible that you will experience very little or no disease in your chickens. When introducing new chickens, you may encounter some chicken disease, but who fed what to whom can be an ongoing problem.
To illustrate this issue, let's use the example of a chicken farmer who has three existing chickens in his flock and wants to introduce two new chickens without going through any quarantine procedures. Now the existing flock (until the introduction of the new chicks) was a closed flock and we assume they are in good health. All possible strains of disease (let's use CRD as an example) they can have are dormant and common to all of them.
The two new chicks were also healthy when purchased and showed no signs of illness. When the new chicks were introduced, one of the new chicks (the new favorite) became ill with CRD. Who made who sick? There are two possible explanations for this: the stress of the move caused a dormant CRD in the new chicken and it is now showing symptoms. Or was it a healthy chicken that was exposed to a new strain of CRD present in your flock that has no immunity and therefore became ill as a result of this exposure.
Both routes of transmission are very likely, and you don't know which route the transmission took place (i.e. who made who sick). To minimize the risks associated with the transmission of disease or illness, it is good practice to quarantine new chickens before introducing them to your existing flock.
First treatment for a sick chicken
If your chicken is showing a combination of the above symptoms and you are concerned and want to treat the bird, you can start by removing the bird from the others and providing it with clean, dry nesting material, protected from cold, wet and drafts. for food and water – a cardboard box with a towel over it in the wash is a common 'hospital wing'. If your chicken is really cold and lethargic, I encourage giving him a heat boost by placing him near a heater or carrying a heat pack (in a plastic bag to protect against possible poop accidents) - a sick chicken may need as many as 60. % of its energy trying to stay warm. Therefore, a warm environment is essential to help a sick chicken recover, as it can then use its energy to fight the cause of the illness (whatever that may be) rather than spending that energy trying to stay warm .
If your chicken isn't eating well and you're concerned, try enticing it to eat something. Porridge with honey, bread soaked in milk and honey/molasses, moistened cereal with honey/molasses, whatever. The name of the game here is to feed them energy and calorie dense foods to compensate for their weakness. When they eat, the energy is reused to fight the disease and this will help limit their movement. If you're really keen and willing, there is a special food combination, the Ricketts diet, that can be more tempting to a sick chicken and give him an energy boost. The 'recipe' for the Ricketts diets and further information and/or support for you if you wish to treat your sick chicken can be found at the Good Samaritan Center on the Backyard Poultry website.
If you are particularly concerned and are willing to do so, you can consult a specialist avian veterinarian for assistance. They will always discuss treatment options and costs so you can make an informed decision about what to do if your beloved pet is sick.
Coccidiosis and young chickens
If your chicken is sick and miserable, not active/eating/drinking, has blood in the stool, and has other symptoms listed here, it is often safe to assume he has coccidiosis - a disease that attacks the intestinal tissue of chickens . Young birds without built-up immunity to coccidiosis bugs are at greatest risk and, if left untreated, can die. Adult birds can also succumb to this disease. But as I said, this is a disease that can be treated with medications that are easily available, even though you may have to search a bit to find them.
If one of your chickens has coccidiosis, you can assume that the others have it too, albeit to a lesser extent. It is fine to treat them all with a coccidiocidal drug. For more detailed information about coccidiosis, click here.
Sudden death in chickens
Unfortunately, there are approximately 25 to 30 diseases that can cause the death of your beloved pet, including cancer, heart attack, etc. While it can be very upsetting to lose a chicken that was healthy yesterday, the only way to To be sure: whatever the cause of death was, take the fresh body to your specialized avian vet to perform a necropsy. The last time we did this, the total cost for some basic tests and autopsy was about $160.
More information?
It is always possible to contact us with your problem/concern and we will try to help you as best as possible. Besides us, the Backyard Poultry – Information Center is by far the best source of information that I regularly recommend to customers, not only about chicken diseases, but also about everything chicken related. For health-related topics, please consult the sub-forum 'The Good Samaritan Center'. If you cannot access certain information or view relevant images, please register as a member (top of the page).
And as always, if you are really concerned and willing to do so, a specialist avian veterinarian is the best option for treatment and advice for your sick chicken.
