Health Checking Your Chickens

 

*** Health Checking Your Chickens! ***

It's really important to health check your chickens and do 'daily' checks to ensure your flock is healthy, as just one poorly bird can infect your entire flock. The main source of illness transmission is via the water source... have you ever heard the term "we all drink from the same pot"? well this saying is rather fitting when it comes to chickens as they literally do all drink from the same drinker, hence the ease of illness transmission.

Carrying out a quick check on your hens daily will allow you to spot any health problems very quickly. This will allow you to manage and deal with the health issue before the problem becomes serious.

Simple Daily Checks

Eyes - Your chicken's eyes should be free from discharge, fully open, and bright.

Beak & Nostril's - Your chickens beak should be clean, dry and their nostril's should be clear of any discharge, crusts or dirt. Any discharge or crust could be a sign of cold or a respiratory infection.

Comb - The comb should be firm, upright and bright red if the chicken is in lay. Chickens that are not in lay could have a pale and floppy comb. It is worth mentioning that some breeds of chicken naturally have floppy combs, like the Leghorn. Younger chickens will have paler and smaller combs, which will increase in size as they mature.

Wattles - Wattles should be vibrant like the comb (same colour) and should be loosely hanging almost like males testicles, even more so on a cockerel. They should also be free of scabs/black scabs which could indicate mites and/or pox.

Droppings - The droppings should be firm and dark brown with white on them. 10% of their droppings will be sloppy. This is perfectly normal and is just a sign that your chickens gut is cleaning itself.

Feathers - Chickens feathers should be shiny and full. If there are any bald patches or the feathers look unkempt then this could be a sign of problem, such as lice or mites. Annual moults do occur when old feathers drop and are replaced with new feathers. 

Crop - The crop should be empty in the morning when you first let your chickens out. If the crop is full at this time is could indicate a blocked crop.

Legs - You should check the scales on the legs. They should be smooth and not lifting. If they are this could be an indication of scaly legs.

Feet & Pad - The feet should be smooth and clean and free from lifting/crusty scales. Lifting does occur has hens get older as the scales separate but the should not be crusty. The pads should also be smooth and clean and free of any scabs, which would indicate (bumblefoot).

Ears - Chickens ears are often coloured (for example) red or white or even blue. They should be free from dust, dirt, discharge and mites. And indicator of an ear problem would be your chicken scratching at the ear which possibly could be ear mite. The colour is NOT a problem and usually an indicator of what colour egg the hen will lay. 

Mouth - When opening the beak and looking into the mouth, this should be a nice pale red colour and be clean. If there is any crusts or a substance that looks like plaque or cheese then this could be a sign of canker. In the roof of their moth/beak there is a 'slit' that connects to their nose/nostril's, again this should be clean and clear of crusts or dirt. Any crusts or dirt should be cleared and could indicate a cold or respiratory illness.

Vent - The vent should be a pale red colour and again should be clean. It should be pulsating, almost like a pair of lips moving. If their is any sign or discharge which would be white in colour this should be cleaned and treated for (vent gleet).

Nails - A chickens nails are just like ours and constantly grow BUT should naturally wear down as they scratch about the ground for food etc. Along with their beak too! However, domesticated hens may not have access to free range which would naturally wear them down so periodically may need trimming. If you have to trim, be careful of the qwick, that runs 2 thirds of the nail otherwise it will bleed and is a pain to stop.

Overall Stance - Your chickens should be bright, alert, active, running about, searching for food, bickering and pecking at other members of the flock (pecking order), stretching their wings and generally should just be looking happy and healthy. If you have a chicken that's hunched, has dropped wings, pale in colour, sat in a corner by itself - then this should ring alarm bells with you and indicates you have a problem with that particular bird or within the flock. Any sick birds should be removed from the flock and treated immediately but don't forget to treat the ENTIRE flock, even if no symptoms are present as going back to the opening statement (they all drink from the same drinker) so transmission of illnesses are really common.

Preening and Dust Bathing - Healthy chickens preen and dust bath. It's part of their daily ritual and actually makes up 2 thirds of their overall daily activity. If you notice birds not preening or dust bathing then again this could be an indicator of a problem like lice or mites being present on the bird. 

None of the above is rocket science and should already be part of your daily or even weekly checks as part of being a poultry-keeper. An happy flock = an happy flockman! The aim of our articles are to educate and help other keepers, particularly new keepers who don't know these things and are keen to learn. We all started somewhere and as a novice keeper to, however having said that (everyday is a school day) and I am still learning myself even though I consider myself as an experienced poultry-keeper.

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