As a chicken owners and poultry farmer, there are some skill you should know in helping you to maintain healthy flock.
Luckily to make your job a bit easier, chickens like all animals have several warning signs to tell us when they are sick. In the beginning, those signs are subtle, but if you know what to look for you can save yourself and your chicken from loads of these sickness.
Warning Signs Of A Sick Chicken are :
Dull feathers with or without bald patches. This is an easy one to spot and can mean many different things. Hen pecking, external parasites, seasonal molting or illness should be first on your radar if you see lackluster feathers. A healthy and happy hen should have shiny thick feathers.
A dull comb and/or wattle. A healthy chicken will have a bright red comb and wattle. The comb and wattle are the extra skin above and below the head. If you notice the color is dull and the comb or wattle looks dried out it is time to look further. Illness, poor diet or overcrowded conditions can all lead to this so you will need to dig a little deeper.
Disinterest at feeding time. For me, one of the top warning signals with any animal is loss of appetite. Feeding time is the best time to look over your birds since they tend to stay at least somewhat still. If you have a bird off to the side or completely away from the flock you may have a sick bird. If it is warm out, check immediately for heat stress.
Coughing or raspy breathing. Although this is a late term warning sign it is not always a death sentence. I have had coughing hens before that recovered completely to return to the flock. The trick is to act fast to first save your hen and second keep any possible contagious illness from the rest of your flock.
Dirty back end. This one is easier on some birds than others. This year, I have all Black Star Hens and unless the mess is white I will miss it. In my case, I need to check my coop and run at every feeding. Yes, by inspecting my chicken’s poo I am able to catch any parasite problems before they become widespread. Runny is normal for some hens, but if it is different than normal or has an overly foul odor take note.
Hunched up Hen. If you notice one of your gals is hunched up, something is wrong. She is either in pain or sick. Usually, my hunched up hens are moving pretty slowly or not at all so they are a bit easier to spot.
More often than not when I pick up a hen with one or more of these symptoms I will see she is thin and weak. Chickens like most animals will hide when they are sick and unless you are watching daily you will miss the early warning signs.
So, what do you do if you have a hen with one or more symptom on this list? I always err on the side of caution. I have found that isolating the hen in question is the best and most effective way to keep my flock healthy.
Anything will do to house your sick gal, but if you need ideas you can ready my post What to Do If You Have a Sick Chicken to get tips. Once you have your hen away from the flock you will be able to inspect her more closely and decide on a plan of attack. Choosing between home care and calling on a vet all depends on the situation.
Watch your animals daily so you will notice any changes as soon as they happen. Catching things early can be the difference between life and death in livestock so keep your eyes open.
These skills are very important to chicken owners.
