Keeping Chickens: Chicken Health

Generally, chickens are very easy to keep and maintain. The Rhode island red chicken in particular is a hardy and adaptable bird with very basic needs. On occassion though, your chickens may become ill or need extra care to address an ailment. It is good practice to familiarise yourself with some of the more common ailments in chickens and know what symptoms to look out for. Most common diseses when spotted early can be cured realtively easily.

As always though, prevention is the key to keeping your chickens healthy. Good husbandry and a proper cleaning and maintainance routine will go a long way towards preventing parasites and disese from taking hold in your coop. In the event of a bird showing signs of illness, timely intervention will reduce the risk of it spreading to the rest of your flock. For this reason it is essential to observe your chickens regurlarly for any signs of stress or disease and to know what signs to look out for.

Remember:

• Keep your chicken coop clean and well maintained. Sanitise regularly using a commercial disinfectant solution.
• Keep food and drinking utensils clean and store food in proper containers where it cant be soiled by dampness, rodents or other pests.
• Take time to observe your flock and familiarise yourself with the symptoms of the more common chicken ailments and act swiftly when you notice anything unusual.
• Dont overcrowd your chicken coop. Be aware of the available space and dont keep more birds than your coop can accommodate.
• Make sure that your coop is constructed and located in such a way as to keep your hens feeling safe and secure. Keeping your chickens free from stress will go a long way towards keeping them healthy and disease free.
• Dont wait untill you have an emergency to find a vet that will treat your chickens. Not all vets will so it is worth finding out where you can get treatment and advice before you actually need to go looking for it.
• Keep a 'medicine chest' with a supply of commonly used treatments so they are immediately to hand if and when you need them.
• Keep an infra red heatlamp to hand should you need to isolate a sick hen and keep it warm while it is being treated. Moving a sick bird into a heated enclosure is one of the quickest ways of improving their condition and increasing their chances of survival.

Some common problems for the average chicken keeper-

Worms
 
Chickens are affected by several different types of worms such as Round Worms, Tape Worms, Gape Worms, Hair Worms, Gizzard Worms and Caecal Worms.
All worms are a type of Endoparasite, so called because the reside inside the body.

The syptoms of worms in chickens vary according to the type of worm present but it can be assumed that at some stage your chickens will need to be wormed as a matter of routine. Most chicken keepers worm their flock at least twice a year.

The cysts that cause worms in chickens are picked up from the ground as the hen pecks around for food. If your chickens are free range and grazing on open ground they are almost certain to contract worms and should be treated frequently. If you have a portable chicken run, moving the run to fresh ground frequently will help keep the number of worm eggs in the ground to a minimum and your hens will be less likely to become infected. Keeping grass cut short is also helpful as the UV rays in the sun steralise the ground and kill the eggs.

Typical products used to treat worms in poultry include Flubenvet, Solubenol and Ivermectin.
While Ivermectin is only available on prescription from your vetrinarian, Solubenol and Flubenvet are available over the counter. If a prescription drug like Ivermectin is used, your vet will advise on the correct dose and administration. Make sure to stick rigidly to these dosages as over treatment can have disastrous consequences. The use of Ivermectin can also have implications for eggs being used for human consumption so be sure to follow the advice from a vetrinarian on the use of this particular product.

If you are raising organic chickens or using them to  produce organic eggs, Verm-X and Worm-R are natural products free from chemicals and are more suitable for this type of use.

Whatever treatment you use for worms your birds will become re-infected through exposure to worm eggs as they graze on open ground so a good treatment regime based around the natural life cycle of worms is essential in the ongoing care of your chickens.
All of the above treatments are administered through the drinking water so treatment is relatively easy.

More about chicken health