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No doubt about this topic, every
one that keep chicken for one reason or the other want to keep the healthy one,
this is good idea because it will bring out the expected result.
No one wants to keep poultry birds and want to run it without good result. Keeping healthy chickens will not just come like that but requires some minor effort to be put into practices on daily basis or weekly routines.
A few basic principles of good chicken management have a reliable impact on their healthy and longevity. Here are number of small steps that can be taken to promote healthy chickens.
No one wants to keep poultry birds and want to run it without good result. Keeping healthy chickens will not just come like that but requires some minor effort to be put into practices on daily basis or weekly routines.
A few basic principles of good chicken management have a reliable impact on their healthy and longevity. Here are number of small steps that can be taken to promote healthy chickens.
1. Provide correct and
balanced feed leads to
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As this may sound to you haring, chicken must be feed
properly and correctly to perform optimally and to be healthy.
Well fed chickens lay more eggs, grow faster, produce better meat, and have better immune systems to fight against disease. Chickens are like kids, though you have to supervise their diets.
Even if they have a large area of land to forage on, they need at least part of their diet to come from commercial feed so they get all the nutrients they need.
Not only will they eat almost anything, whether it is nutritious or not, but a chunk of land just doesn’t provide the nutrition that chickens need.
Unlike domestic chickens, wild chickens that get all their nutrition from Mother, nature have plenty of space to roam and hunt to meet their needs.
Well fed chickens lay more eggs, grow faster, produce better meat, and have better immune systems to fight against disease. Chickens are like kids, though you have to supervise their diets.
Even if they have a large area of land to forage on, they need at least part of their diet to come from commercial feed so they get all the nutrients they need.
Not only will they eat almost anything, whether it is nutritious or not, but a chunk of land just doesn’t provide the nutrition that chickens need.
Unlike domestic chickens, wild chickens that get all their nutrition from Mother, nature have plenty of space to roam and hunt to meet their needs.
2. Healthy chickens need clean
water always
Having clean water available at all times is one of the best
ways to keep your chickens healthy and productive. Chickens need water
available to lay well, grow quickly, and perform all of life’s functions.
Making sure water is available, even in winter, is essential to their health. Chickens can be a bit fussy about water. They do not like water that is too warm or flavored strongly.
If they don’t drink freely, they don’t eat as much, and that starts affecting their production and health. Make sure chickens have clean, fresh water at all time.
Making sure water is available, even in winter, is essential to their health. Chickens can be a bit fussy about water. They do not like water that is too warm or flavored strongly.
If they don’t drink freely, they don’t eat as much, and that starts affecting their production and health. Make sure chickens have clean, fresh water at all time.
3. Clean coops
regularly result to
A clean coop is a healthier one, chickens have sensitive
respiratory system or track that are easily irritated by mold and ammonia from
accumulated dropping.
Therefore clean coops are less likely to house external parasites such as mites and poultry lice.
Therefore clean coops are less likely to house external parasites such as mites and poultry lice.
4. Cleaning and dusting
areas contribute to healthy chickens
Coop cleanliness is a sure fire way to promote good health in
your backyard flock. Spending a little time each day scooping up
droppings and discarding loose feathers is a great way to prevent illness and promote healthy chickens.
Soiled and wet bedding is a breeding ground for harmful disease causing organisms. Some simple tools I like to have handy are a hand shovel for scooping, a scraper for stubborn stuck on waste, a metal rake and shovel for when the bedding needs to be completely mucked out and replaced which I usually do about every month.
My hens simply go crazy at the sight of fresh straw in their house. The Backyard Chicken Coops designs have removable metal cleaning trays, which make this process even easier; in fact it becomes a breeze to clean!
Now, enter the mighty Apple Cider Vinegar! ACV is a wonderful natural cleaner for the entire chicken coop, feeders and drinkers.
Just mix a few teaspoons of ACV with water in a spray bottle and then wipe off with a sponge or rag. Routine use will help to disinfect and inhibit dust, mildew, mold, and odors from forming in your coop.
Soiled and wet bedding is a breeding ground for harmful disease causing organisms. Some simple tools I like to have handy are a hand shovel for scooping, a scraper for stubborn stuck on waste, a metal rake and shovel for when the bedding needs to be completely mucked out and replaced which I usually do about every month.
My hens simply go crazy at the sight of fresh straw in their house. The Backyard Chicken Coops designs have removable metal cleaning trays, which make this process even easier; in fact it becomes a breeze to clean!
Now, enter the mighty Apple Cider Vinegar! ACV is a wonderful natural cleaner for the entire chicken coop, feeders and drinkers.
Just mix a few teaspoons of ACV with water in a spray bottle and then wipe off with a sponge or rag. Routine use will help to disinfect and inhibit dust, mildew, mold, and odors from forming in your coop.
5. Inspect birds or
chickens regularly improve healthy chickens
Physically and behaviorally, are signs and symptoms to
look for that would suggest a hen is feeling a bit under the weather. I always do a general observation of my flock as a whole each day watching how
they interact with one another and move about.
Healthy chickens will be lively and busily pecking the ground, eating and drinking, catching up on the latest gossip, very dustily bathing, preening, and chasing flying insects that took a wrong turn, and even pecking at their flock mates just to keep the pecking order in order.
Also, I like to do an up close and personal health check about once a week or so by picking up each hen and examining her. With some ladies this is easier said than done, I know.
Anyway, combs and wattles should be a nice bright waxy red color and not too pale. Eyes should be clear and alert, although in this precarious position, some will appear wild eyed and crazy, but relax, I assure you, this is normal!
Feet should be free of cuts or scrapes which could lead to infection. Lastly, gently part their feathers and downy fluff underneath and check their skin for parasites and lice.
Healthy chickens will be lively and busily pecking the ground, eating and drinking, catching up on the latest gossip, very dustily bathing, preening, and chasing flying insects that took a wrong turn, and even pecking at their flock mates just to keep the pecking order in order.
Also, I like to do an up close and personal health check about once a week or so by picking up each hen and examining her. With some ladies this is easier said than done, I know.
Anyway, combs and wattles should be a nice bright waxy red color and not too pale. Eyes should be clear and alert, although in this precarious position, some will appear wild eyed and crazy, but relax, I assure you, this is normal!
Feet should be free of cuts or scrapes which could lead to infection. Lastly, gently part their feathers and downy fluff underneath and check their skin for parasites and lice.
6. Provide suitable housing system to enhance
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Chicken housing needs to protect your birds from both the
elements and predators. It should keep them dry and out of drafts. Housing
usually consists of indoor and outdoor space.
Make sure each large‐size chicken has at least 3 square feet of indoor space and 3 to 5 square feet of outdoor space for optimum health. Having the right housing is not only better for the chickens it is also of good benefits for you, so be sure to plan your chicken housing and get it set up before you buy the birds in other to raise healthy chickens.
Plan the size of the housing, how you will access it to care for the birds and collect eggs, how it will fit into your yard, and how you will light it.
Make sure each large‐size chicken has at least 3 square feet of indoor space and 3 to 5 square feet of outdoor space for optimum health. Having the right housing is not only better for the chickens it is also of good benefits for you, so be sure to plan your chicken housing and get it set up before you buy the birds in other to raise healthy chickens.
Plan the size of the housing, how you will access it to care for the birds and collect eggs, how it will fit into your yard, and how you will light it.
7. Provide supplements
light when needed to keep healthy chickens
A chicken’s life cycle revolves around the amount of daylight
or artificial light it receives. Chickens are prompted to lay eggs and mate
when the days are long, and they molt when the days start getting shorter.
Molting is the process by which a chicken replaces all its feathers, and it is energy intensive. When chickens molt, they usually stop laying.
Molting is the process by which a chicken replaces all its feathers, and it is energy intensive. When chickens molt, they usually stop laying.
8. Diseases and pests
control contribute to
Hens that are ill or have parasites such as worms, mites
or lice, do not perform optimally. Taken in conjunction with flock history and
any other symptoms, a drop in egg production can indicate that hens are sick or
suffering from a parasite infestation.
In addition, parasites not only make birds uncomfortable, but carry disease and lower a chicken’s immune system response to disease. Birds carrying a heavy load of internal or external parasites produce fewer eggs, grow more slowly, and eat more feed.
Keeping your birds well fed and free off both stress and disease helps their bodies repel parasites and makes them better able to tolerate any they may still contract.
For example: if a drop in egg production follows the addition of new chickens to the flock and no other physical symptoms are noted, a communicable disease or parasite should be suspected and investigated further.
In addition, parasites not only make birds uncomfortable, but carry disease and lower a chicken’s immune system response to disease. Birds carrying a heavy load of internal or external parasites produce fewer eggs, grow more slowly, and eat more feed.
Keeping your birds well fed and free off both stress and disease helps their bodies repel parasites and makes them better able to tolerate any they may still contract.
For example: if a drop in egg production follows the addition of new chickens to the flock and no other physical symptoms are noted, a communicable disease or parasite should be suspected and investigated further.
9. Vaccination
Vaccines can be given at various life stages of chickens.
Many vaccines suggest an optimum age, but if the chicken does not get the
vaccine then, it can sometimes be administered later.
This situation depends on the disease you are trying to prevent. Vaccines can be given by mouth, in the eyes, in the nose, or by injection, depending on the disease they are meant to prevent. Some vaccines prevent disease in one dose; others require several doses.
Preventing problems is always better than trying to fix them. When you purchase baby chicks, you are often offered the opportunity to have them vaccinated for a small additional fee.
This situation depends on the disease you are trying to prevent. Vaccines can be given by mouth, in the eyes, in the nose, or by injection, depending on the disease they are meant to prevent. Some vaccines prevent disease in one dose; others require several doses.
Preventing problems is always better than trying to fix them. When you purchase baby chicks, you are often offered the opportunity to have them vaccinated for a small additional fee.
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