Chickens are generally quite resilient animals, and don’t get sick that often. Keeping the coop and surrounding areas clean, is the most important factor in maintaining healthy birds.
Checking the health of your chickens.
The best way to check the health of your chickens is to watch them for a few minutes everyday. A healthy bird will be alert and mix in with the rest of the flock. They will be busy pecking the food, making clucking noises and scratching the ground. The feathers will look well groomed, (apart from when they are moulting), and the comb should be red and waxy. The droppings should be firm with a white cap.
A bird showing signs of ill health will probably crouch in a corner somewhere, away from the rest of the flock, and it may not be eating either.
Giving your birds a health check.
If a bird is showing signs of ill health, it’s a good idea to pick it up and check for symptoms.
Look at the vent for any signs of droppings stuck to the feathers, this could be a symptom of diarrhoea.
Check for external parasites such as lice and mites on the skin.
Symptoms of internal parasites such as worms, are diarrhoea, weight loss and feather-fluffing.
In my next post, you can find out about some of the common ailments chickens have, and how to deal with them.
