Health Concerns

Parasites

Chickens are prone to parasites - lice, mites, fleas, and ticks. If the coop area is kept clean and healthy and there is ample dust and sand for the chickens to bathe, these little pests should not be a problem. Add cooled ashes from your fireplace or wood stove to the areas where your chickens take their dust baths for added protection. Wood ash is great protection against parasites. We dump the ashes in the various bathing spots and then lightly mix it with the dirt and sand so it doesn’t blow away. You can plant fennel or catnip around your coop area to help keep away pests. There are dusts that you can buy to put on your birds, but you need to watch out for chemicals that can be harmful to your chickens. Overcrowding and dirty coop conditions are the biggest contributors to this problem.  Here are some links that can help you create dust bath areas for your chickens.  Do your research, there is a lot of information out there if you look.  One that I will checking out is the use of sulfur dust bags mentioned on the first link. 

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https://www.heritageacresmarket.com/chicken-dust-bath/

https://www.dineachook.com.au/blog/what-is-a-chicken-dust-bath-easy-steps-to-make-one/

https://www.backyardchickencoops.com.au/blogs/thechookcoop/chicken-health-prevent-poultry- problems

 

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Frostbite

Frostbite can be a problem in our part of the country. Big, stand-up combs, especially on roosters are beautiful, but they are a potential problem. If you live in cold areas, you can chose breeds that have rose, pea, or other low to the head comb styles. There are nine different types of combs sported by various breeds. You need to make sure that your coop area is not damp or moist in the winter (or summer for that matter) and has good ventilation, but constructed in such a way that your chickens have the ability to get out of drafts. If all else fails, you can investigate the possibility of in-coop heaters, but do your research and use correctly.

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Feathered Legs and Extra Head Plumage

Feathers on the legs (or head) of a chicken can be a beautiful thing, but they can also pose some problems. The extra feathers give more warmth and protection, but they are a collector of unwanted intruders. These feather-legged beauties can house unwanted scaly leg mites. If the chickens have good areas to dust bathe, this should not be a problem. Sometimes, these extra feathers make these breeds of birds “outsiders” to a bare-legged, regular headed, “normal” group of chickens, so they may get picked on by other birds. The leg feathers are not quite as problematic as the excessive head feathers. This can be helped by making sure you provide ample space for your chickens in their run area as well as on the roosting bars. Also, you may need to provide more distractions for your birds to keep them busy. Bored chickens can be mean chickens. (See section on Boredom). If you live in a damp, muddy place muddy, poopy feathers will carry mud and poop into the nesting boxes leaving your eggs laying in very dirty places and exposing your chickens to excessive amounts of dirt and bacteria. To try to wash those feather can be a time-consuming endeavor and probably a road you don’t want to go down. In the high desert where we live, this is generally not a problem, but it is something to be aware of.  Lastly, leg feathers can lead to frostbite.  If your chickens have a wet or snowy run and get slush and mud stuck in their leg feathers, that can freeze hard and cause frostbite. Keeping their run area dry and making sure their housing is dry and that they have ample room to move about in their housing will keep them from wondering out into the snow and slush. We have several areas around our chicken pens that are under cover, so unless we have a driving snow, there are several dry spots for them to play in. We will dig paths from one spot to another, so they can move around and get some exercise. Usually, by the next day the path we dug is dry, and we will shovel a little more on each side giving them more place to move about.

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Molting (Supplementing)

Chickens will molt every year, sometimes more than once. We have had people that have brought us their chickens wondering what was wrong with them. They will lose their feathers over a period of time and will have patches that may even look bare. This is a normal process and nothing to be concerned about. As they grow in their new feathers, they can use a bit of extra protein in their diet (because feathers are made of protein and are about 25% of its body’s total protein). If you are feeding a store bought feed, if the protein level is 18-20% you need to do very little to help them through this process. If your protein is 16% or you aren’t sure what they are getting, you can supplement protein in several ways.

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So first, how do you know that your chicken is molting and not just being picked on? The molting process is something like a child losing their baby teeth. Their tooth falls out because the next one is pushing its way in. When the chicken begins losing its feathers, when you look at the bare patch you will see little “quills” sticking out. These are the new feathers that are coming in. If a chicken is being picked on by others and having its feathers pulled out, you will see blood spots on the skin where the feathers have been plucked. That is a sign that you have a bully in your house. Read the section on boredom!

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If your chicken(s) are molting here is a way to supplement their diet. Pick and choose what works best for you and your flock. The goal is to add something to their food a couple times per week. Don’t over do.

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Foraging - If you have a safe place for your chickens to roam, when they forage, they will find all kinds of insects and worms that will supplement their diet and give them a bunch of protein.

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Eggs - You can scramble (without milk) or hard boil eggs to feed to your chickens a couple times a week. Count on about 1 egg per every 5-6 chickens.

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Pumpkin seeds - fresh out of the pumpkin is great or you can lightly roast them. If you buy pumpkin seeds make sure they are raw or oven roasted with no oils or salt added.

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Meal Worms - alive or dried (you will become their hero if you serve these to them!). You can buy these in bulk, but you don’t want to give more than a couple per chicken a couple of times per week. Here is a great website of how to make a mealworm farm. It is not difficult and if you have kids or grandkids, it may be a great learning experience for them. You can continue to grow your own treats for your chickens for years to come (for pennies once you get started).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3YBScCks7A&t=9s

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Sprouted Lentils - these are high in protein and low in fat so they can be used to feed your flock any time. Sprouting lentils is an easy process and you can find a lot of help on the internet.

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Sunflower Seeds - you can scatter these around for them or buy a treat block made of sunflower seeds. You can spread a handful around a couple times per week. You want to find unseasoned black oil seeds which you can find in feed stores. You can also sunflower seed kernels (without shells) but make sure they are raw and unseasoned.

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Peas - fresh out of the garden still in their pods or you can use frozen peas but not canned.

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Parsley - spread parsley around for them and let them eat as they want. It is high in protein and it is an effective immune booster for chickens.

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Other Health Concerns

Chickens need to be adapted to the environment in which you live. There are some breeds that don't do well in the heat, others don't tolerate cold, still others don’t do well in damp, wet, muddy areas.

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There are many diseases that are carried by chickens. This is why it is important that they have access to clean water, good food, adequate space, proper housing, and a clean living environment. At the bottom of the FAQ page, there are various articles that give good information on the care of your pets as important members of your farm.

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If your chickens have a safe environment to live, access to good food and plenty of water, shade from the hot, summer sun, dry, well ventilated housing, and access to places where they can take dust baths, they should live a nice healthy life of 6-8 years providing you years of enjoyment, pest control, and a fresh egg supply. Inadequate room, substandard food, inability to spend time outside in the sunshine, and subpar housing can cause unhealthy, bad-tempered chickens that will be susceptible to illness, parasite infestation, and a much decreased lifespan.