Here are some of the most common and come to chickenailments , malady and diseases , as well as how to prevent and treat them .
Bumblefoot
Far less black and far less serious than some of the other Gallus gallus malady , bumblefootis an easy preventable yet unfortunately rather rough-cut ailment in unseasoned and mature chickens . Bumblefoot is a chronic infection on the padder , often the result of an combat injury that became infected . It ’s easily diagnosed by locating the abscess on the footpad .
Bumblefoot is very easily prevented , far more so than handle it once it has occurred . Reduce — or eliminate , if you’re able to — any prison term that your birds spend on wire . Keep the hencoop and all enclosures white with inscrutable , ironic bedding , and pick the bedding regularly . Keep all roost sanded down and at heights birds can hit .
In short , forefend place where the foot might become injured .
Bumblefoot can be very unmanageable to process . In some cases , a veterinarian can interject penicillin into the swollen area . Otherwise , the abscess need to be removed manually , dressed properly and celebrate incredibly clean . For human , impetigo is a meek health risk , so fag boxing glove when handling bird with bumblefoot .
Blowout
Properly call descensus , a runaway takes place when the lowly part of the uterine tube is turn inside out and ends up on the outside of the volcano . It ’s a reproductive ramification that can occur in any frier or biddy . But it is more common in certain strain and strains of those breeds .
Applying hemorrhoid cream to the vent and isolating the hen until she improves can relieve minor prolapsed release . If she ’s not treated or left with the wad , the other birds will doubtless pick at the vent and worsen the situation . Do n’t take chances with flock cannibalism .
Prevention is important but ca n’t always save a hen from develop a blowout . Some hens are just bred to lay early or lay exceptionally large eggs , making them more prone to prolapse .
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upgrade spawn that do n’t position elephantine eggs or start too too soon . provender birds a properly managed diet that matches their age and stage of aliveness . biddy with too much fat in their diet can cumulate fat stores in their reproductive system , making reproductive disorders more likely .
Coccidiosis
Several protozoa known as order Coccidia get a apace advancing , often fatal disease calledcoccidiosisin very young and developing bird . Nine strains affect poultry .
order Coccidia exist everywhere outdoors and are transport and sometimes transmitted from wild birds or other chicken flocks . While it ’s possible for grownup chickens to compact coccidiosis , it ’s most common in chicks 3 to 5 weeks old and in humid , warm and damp condition .
Unfortunately , the deathrate rate of coccidiosis is very gamey compare to some other crybaby illnesses . It ’s most easily diagnosed by line of descent in the stool , but at that stage of evolution , the disease is almost always fatal , and the bird will not live long . Chicks with coccidiosis will show signs of droopiness , crouching with feather cockle , little or no appetite , and dumb or no growth in the former stages of the disease .
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Good sanitation is a crucial preventive measure against coccidiosis . Keep chick brooder clean , dry and free of superfluous muck . Expose chicks step by step to any survive adult mass to build up their systems ’ leeway to the protozoa that live naturally in their environment . This is crucial for birds wear in a hatchery and shipped to new surroundings .
Prevention also let in dole out a vaccine on the first day of life . However , there are some caveats .
Vaccines must be give only on the first day of liveliness to be effective , and the vaccination cover only six of the nine strains . Treatment for coccidiosis include a medication called amprolium . Surviving birds are seldom as strong as bird that never sign up the disease . Dmytro / Adobe Stock
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Conjunctivis
The augury of pinkeye are clear , but youmust bet intimately at the razzing to read them . An affected bird will head off sunshine and attempt to fret its eyes with its wings . The eyes can appear nebulose , or they might irrigate , later on becoming crusty with discharge . Blindness follows in progressed cases .
Mortality variesamong birds and flocks , considering the initialand overall health of the biddy . It some case , itresembles a respiratory disease .
gratefully , pinkeye is not contagious . But it is environmental , meaning sanitation and level-headed direction drill are paramount to forestall it .
Dusty and teetotal conditions can exasperate it , but it ’s often due to the buildup of ammonia fumes in flock confine to chicken coop or enclosures without adequate airflow and thus are rather damp . bar is to replace dirty and wet litter with dry and fresh bedding , and allow the flock adequate extraneous time to pasture .
Dehydration
Just like us , chickens can go longer without food than they can without water . When a chicken does drink water , it take in only a bit at a time . You ’ll notice it dip its nib in the body of water , lean its head back and drink it down .
The crybaby will do this several times at each sojourn to the weewee fount . Because of this , birds want to drink often . Without sufficient water , hen will reduce nut production — an egg is more than 70 percent water system , after all — andchicks will die to thrive .
desiccation lam on a spectrum . It ’s potential for a bird to be deprived of water and not be completely desiccate . This still has lasting effects on the bird ’s health . lay hen impoverish of weewee for a daytime or more can take weeks to regain . decease without sufficient water for three day or more can result in a lasting state of weakened testicle - laying .
body of water want or drying up can happen for many reasons . Even if their water boy is filled each twenty-four hours , other gene can keep birds from get to the water . First , can all of the birds , regardless of sizing , get through the waterer ? Is there something in the water that vary the gustation — such as feces or algae — and is it clean ? Are birds lower in the pecking ordering able to reach the waterer or are alpha hens prevent them ?
Most significantly , have a in force waterer that is build to hold enough water for the size of it of your flock . replete it as often as needed so that clean , saucy urine is always available . Only you could evaluate how often that is , based on your clime , flock size , season and style / size of water system fount .
Birds of different ages need varying amount of H2O . The older a doll is , the more H2O it typically need . In summer , keep waterers out of direct sun . In wintertime , take precautional measures to check that waterers do n’t freeze , prevent the birds from access it .
While hotter months be given to suggest the demand for more water , right hydration in the wintertime is decisive to staying warm .
Lastly , adorn in a adept watering system . skilful water case are lift up at the tiptop of the smallest chicken ’s back . They are also designed to prevent roosting and , thus , the contamination of fresh water system with droppings .
take more : ensure your chicken have plenty of wate at all times !
Egg Binding
Egg bindingis a very serious procreative issue that is most common in young birds , called point - of - ballad pullets . This ailment occur when an egg becomes lodged in a chamber of the cloaca . It might be that a untested boo is laying exceptionally large eggs , a disease caused the generative organs to swell or the issue is a matter of genetic science . However it occurs , it ’s authoritative to know that an egg - bind hen is in a fatal predicament unless the orchis is transfer .
How do you know a hen is egg stick to ? It ’s true that chicken will evidence many of the same symptoms for a all-encompassing range of illness . You have to be a bit of a detective to figure out exactly what ’s incorrect . With egg tie , there ’s a telltale sign , something I call the “ penguin stance . ”
An egg - bound hen — in addition to not put down , rarely consume or imbibing , crouching or walking oddly — will stand in a very strange emplacement . With her tush tuck downward and her plumage fluffed out just a bit , the egg - bound biddy resembles a penguin . She might not move or might move very slowly .
There are several ways to remedy orchis binding . Because the ball is stop the vent , this is not an complaint where you could waitress for very long . It ’s a serious condition that will kill the doll if untreated . If it ’s within your means and your philosophy of chicken holding , you might take the razzing to an avian vet .
If you ’re more of a DIYer , you have several choice .
Some chicken - keepers can facilitate the hen pass the egg by transfer her to an isolated , dark and smooth location by from the raft . Some keepers say their egg - bound hens pass the eggs within hours . In plus to this glide path , you could submerge the hen ’s bottom one-half in a fond bathtub and lightly massage her abdomen . If the case seems far progressed , it ’s possible to remove the egg manually , hold great concern not to break the egg in the process .
If you opt to seek this , do so with another set of hands for assist .
The unspoilt therapeutic for egg binding is bar . Start with a healthy dieting , confine butterball treats such as scratch in the summertime , and providing eld - appropriate feeds and make certain the bird has sufficient calcium and phosphorus . Also , allow birds to barren - range and exercise .
Avoid using hens that bind oftentimes as your breeding caudex , as they will fleet along the trait to their offspring .
Fleas & Flies
Fleas and fliesare insects that feed on the blood of chickens and hold out off the body to breed and perpetuate their life cycle . The European chick flea ( Ceratophyllus gallinae ) and the westerly hen flea ( Ceratophyllus Niger River ) are the two mintage most likely to sham North American flocks .
Both flea type breed in nests , bedding and droppings , and they return to the birds for blood line meals .
blackened flies and biting tent flap are larger insect found near dead piddle . vulgarism flies breed in swampy manure and break bedding .
What ’s the harm in a flea or tent-fly , you inquire ? Well , an infestation of either louse can lead to free weight going or slow increase in unseasoned birds as well as physical damage to meat birds , and it might bear on nut production in laying hens . Heavy infestations of flea or fly can badly weaken chicks and sick birds , perhaps resulting in death .
These worm can also , of course , carry and spread disease and illnesses between chickens .
Because populations of these two insect are supported by damp experimental condition , keep bedding , nest box and litter dry . Check faucets , waterers and roofs for leaks , and slay all sources of stagnant water system .
To insure rainfly , strip the hencoop good after removing the litter and put back with fresh bedding . Improve ventilation on very raging twenty-four hour period particularly , because rainfly do n’t care moving breeze . Flytraps hung out of reach of the chicken as well as other commercially available fly - dominance products can help you ascertain the fly sheet population .
Read more : Check out these pourboire for see ectoparasites on your domestic fowl .
Frostbite
In winter , a hen sleep with her head tuck under a wing . A rooster does not .
In biting cold temperatures , roosters ’ surplus with child comb are let on to the extremes , putting them at peril . When frozen , a comb or wattle will appear pallid . If you could catch this at the frozen stagecoach , apply a warm , wet material . Allow it to dry , then apply food - class oil .
If it has freeze down and already thawed , you might acknowledge it ’s bright red and swollen . It might seem abominable . At this stage , you could still lend oneself intellectual nourishment - grade oil or honey on the appendage to promote healing .
Serious cases offrostbitecan leave a cock permanently ill or even infertile . If you surmise frostbite or serious freeze , watch the rooster cautiously , as his injury could weaken him , which can leave him susceptible to peck at from the rest of the flock . If necessary , isolate an injure bird for care .
If the wattle or comb turn black and the tissue paper is dead , it might need to be surgically removed .
There is n’t one promiscuous agency toprevent frostbite , but you’re able to take several measure to help . For this and many other reasons , ensure your coop is properly insulated but also has excellent ventilation . Monitor chickens closely during the wintertime , and make certain they always have unfermented water .
Keel Cyst
Better know simply as knocker blister , keel ill are rather common and come along chronically . These blisters look on the breastsof growing cockerel or specially heavily - breasted breeds , each one starting as a bulla and eventually grow into a chummy callosity .
The blister ( here ’s your warning of something unpleasant to come ) is usually filled with a clear liquid , though it can be bally or turn back pus that is cheesy in body . Thankfully , mortality is low , and cysts can be prevented by but keeping your birds in humanist and healthful weather condition .
Breast blisters typically impress birdie circumscribe to cages or small spaces , where their breast bones fret or are bid against wire cages , wire walls or roosts they ’re forced to touch . Give your slew the space it needs and deserves , and your birds might never be at risk of exposure for keel care . Large - breasted cock can be protect against blister by padding roost as necessary .
As long as a bulla is n’t infect , it wo n’t pose a scourge to humans and is n’t contagious betweenbirds . Some experienced Gallus gallus custodian treat keel cysts at domicile by run out the blistersthemselves . But for backyard keepers , it ’s highly recommended to confab an avian veterinarianshould your razz rise a keel cyst .
Marek’s Disease
Marek ’s is sincerely one of the more concerning chicken illnesses to afflict backyard flocks . It ’s common , easily circulate and almost always lethal , produce it a feared and frustrating issue for those who care for chickens .
A neurologic illness , Marek ’s affects the nervous organisation as well as the organs and even skin . The disease is make by six motley of the herpes virus virus . It originates in the feather follicle and lives for year in the bedding and litter of flocks . It can be easily spread from flock to constellate by walk in a healthy chicken coop with horseshoe or boots that walk through a contaminated flock .
Symptoms of a Marek ’s case can vary widely . Most notably , a bird will appear paralytic , probably because of the press put on the spinal corduroy by enlarged nerves and nodules . It might affect a hiss ’s respiratory organisation , in which case a sick chicken will gasp or wheeze in addition to stimulate difficulty stand or stumbling often . It ’s more uncouth in fryer than cockerels , and death occurs usually within two calendar month of the first symptoms appearing .
Prevention is well attained through several avenue . first of all , practice extremely rigorous biosecurity measures , specially when bring down other flock or farms , buy chicks or care chickens that are n’t yours . launder your custody between palm flocks , and keep your cage clean-living , on a regular basis changing the bed clothing . The Marek ’s diseasevaccine is one of the secure methods of prevention , though it does n’t cover all six strains of the computer virus , in which case , engender for resistance and keep a neat cage can aid forestall its paste .
Very few birds survive Marek ’s , and those that do are life-time carriers . If you suspect one of your flock members has Marek ’s , divide it immediately from the rest of the flock , and take the individual bird to the veteran for testing .
The results should inform your next class of action , which commonly includes a abstruse cleaning of the cage and new biosecurity cadence .
Newcastle Disease
Newcastleis another unpleasant disease , but the death rate rate is much less than other vulgar chicken illnesses and complaint . Newcastle is because of the extremely contagious paramyxovirus and is circularize by ingesting the virus , either from the droppings of other Bronx cheer or deal feed and water . Transfer can also be airborne .
Newcastle look like a respiratory disease with the addition of anxious system symptom . chick will wheeze and gasp ; hens will discontinue position eggs . farmer might see some discharge from a bird ’s nasal cavities . A veterinarian can confirm the diagnosis , so take your chicken in as shortly as you surmise something .
Treat afflicted birds according to your ex-serviceman ’s passport . unremarkably , bird must be kept warm , hydrated , fed and prosperous . Survivors of Newcastle will be carriers for as tenacious as 30 24-hour interval but will build up immunity .
bar is best done by engender for familial resistor . regrettably , while effective sanitation and coop hygiene are imperative for so many government issue , it ’s not really a constituent when trying to forestall Newcastle . In this case , your good elbow grease might not make a difference .
Lastly , be mindful of touching your face and eye after handling a raspberry with Newcastle , as it can channelize a temporary oculus transmission to humans .
Omphalitis
Omphalitis , an contagion in chicks that occur after the egg sack is n’t absorbed , can cause a untested chicken to die as long as two weeks after crosshatch . Also recognize as mushy chick disease , it ’s due to bacterium either in the nut when formed or that catch in through the scale .
Omphalitis is associated with think of environments that are n’t sufficiently humid , allot toPoultry disease , edited by Mark Pattison , Paul McMullin , Janet Bradbury and Dennis Alexander . Clinical signs include affect chick appear blue as well as having distended belly and a tendency to cower . Sometimes the omphalos is visibly thicken , prominent and necrotic . Santirat / Adobe Stock
Pasted Vent
glued vent is another chick ailment , one that is virulent if not come up to but very easy to forbid and cure . Also squall “ pasty butt , ” possibly to lighten the situation , glued vents occur when faecal matter get compacted around the volcano and the chick is ineffective to defecate . It seems like a pocket-sized problem , but it ’s nothing to take light .
Chicks with paste vents will die if the upset is not addressed . Check young chicks day by day for the first few weeks of lifetime . Thoroughly but gently clean house each chick ’s glue bottom with a tender , pixilated cloth .
In addition to day-after-day concern of chicks , make trusted they have a broken - emphasis brooder life , availability of fresh water system , appropriate brooder temperature and effective provender at all time . With these needs conform to , glued vents should clear up up quick .
Pox
Poxof the volaille is count either lactating or ironic in variety . It ’s not related to chicken lues venerea that affects humans , but it manifests in approximately the same way of life :
In other words , it ’s not pretty .
Unfortunately , pox is a virus that hold your good direction practices and is contractable from raspberry to bird through general contact . If one Bronx cheer experience it , the whole flock probably will , unless the outbreak is insulate rather quickly .
Pox can be overspread through bites from mites and mosquito , so keeping population of those dirt ball at bay tree can avail hugely . Mortality is humbled with dry pox , but slightly high ( as much as 50 percent ) with wet syph , so accost it early and arrange for the proper treatment from your veterinary surgeon if possible .
As with other chicken illnesses , vaccinations are useable .
Sour Crop
Sour harvest is a yeast infection in the craw , a part of the oesophagus or food pipage at the base of the cervix where the initial stages of digestion occur . It leads to thickening of the craw rampart and dilation of the crop and can stimulate a snort to lose conditioning and possibly snuff it .
Sour crop is have by a disruption of the normal bacterium that dwell the crop , with an overgrowth of candidia ( which is a fungal species ) often occurring . The disorderliness happen chiefly to hen .
In the bookSo You desire To begin keep Chickens ? , source Mark Burrows writes that the fungus develops inside the craw and “ in turn will cause the craw to get bigger and fill up with some rather malign smell liquid state . ”
Respiratory Infections
Many vulgar crybaby illnesses can affect a bird ’s respiratory system ( which includes the trachea , lungs and air sacs ) , be it viral , bacterial , fungal or mycoplasmal infection . Common signs of arespiratory infectionin a chicken include :
Scaly Leg Mites
These petty gray bugs spend their lives on chickens if they ’re appropriate to infest a flock , and they ’re notoriously unmanageable to eradicate . Many established breeders and keepers paint a picture chop-chop culling any infested chickens , as the touch fan out quickly from bird to bird .
These soupcon prefer the unfeathered field of the chicken , burrowing under the scales on a hoot ’s stage shanks . This gives the chicken the telling facial expression of a scaly leg mite plague : sometime , raised , encrusted leg scale .
If you see a bird with leg mites , you have several options . As advert antecedently , you could cull the bird , though this is n’t usually a feasible option for those who keep their birds as dearie . The most extreme medicament route involve the chemical intervention ivermectin .
Unfortunately , this treatment brings with it a immense drawback : It ’s not know how long the medicinal drug remains in the body , so it ’s not commend for heart birds or layers . The in-between route is a more natural treatment : coat the legs in a mineral oil to strangle the mites and heal the legs . This method acting is not unfailing , but it ’s well deserving a effort .
Just know that the leg weighing machine might never return to normal , even if you do get the mite population under restraint .
Thrush
A very common upper digestive pathway infection , thrush affects about 20 per centum of flocks , but gratefully , its fatality charge per unit is less than 5 percent — far better than some other poulet illnesses . Thrush is a highly treatable in fairly young , healthy birds , which can bounce back cursorily .
There are important thing to know about thrush , including its inclination to do along with other unwellness . Thrush feasts on low catgut bacterium , so it ’s more probable to appear after a unit of ammunition of antibiotics , which usually keep an eye on another illness , such as coccidiosis .
Thrush appears when natural bacteria that colonize the intestine are thrown out of balance by hapless health or antibiotic drug — fairly much the same thing that happens to man .
The good newsworthiness ? bar is easy and very good practice for your flock : Avoid drawn-out exposure to antibiotics , keep birds good for you with a varied diet and offer probiotic - rich treats . Chickens love yogurt and do n’t mind apple cyder acetum tossed in their H2O .
Most importantly , keep the coop clean . The bacterium in which thrush ( and other malady ) flourish is channel through chicken droppings in the drinking water .
discourse for thrush is simple but has several components : Clean septic areas , treat drinking piddle with Epsom salts or Malus pumila cider acetum , and unclouded mouth sore in the Gallus gallus , if necessary . Infected birds should , of form , be sequestrate for the duration of discourse .
Also count further medicinal drug , such as nystatin , if the eccentric is severe . A trust avian veterinarian can guide you .
One last word : practise beneficial sanitization with yourself after deal a raspberry with thrush . The same bacteria that infects the birdie can cause human health risk in the physical body of oral fissure and genital infections .
Wehope you learned a mint about keeping your flock good for you from illnesses in our chicken health enchiridion . If you have more health - colligate questions about your birds , research in the field at the top of this Thomas Nelson Page . Good luck raising happy , healthy chickens .
This article originally appeared in the January / February 2023 issue ofChickensmagazine .
