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Keeping Your Flock Healthy

Chicken-keeping tips for the best of health.

By Madelaine Fletcher

From urban hen adventures in the North to 4-H chicken projects in the South, the backyard poultry revolution is sweeping the nation. Healthy chickens are an important priority if you are raising them for meat or eggs, as breeding show birds or game birds, or if you are keeping a big flock or simply a couple of hens. Providing your birds adequate space, clean living quarters, healthy feed and clean water will help prevent chicken illnesses, and with a little extra work, you can produce a zone of biosecurity around your fowl that will be hard to break.Knowing a bit about potential health threats and the simple steps that can be taken to keep your chicken-raising activities as healthy as possible, just makes sense. The best insurance against illness and other infectious diseases requires taking a few safety measures known collectively as backyard biosecurity. Dr. Fidelis Hegngi, senior staff veterinarian with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, explains backyard biosecurity includes a wide range of practices that can protect your flock from contracting disease – cleanliness is crucial. His tips include:

Thoroughly wash hands both before entering the poultry yard and before handling your birds. For your own health, wash again when your chores are complete.
Clean and disinfect all equipment that comes in contact with birds or their droppings. Remove all dirt and manure before you disinfect.
Avoid sharing tools and equipment with other poultry owners, but if you must share, clean and disinfect the tools before using.
Clean your shoes with disinfectant before working with your birds or keep a pair of shoes or boots near your cages to wear only when working with your birds. Footwear can spread germs.

Hegngi also advises chicken owners to practice a “keep it away” policy, restricting access to a flock, especially if visitors have poultry of their own. Tips for keeping away outside diseases from your home flock include:

Avoid visiting other households with poultry.
If you’ve been in contact with other birds or bird owners, clean and disinfect your shoes and clothes before returning to your chickens.
If your birds have been to a fair or exhibition, before returning them to the flock, isolate them for two weeks. When adding new chickens, isolate them for at least 30 days.
Control rodents – mice and rats carry disease.
Wild birds can transmit diseases, so keep them away from your flock. If you raise birds outdoors, keep enclosures covered with wire mesh or netting, and provide feed and water in an area minimizing contact with wild birds.
Dispose of dead birds appropriately. While deaths are unavoidable, if numerous chickens are sick or dying, seek guidance from your veterinarian, county extension agent or state department of agriculture.

Watch For Warning Signs

“Bird owners should know the warning signs of bird diseases,” Hegngi says, “because early detection can help prevent their spread.”

Key signs to be aware of:

Sudden rise in bird deaths in your flock
Coughing and nasal discharge, sneezing, gasping for air
Watery and green diarrhea
Low energy, poor appetite
Reduced egg production, or soft- or thin-shelled, misshapen eggs (not from molting and/or first-time layers)
Swelling around eyes, neck or head
Purple discoloration of the wattles, combs and legs
Tremors, drooping wings, circling, twisting of the head and neck or lack of movement

“Early detection of a problem can help protect the health of your flock,” Hegngi says. “USDA/APHIS maintains a Web site with biosecurity information and a host of free resources to help.”

To learn more about how to keep your chickens healthy read Keeping Chickens Healthy: What You Need to Know at Grit.