What the Chook!

General wellbeing

As with keeping any animal the responsibility of care is on the owner. Keeping chickens in small numbers is for the most part relatively straight forward. However, from time to time chooks fall ill and require attention and possible treatment. I have found that many minor illnesses and injuries can be treated at home without the need for a vet. Refer to the Chook Checklist for handy things to keep in stock should your chooks ever fall ill or require treatment. If you are sqeamish and unable to do simple tasks such as treating for mites or a possible ear infection, hopefully you have someone on hand who is willing to do so. If not, my suggestion is to get over being sqeamish as soon as possible It is really not that bad and it saves a whole lot of hassle for you if you can nip things in the bud.

It is worth checking round your local vets to see if they do see and treat poultry, as many alas do not. And even those that do, not many will have much experience in treating poultry illnesses.

Also chickens are one of those creatures that can be very poorly, but you’d never know it. It’s only sometimes, when the bird becomes very slow, does not move about much and looks like its about to drop off its perch do people know anything might be wrong. And by then its often too late for the chook and its better to cull it rather than let is suffer longer.

I’ve learnt that the more time you spend getting to know your chooks, observing them, checking for signs of possible ill health - ie worms or mites, not eating and drinking as they normally do, checking their poo to make sure that it’s ‘normal’ looking - all of those little things can help prevent further problems.

Regular cleaning of hen house and run is a must. Even more so in hot weather. It also gives you the chance to check the housing over for red mites and any other unwated visitors. My care routine is down to a fine art now. I have everything I need in stock and cleaning them out is not a huge job provided its done often. I keep a supply of marigold gloves, newspaper, shavings, straw and dustpan and brush for the purpose. Also any cleaning products or treatments that I might need. Chicken poo can be composted if you have a compost heap.

Also ensure you check your birds over on a regular basis as unwanted visitors can cause them to loose condition. Red mite infestation in the hen house can kill a chicken overnight. Mites living on the birds themselves are also unpleasant and a simple check over and treatment will save you time in the long run and be better for your birds.

Prevention is always better than a cure.

Poultry Diseases

Work in progress - no information as yet included on this site

Please visit and read this listing of poultry diseases in the meantime