Importance of feeding your flock the right stuff:
To ensure your flock is happy and healthy, you've got to watch what you feed them. Free ranging your flock is the best since they can find what they need in the grass, weeds, plants etc. Free ranging also lets your flock get the natural nutrition and vitamins they need to help keep themselves happy and healthy. If you live in an area that you can't free range your flock in, consider adding more things in your coop/run for your flock to exercise on, that way they keep there normal weight and size.
Food scraps do not provide a complete diet and may cause the chicken to eat less of the commercial feed that does provide the complete diet leading to dietary imbalance which might cause them to become fat, or might cause them to have a nutritional deficiency. It is fine if you want to give them a small fruit or veggie treat every once in a while, just not every day as there main meals.
What feed is the best for my flock? I usually turn to the organic feed such as "Nature's Best Organic Feeds" or "New Country Organics".
Remember, whatever you feed your chickens is what you will be eating when you eat their eggs or meat. Each chicken needs about 1/2 cup of feed in the morning and evening, not scratch, corn or treats. Feed can always be turned into a mash if the flock likes a wet feed. Don't forget, fresh water should always be available at all times. Dirty water can cause sicknesses.
Should I be inspecting my chickens?
Yes, of course! That is one of the most important things about being a chicken keeper, not chicken haver. You have to inspect them every few weeks, but weekly is better. I sit and observe my flock frequently so I know their behavior. This helps them get used to me and helps me identify when there is a problem.
Things to look out for:
1. The face, comb and wattles for any fowl pox, discolor or swelling.
2. Inside of the beak for any bitter smell or canker.
3. The eyes for any watery eyes, bubbly eyes, or change of color.
4. The crop, check right when they get up in the morning, it should be empty. Hardness or squishyness could indicate sour or impacted crop.
5. The abdomen area for any signs of water belly or egg bound.
6. The vent area for mites, flystrike, redness, or dirty bottom.
7. The feet for bumblefoot or any other injuries.
8. Drooping tail, sitting in a corner by themselves, hunched over and puffed up in a corner.
9. Check the droppings. Normal droppings should be on the thicker side with a green color and some white. White and watery poo means they are starving, blood in the poo means they might have coccidiosis.
10. Keep a close eye on the egg quality. If the shells seem very thin, give your hens more calcium or oyster shells. I normally mix the calcium or oyster shells in yogurt to make a "treat" for them.
That is the weekly check routine I do for my flock.
Fowl Pox:
Normally caused by mosquitoes. Never pick at the scabs, it should go away within a couple of weeks. Watch for infection and dis-comfort in the chicken. Vitamin E can be given for this and a drop of oregano oil in their water.
Paleness
Hunched over
Puffed up and drooping tail partly hunched
Watery Eyes
Normal relaxing hen
What is Sour Crop and how to treat it.
Sour crop is when they can't process their food the right way. It may be caused by their diet, eating something that gets stuck, or too much feed. The food stays in the crop and starts to ferment.
How do I know if my chicken has sour crop?
The fastest way to tell is by smelling the inside of the beak. If it smells very bitter or sour, it means she most likely has sour crop. The hen will also be on the slow side and not eating with its flock.
How do I treat this?
First, I bring the chicken inside to a dark, quiet place such as a dog crate.
This treatment took about a week to fully clear her crop. I removed all food from the hen's reach. Now, this is important! If you leave food with her, she will eventually overeat and be vomiting everything she can't keep in her crop.
I start off by mixing 1 cup of water with 1 tsp of Epsom salt. I have my electrolytes by me as well since I'll be needing those too. Let's say it's 9AM. I will start off with the Epsom salt water, about 10 mls. I let the hen rest for an hour, then at 10:00 I'll get the hen, tip her down towards the ground, keeping her neck straight while massaging the crop, pushing the food up the throat to get it out. After I make her vomit, I'll give 10mls of electrolytes. Keep doing this every day till her crop is empty. I alternate every hour between the Epsom salt water and electrolytes ( till her bed time, 7:00 ish)
After a week of getting everything out, she may not want to eat. This is when you have to force feed them by making her chicken feed into a wet mash and syringing it to her. That's about it for the sour crop.
Water Belly also known as Ascites:
Water belly is caused by: cold and heat stress, not eating/getting the vitamins & nutrition they need, not enough space, being in a dirty coop and many other things.
All these things put stress on the heart and lungs
The heart is being very stressed out trying to keep blood flowing thru the lungs, which causes the hens blood pressure to go up and leads us to this problem of waterbelly.
How do I know if my hen has waterbelly? You will be able to see and feel it. Her abdomen will be very swollen. Right away you can feel she is full of fluids. With water belly, the hen will be walking funnily, with her legs spread apart, not wanting to move, lack of appetite, labored breathing, her comb might be a little purple and her droppings will sometimes be very watery and smelly.
When I notice this, I bring the chicken inside, give her some water with a drop of oregano oil, followed by 1/4 tsp of Alpha Lipoic Acid in a little yogurt. This will help a lot!
First, I clean the area I will be taking fluid from, then get my syringe with needle attached, and carefully poke to the lower right side of the vent, to start draining the fluid. Try to only take out a little fluid at time (about 60mls). If you take to much at a time, it will shock the hen. Then give her a break and do another 60. I use a 60ml syringe and a 1/2 ich, 18g needle. A smaller syringe will pull to hard on the hen.
I do this in the evening so that she can drain any extra liquid during the night (have towels in the crate she will be staying in). I only had to drain this hen once and she didn't fill up again, but it can be done daily if there is still fluid. Remember when you have a hen with waterbelly, it may mean she will never be her normal self again or she may pass within a week of treating depending on how well you care for her. You may start running into other problems, so keep a close eye on her. Keep her inside for at least two weeks after taking the fluid out ( longer is always better).
Keep up the with the B complex , E, and Alpha Lipoic Acid vitamins for at least a week.
Bumblefoot:
What causes bumblefoot?
High roosting areas , dirty coop, sharp perches, basically anything abrasive to the chickens' feet.
How do I tell if my chicken has bumblefoot?
You may notice the chicken keeping her foot up, limping and not wanting to walk. Bumblefoot is normally an injury on the pad of the foot which fills up with pus and causes the chicken a lot of pain due to the pressure of pus building up. If you don't treat the chicken right away, it will get into the blood and eventually cause the hen to die. The longer the chicken has bumblefoot, the more pain it will be in.
I've been dealing with bumble foot for more than two years. It took me forever to find a cure. Finally, I found this Epsom salt poultice and it worked within a week or two. Depending on how bad your chicken is, it will take longer.
How do I treat this?
I soak the chicken's feet for fifteen minutes in warm Epsom salt water (you can always soak longer). Then I apply antibiotic ointment with a bit of Epsom salt poultice and wrap each foot loosely with a bandage. Once the infection softens up, I will either cut it out or push the puss out. Depending on how bad it is, it might bleed, so have a towel to stop the blood. After the puss is out, keep wrapping and cleaning the feet for another two to three weeks or until the feet are fully recovered.
Bumblefoot before treatment
After a couple weeks of treatment
Molting Season:
With the coming of Winter, you will notice your flock losing lots of feathers. That is normal for this time of the year! Make sure they are getting the food they need and extra fresh water. If need be, bring the chicken(s) inside so they are warm and getting what they need to become beautiful again. Cooked egg, yogurt, and electrolytes are recommended if they are refusing to eat and drink. At times, you may need to syringe feed a chicken. During this time they don't feel good. Make sure you give them lots of love!
Fatty Liver Disease:
Fatty liver is caused by a number of things, poor diet being a major cause.
When this happens, you will typically find the chicken dead under the roosting bar when you check on your flock in the morning. Normally fat chickens are slow, sleepy, and have heavy breathing.
Ask yourself:
Is this chicken overweight?
What do I feed it?
Did it get the right nutrition and vitamins?
If the chicken is overweight, chances are it will have a fatty liver attack, which means its liver hemorrhages because the chicken has excess fat and is not getting enough exercise and protein. To confirm the diagnosis, you can perform a necropsy. I give all my chickens Alpha Lipoic acid to help prevent this problem if I think some of them are gaining weight. You can sometimes feel if a chicken has a lot of fat on its underside or if you see its bottom hanging very low when perching.
How do I tell if my chickens aren't eating enough?
When your flock has chewed wing feathers or if they are all picking at each other, chances are they aren't getting enough feed. Chickens will eat their feathers to make up for a deficiency in feed.
If it seems like one in particular is getting picked on, check her immediately for any signs of sickness or mites. Hand feed her some food and syringe her some fluids. She may also be low in the pecking order. Be sure food is available at all times along with clean water.
How to treat a pulled muscle/nerve injury
One day I heard my rooster crowing oddly and walking as if he were drunk and losing his balance. What was wrong? Why did he look like he couldn't hold his head up?
I brought him inside, did some research, and found out he had pulled one of his neck muscles. I'm suspecting he missed the roosting bar and hit his neck on it, The first day I spent researching what to do for him. I couldn't just let him die. So I made a brace out of padding, a toilet paper roll, and tape.
The brace indeed worked and did an amazing job, even though he didn't like wearing it. The next day I read about some vitamins that "might" work. I ran to the store and bought vitamins B complex and E selenium, then came back and gave him a capsule of each. I checked on him after an hour, and he was already able to hold his neck up a little more. I kept the brace on him during the five days of vitamin treatment. Towards the last two days he was already going back to normal, crowing, eating and drinking. I did keep him inside to make sure he stayed still and wouldn't hurt himself more, and by the fifth day he was ready to go outside and fully recovered.
(He was starting to molt when this happened.)
Recommended supplies to have as a chicken keeper:
Basket, bag, or bin, to keep your flock supplies organized. I used the bag from my garden tools.
Bandages for wrapping injuries. You can also get them in different colors. I've used both the ones I've linked to, and they work well.
Cleaner, soap, and paper towels for cleaning up droppings while you have chickens inside and also to clean anything a sick chicken was using.
Dog crate for sick, molting, or injured chickens.
Egg basket for collecting eggs.
Gloves for cleaning a bad injury, doing a necropsy, etc.
Gauze for padding a wound.
Heat mat for a cold or sick chicken.
Little waters to hook on the dog crate.
Notebook or journal to keep track of your flock.
Syringes big and small for force feeding.
Small bowls that can fit in a dog crate for mash or feed.
Towels to keep the chicken on something soft in the dog crate or for supporting a weak chicken.
Scale to keep track of your chickens' weight and ensure their health.
You can find some of these supplies at your local feed stores.
4 in 1 powder, to help treat canker and coccidiosis.
Amoxicillin, for respiratory infections
Acidified Copper Sulfate , for canker.
Antibiotic ointment for wounds.
Corid for Coccidiosis.
Epsom salt poultice for bumblefoot.
Epsom salt , for soaking or cleaning a chicken.
Eye Relief for rinsing eyes
Iodine solution for any injury or wound.
Nutri-Drench for sick and weak chickens.
Terramycin for eye injury.
VetRx for respiratory issues.
Vitamins, B complex, Bio E Selenium and Alpha lipoic acid, to boost health in your flock following any sickness or for any neurological problems, such as a pulled muscle, tendon, wry neck, etc. I put links to the ones I use, but whatever they have at your local store will work.
Yogurt to make a vitamin mix for your flock or a sick chicken. For ten chickens, mix two capsules of each of the above vitamins in 4 cups of yogurt. Mix well and serve to your flock.
Electrolyte Recipe:
4 cups Water
1TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 + 1/4 tsp Molasses
1/4 tsp Salt
Mix together and keep in a cool dark place.
Apple Cider Vinegar, for a nice cool drink during the summertime.
Extra tip:
One thing to do if your flock is struggling in the heat
During the summer time, your flock is drinking a lot, their droppings will be more watery, and that's okay. I like to give my flock ice water with 1tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar in a quarter gallon waterer. Remember, don't use a metal waterer, apple cider vinegar is an acid and will cause the metal to rust. I use a plastic waterer or bowl.
Happy chicken keeping!
I'm not an expert, I am just trying to give out some useful information I've learned.
Photo credits: me- CCsGarden
To ensure your flock is happy and healthy, you've got to watch what you feed them. Free ranging your flock is the best since they can find what they need in the grass, weeds, plants etc. Free ranging also lets your flock get the natural nutrition and vitamins they need to help keep themselves happy and healthy. If you live in an area that you can't free range your flock in, consider adding more things in your coop/run for your flock to exercise on, that way they keep there normal weight and size.
Food scraps do not provide a complete diet and may cause the chicken to eat less of the commercial feed that does provide the complete diet leading to dietary imbalance which might cause them to become fat, or might cause them to have a nutritional deficiency. It is fine if you want to give them a small fruit or veggie treat every once in a while, just not every day as there main meals.
What feed is the best for my flock? I usually turn to the organic feed such as "Nature's Best Organic Feeds" or "New Country Organics".
Remember, whatever you feed your chickens is what you will be eating when you eat their eggs or meat. Each chicken needs about 1/2 cup of feed in the morning and evening, not scratch, corn or treats. Feed can always be turned into a mash if the flock likes a wet feed. Don't forget, fresh water should always be available at all times. Dirty water can cause sicknesses.
Should I be inspecting my chickens?
Yes, of course! That is one of the most important things about being a chicken keeper, not chicken haver. You have to inspect them every few weeks, but weekly is better. I sit and observe my flock frequently so I know their behavior. This helps them get used to me and helps me identify when there is a problem.
Things to look out for:
1. The face, comb and wattles for any fowl pox, discolor or swelling.
2. Inside of the beak for any bitter smell or canker.
3. The eyes for any watery eyes, bubbly eyes, or change of color.
4. The crop, check right when they get up in the morning, it should be empty. Hardness or squishyness could indicate sour or impacted crop.
5. The abdomen area for any signs of water belly or egg bound.
6. The vent area for mites, flystrike, redness, or dirty bottom.
7. The feet for bumblefoot or any other injuries.
8. Drooping tail, sitting in a corner by themselves, hunched over and puffed up in a corner.
9. Check the droppings. Normal droppings should be on the thicker side with a green color and some white. White and watery poo means they are starving, blood in the poo means they might have coccidiosis.
10. Keep a close eye on the egg quality. If the shells seem very thin, give your hens more calcium or oyster shells. I normally mix the calcium or oyster shells in yogurt to make a "treat" for them.
That is the weekly check routine I do for my flock.
Fowl Pox:
Normally caused by mosquitoes. Never pick at the scabs, it should go away within a couple of weeks. Watch for infection and dis-comfort in the chicken. Vitamin E can be given for this and a drop of oregano oil in their water.
Paleness
Hunched over
Puffed up and drooping tail partly hunched
Watery Eyes
Normal relaxing hen
What is Sour Crop and how to treat it.
Sour crop is when they can't process their food the right way. It may be caused by their diet, eating something that gets stuck, or too much feed. The food stays in the crop and starts to ferment.
How do I know if my chicken has sour crop?
The fastest way to tell is by smelling the inside of the beak. If it smells very bitter or sour, it means she most likely has sour crop. The hen will also be on the slow side and not eating with its flock.
How do I treat this?
First, I bring the chicken inside to a dark, quiet place such as a dog crate.
This treatment took about a week to fully clear her crop. I removed all food from the hen's reach. Now, this is important! If you leave food with her, she will eventually overeat and be vomiting everything she can't keep in her crop.
I start off by mixing 1 cup of water with 1 tsp of Epsom salt. I have my electrolytes by me as well since I'll be needing those too. Let's say it's 9AM. I will start off with the Epsom salt water, about 10 mls. I let the hen rest for an hour, then at 10:00 I'll get the hen, tip her down towards the ground, keeping her neck straight while massaging the crop, pushing the food up the throat to get it out. After I make her vomit, I'll give 10mls of electrolytes. Keep doing this every day till her crop is empty. I alternate every hour between the Epsom salt water and electrolytes ( till her bed time, 7:00 ish)
After a week of getting everything out, she may not want to eat. This is when you have to force feed them by making her chicken feed into a wet mash and syringing it to her. That's about it for the sour crop.
Water Belly also known as Ascites:
Water belly is caused by: cold and heat stress, not eating/getting the vitamins & nutrition they need, not enough space, being in a dirty coop and many other things.
All these things put stress on the heart and lungs
The heart is being very stressed out trying to keep blood flowing thru the lungs, which causes the hens blood pressure to go up and leads us to this problem of waterbelly.
How do I know if my hen has waterbelly? You will be able to see and feel it. Her abdomen will be very swollen. Right away you can feel she is full of fluids. With water belly, the hen will be walking funnily, with her legs spread apart, not wanting to move, lack of appetite, labored breathing, her comb might be a little purple and her droppings will sometimes be very watery and smelly.
When I notice this, I bring the chicken inside, give her some water with a drop of oregano oil, followed by 1/4 tsp of Alpha Lipoic Acid in a little yogurt. This will help a lot!
First, I clean the area I will be taking fluid from, then get my syringe with needle attached, and carefully poke to the lower right side of the vent, to start draining the fluid. Try to only take out a little fluid at time (about 60mls). If you take to much at a time, it will shock the hen. Then give her a break and do another 60. I use a 60ml syringe and a 1/2 ich, 18g needle. A smaller syringe will pull to hard on the hen.
I do this in the evening so that she can drain any extra liquid during the night (have towels in the crate she will be staying in). I only had to drain this hen once and she didn't fill up again, but it can be done daily if there is still fluid. Remember when you have a hen with waterbelly, it may mean she will never be her normal self again or she may pass within a week of treating depending on how well you care for her. You may start running into other problems, so keep a close eye on her. Keep her inside for at least two weeks after taking the fluid out ( longer is always better).
Keep up the with the B complex , E, and Alpha Lipoic Acid vitamins for at least a week.
Bumblefoot:
What causes bumblefoot?
High roosting areas , dirty coop, sharp perches, basically anything abrasive to the chickens' feet.
How do I tell if my chicken has bumblefoot?
You may notice the chicken keeping her foot up, limping and not wanting to walk. Bumblefoot is normally an injury on the pad of the foot which fills up with pus and causes the chicken a lot of pain due to the pressure of pus building up. If you don't treat the chicken right away, it will get into the blood and eventually cause the hen to die. The longer the chicken has bumblefoot, the more pain it will be in.
I've been dealing with bumble foot for more than two years. It took me forever to find a cure. Finally, I found this Epsom salt poultice and it worked within a week or two. Depending on how bad your chicken is, it will take longer.
How do I treat this?
I soak the chicken's feet for fifteen minutes in warm Epsom salt water (you can always soak longer). Then I apply antibiotic ointment with a bit of Epsom salt poultice and wrap each foot loosely with a bandage. Once the infection softens up, I will either cut it out or push the puss out. Depending on how bad it is, it might bleed, so have a towel to stop the blood. After the puss is out, keep wrapping and cleaning the feet for another two to three weeks or until the feet are fully recovered.
Bumblefoot before treatment
After a couple weeks of treatment
Molting Season:
With the coming of Winter, you will notice your flock losing lots of feathers. That is normal for this time of the year! Make sure they are getting the food they need and extra fresh water. If need be, bring the chicken(s) inside so they are warm and getting what they need to become beautiful again. Cooked egg, yogurt, and electrolytes are recommended if they are refusing to eat and drink. At times, you may need to syringe feed a chicken. During this time they don't feel good. Make sure you give them lots of love!
Fatty Liver Disease:
Fatty liver is caused by a number of things, poor diet being a major cause.
When this happens, you will typically find the chicken dead under the roosting bar when you check on your flock in the morning. Normally fat chickens are slow, sleepy, and have heavy breathing.
Ask yourself:
Is this chicken overweight?
What do I feed it?
Did it get the right nutrition and vitamins?
If the chicken is overweight, chances are it will have a fatty liver attack, which means its liver hemorrhages because the chicken has excess fat and is not getting enough exercise and protein. To confirm the diagnosis, you can perform a necropsy. I give all my chickens Alpha Lipoic acid to help prevent this problem if I think some of them are gaining weight. You can sometimes feel if a chicken has a lot of fat on its underside or if you see its bottom hanging very low when perching.
How do I tell if my chickens aren't eating enough?
When your flock has chewed wing feathers or if they are all picking at each other, chances are they aren't getting enough feed. Chickens will eat their feathers to make up for a deficiency in feed.
If it seems like one in particular is getting picked on, check her immediately for any signs of sickness or mites. Hand feed her some food and syringe her some fluids. She may also be low in the pecking order. Be sure food is available at all times along with clean water.
How to treat a pulled muscle/nerve injury
One day I heard my rooster crowing oddly and walking as if he were drunk and losing his balance. What was wrong? Why did he look like he couldn't hold his head up?
I brought him inside, did some research, and found out he had pulled one of his neck muscles. I'm suspecting he missed the roosting bar and hit his neck on it, The first day I spent researching what to do for him. I couldn't just let him die. So I made a brace out of padding, a toilet paper roll, and tape.
The brace indeed worked and did an amazing job, even though he didn't like wearing it. The next day I read about some vitamins that "might" work. I ran to the store and bought vitamins B complex and E selenium, then came back and gave him a capsule of each. I checked on him after an hour, and he was already able to hold his neck up a little more. I kept the brace on him during the five days of vitamin treatment. Towards the last two days he was already going back to normal, crowing, eating and drinking. I did keep him inside to make sure he stayed still and wouldn't hurt himself more, and by the fifth day he was ready to go outside and fully recovered.
(He was starting to molt when this happened.)
Recommended supplies to have as a chicken keeper:
Basket, bag, or bin, to keep your flock supplies organized. I used the bag from my garden tools.
Bandages for wrapping injuries. You can also get them in different colors. I've used both the ones I've linked to, and they work well.
Cleaner, soap, and paper towels for cleaning up droppings while you have chickens inside and also to clean anything a sick chicken was using.
Dog crate for sick, molting, or injured chickens.
Egg basket for collecting eggs.
Gloves for cleaning a bad injury, doing a necropsy, etc.
Gauze for padding a wound.
Heat mat for a cold or sick chicken.
Little waters to hook on the dog crate.
Notebook or journal to keep track of your flock.
Syringes big and small for force feeding.
Small bowls that can fit in a dog crate for mash or feed.
Towels to keep the chicken on something soft in the dog crate or for supporting a weak chicken.
Scale to keep track of your chickens' weight and ensure their health.
You can find some of these supplies at your local feed stores.
4 in 1 powder, to help treat canker and coccidiosis.
Amoxicillin, for respiratory infections
Acidified Copper Sulfate , for canker.
Antibiotic ointment for wounds.
Corid for Coccidiosis.
Epsom salt poultice for bumblefoot.
Epsom salt , for soaking or cleaning a chicken.
Eye Relief for rinsing eyes
Iodine solution for any injury or wound.
Nutri-Drench for sick and weak chickens.
Terramycin for eye injury.
VetRx for respiratory issues.
Vitamins, B complex, Bio E Selenium and Alpha lipoic acid, to boost health in your flock following any sickness or for any neurological problems, such as a pulled muscle, tendon, wry neck, etc. I put links to the ones I use, but whatever they have at your local store will work.
Yogurt to make a vitamin mix for your flock or a sick chicken. For ten chickens, mix two capsules of each of the above vitamins in 4 cups of yogurt. Mix well and serve to your flock.
Electrolyte Recipe:
4 cups Water
1TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 + 1/4 tsp Molasses
1/4 tsp Salt
Mix together and keep in a cool dark place.
Apple Cider Vinegar, for a nice cool drink during the summertime.
Extra tip:
One thing to do if your flock is struggling in the heat
During the summer time, your flock is drinking a lot, their droppings will be more watery, and that's okay. I like to give my flock ice water with 1tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar in a quarter gallon waterer. Remember, don't use a metal waterer, apple cider vinegar is an acid and will cause the metal to rust. I use a plastic waterer or bowl.
Happy chicken keeping!
I'm not an expert, I am just trying to give out some useful information I've learned.
Photo credits: me- CCsGarden
