Do chickens need vet check-ups?

[chook master]

We have 4 chickens and i was wondering if they needed vet check-ups? 2 of them are a year and 2 months old and the other 2 are 14-18 weeks old.

 

[GranmaEm]

What a great question!

I am not sure how comfortable you are with providing basic preventive care yourself (there are great guides here on BYC). Not everybody immunizes against Mareks and Coccidiosis with home care, but yours may have been after hatching. Many people with small home flocks don't immunize against these diseases at all.

I tend to reserve vet care for the chooks for when they are sick/injured beyond my confidence level in treating. I personally can't think of any regular checkups they need that would require a vet's expertise, but it would be great to hear others' views on this.