How to Prevent Sickness?

Welcome to BYC....this IS the website for that kind of information! Oh, and a good dose of common sense will be your best friend, so listen to it.

Keeping chickens healthy is the easy part - good diet, fresh air and sunshine, fresh water, clean environment and don't overcrowd. Provide boredom busters.....branches, logs, hanging cabbages.....anything you can think of to keep them entertained so they don't start misbehaving because there is nothing else to do.

Don't mix birds from different sources immediately. By that I mean if you have birds you've raised and Mr. Farmer down the road offers you some started pullets to add to your flock, don't just get them and put them directly into your coop. You'll end up with bloody battles, injured birds you have to take care of, and the chance of spreading parasites, pathogens, and diseases your flock might not have been exposed to.....and the same is true in reverse. Your flock might be immune to something in your setup but the new birds might not be and then you have an illness problem spreading through both the old and flock. Learn about quarantine procedures and follow them. To the letter. Every time.

Home remedies? There are probably as many of them as there are flocks. Some put apple cider vinegar in the water every day. Some believe in DE in their dust bathes and the floor of the coop - diatomaceous earth - to keep down mites and lice. Castor oil is good for foot and leg injuries. It increases circulation and speeds healing when rubbed in. Others will come up with a million more, I'm sure. I'm of the "keep it simple" school. I wasn't at first and I drove myself and my flock nuts with fixes and cures and book-learning. There's nothing wrong with learning from books.... it's a good place to start. But experience will be the best teacher. You'll find what works for you, your family, your location and situation, and your chickens by sorting through everything and either applying or discarding that info.

All that said, chickens get sick. They get hurt. And they die. We hate it, but it's part of the deal. I have a good friend who always says that they are hatched looking for a way to die. That's a scary thought, but I've learned she's right. So build the safest, strongest coop you can. Provide a secure run attached to it so that they aren't confined to the small coop area during inclement weather or when you can't be there to supervise some outside time. Learn to be strong enough to cull a bird if you have to. There's an emergency illness and injuries thread on BYC and if you ever have those things happen that's a good place to start - lots of very smart people out there with experience in all sorts of things.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

Chick raising can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Me, I take the easy way...I imitate exactly what a mother hen does and it works well for me. Here are a couple of links to show you what I mean.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

Chicken keeping for most of us starts out as a grand adventure that quickly becomes just a normal way of life. I hope you'll find that too! Good luck!

 

Well said!

 

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Well, @Blooie always has good info and this time is no different!

Keep it simple is the best advice... as nature intended it.

Keep it clean and not overcrowded and feed a balanced diet.... the very best ways to help avoid illness and disease.

Yep, I'm the over doer, sprout grains, raise live meal worms, grow fodder, ferment my chicken feed (check the link in my signature line), bought the raw acv but ended up not using it (didn't work for me).

I hate DE and refuse to use it! Personal choice. Like stated, we all have our different ways. And even if we don't agree, we all all here to support and learn from each other. What sounds good in theory may not always work for you. Just be willing to adjust as needed. Flocks grow, dynamics change.

BYC is by far the most informational for me. But another useful site maybe laid out differently or just a second opinion source, and I don't agree with everything she does... but you take what you need and leave the rest...

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/

Have lot's of fun!