The Official Healthy Chicken, Preventative Management Thread

[gritsar]

I don't want to quote the wrong person, but I believe it was speckledhen that made the observation that free range birds will instinctively find plants to eat that have anti-parasitic properties.
Starting out, I didn't intend to free range my flock(s) but now I am very glad I do.

 

[Beekissed]

I free range full time, feed a mix of laying mash(no animal proteins) and mixed grains, give fresh water and sometimes add a dollop of UP/ACV. My birds range over an acre of mixed grasses, eat all the apples they can tuck into each fall, any garden leftovers and sometimes range into the fields on either side just to be contrary.

I feed once a day in the evening, usually an hour before they go to roost. Unlike other folks on here, I don't mind when they poop under the roosts....actually, I'm hoping they do. All litter is applied to my gardens, so the manure is valuable to me.

I don't use dewormers or medicines here. I've never had a symptomatic illness in all the years I've been keeping chickens but I have had a few die from organ failure and just drop off the roost. I believe this was from feeding laying mash to them when they were chicks~see, I do learn

~ as I had never had any die in that manner previously.

I do feed pumpkin seeds and grow my own pumpkins for this purpose. Pumpkin seeds are supposed to have a property that paralyzes worms and results in them detaching from the bowel and being expelled. For the record, I've never seen worms in my chicken's stool. Occasionally I will add a drop or two of Shaklee's soap to their water for the same reason.

I had mites this year from adopted birds who were asymptomatic. These were finally managed with NUStock, an ointment of pine tar, mineral oil and sulfur.

I never vaccine nor feed medicated feeds. My chicks are brooded by a foster mom when possible and are out on the ground as soon as possible. I rarely clean out the brooder pen as I use deep litter there and its rarely used long enough to create a mess. I like my chicks exposed to everything my flock may have as soon as possible.

I use deep litter in my coop now and am amazed I didn't use it years before...I love it! No smell, no flies (unless raising meaties...ewww) and keeps my birds warm in the winter.

My coop is ancient and very...er..uh..ventilated.

In the winter the large windows, usually just having hardware cloth and chicken wire on them, are covered with plastic. The pop door is kept open all year round. The birds stay snug and I don't have any problems with the cold here and, trust me, here in the mountains it can stay pretty cold.

Nesting boxes have a mix of pine shavings and hay and are cleaned out as necessary. I clean out my deep litter a couple of times a year. I have round roosts made from tree limbs and young saplings in a staggered pattern to allow for pecking order establishment.

I have one Partridge Rock roo that I have not needed to school very much at all. I keep him alert and wary. So far he has recognized me as alpha roo and has never challenged me. He learned very quickly that he cannot eat nor mate when I am present. He keeps a polite distance and has become an avid breeder and good flockmaster. I currently have 15 older hens and 18 chicks, all dual purpose breeds known for egg laying, cold hardiness, brown eggs, heritage breeds.

I have two LGDs who are trustworthy and just great all around farm dogs. I've only lost two hens to predators and that was just this past winter~hawks. Hawks abound here and two hens were picked off. My older dog is usually death on hawk predation but she has become slow and arthritic recently, hence the losses.

My approach is to let my flock establish a hardy immune system without the aid of vaccines or medicines, cull for nonlaying, watch the flock for any abnormalities and just enjoy their happy life as chickens. They are free to dust, sun, forage, roost, mate and generally come and go as they please here.

So far, so good...no illnesses over many years.

 

[Beekissed]

Now, I know there are an awful lot of healthy flocks out there....c'mon, flock masters! Tell us all your secrets to a healthy flock...what you've done about parasite issues, tried and true methods to keep birds healthy and not on the sick or injured lists.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I think i have a very healthy, hardy flock, but i don't really have "methods."

I just try to think about things practically and try to keep my birds healthy by letting them build their own healthy immune systems, allowing LOTS of exercise and natural activity and trying not to go against the natural way of things too much.

I think free-ranging is the best way to go, and it eliminates so many social issues that you would have to deal with if your chickens were confined to a run.

One tip i guess i can give is -- and this is easier if you have a small flock -- to give weekly exams to all your chickens. As they've gotten older, i haven't done much of this, but especially while they're growing up, you will be able to see and prevent problems before they become problems if you handle and look over your chickens often.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:

I agree with a LOT of things you said - but especially this.

 

[sonew123]

ok ok Ill try

I have feed out 24/7 and they free range from 7am-8pm

I worm 4x a year with ivermectin-was doing it twice but noticed that wasnt good enough as I found mites on a few of my girls 2 months after I wormed them

I have never found worms from any of my birds as I scope out their poop boards 2x a day

I completely clean out shavings in coop and nesting boxes 1x a week and load on the DE ( just to help)

I keep a shallow box of DE to swim in too

I have 50+ birds-I treated with antibiotice last year because I heard some sneezing and coughing-did the trick nothing since

All feeders and waterers get bleached 1 x a week-cleaned daily

I rake out all pens and runs 3-4x a week

I give my chickens as many treats that contain natural ingredients to keep their immune systems strong-lots of melons and seeds

I have managed to survive the deep litter method this past winter and I KNOW I didnt do it right becase it smelled no matter how much I cleaned it and added fresh bedding it needs alot of ventilation-which-lesson learned -they will have this winter



Thast it I think??? For me that is

 

[Beekissed]

See? There are folks out there who aren't dealing with sick or injured animals all the time.....so this should put newbies at ease a little about raising chickens. It really is easier than it sounds on this forum.....I don't really have any methods either....mine are more non-methods of raising chickens.

I didn't get into raising chickens for something to do...I have tons of things that need done!

I got into raising chickens so as to have a food source that is ever renewable, relatively cheap to maintain and requires very little in the way of fencing, housing, maintenance, etc~at least, where I live anyway. I sometimes cringe at the sheer dollars and time spent by other folks to just keep a few chickens....I would never go to those lengths for a hobby...but then, that's just me.

They provide food, fertilizer, bug removal, grass trimming and they add a certain rustic beauty to my little acre. People enjoy driving by and seeing the pretty colored hens strutting across the green grass...I must say I enjoy it also. I can sell eggs to cover feed expense or I can choose to give away eggs as a food ministry~which I am currently doing.

I also enjoy knowing that my gals are hardy and tough, self-sufficient and as close to wild chickens as I can get...no lap birds here~ just wild and woolly fat girls lovin' life and bein' chickens.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, you know mine but here is my philosophy:

Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

1) Keep a clean, dry environment...change bedding as needed, watch out for leaky waterers/windows/roofs, etc.

2) Fresh air/ventilation is essential..poop and respiration add moisture in the air. Ventilation overhead, not at roost or floor level.

3) Provide fresh water, daily. Would you take a sip out of the waterer? If not, clean it.

4) Give fresh, nutritious food, formulated for the age/function of the birds

5) Provide a safe, predator-proofed, uncrowded coop and run...they depend on you for protection

6) Periodically, check over each bird in the flock for lice, mites, wounds, etc.

7) Practice good biosecurity..disinfect shoes before and after visting the feedstore and shows, quarantine new birds, etc Under no circumstances, sell, trade, or give away a bird that shows sign of infection or has contacted another bird who shows signs of infection, or comes from a flock that has shown signs of infection, now or in the past.

8) At the first sign of respiratory illness, i.e., discharges from nose or eyes or bad smell, cull, cull, cull...birds don't get colds, per se; they contract diseases, many of which make them carriers for their lifetime. That means they are able to infect others even if they seem to recover themselves. See Rule #7.

9) Do not medicate unnecessarily, including wormers and antibiotics

10) DO YOUR RESEARCH! There are numerous books and articles profiling poultry management and poultry disease. Read, study
and then formulate a plan of action, should the worst happen, before it happens.