What members are most experienced with chickens

[aart]

Has anyone else noticed that a chicken's temperature fluctuates depending on whether it's summer or winter? My chickens range 104.5-107.5 in the summer and 103-105 in the winter. Just wondering if it's actually normal.

Has never taken a chickens temperature. And they give me hard time about chickening pelvic points.

 

[bobbi-j]

Has never taken a chickens temperature. And they give me hard time about chickening pelvic points.

It's never occurred to me to do so, either.

 

[Blooie]

Me either.

 

[JedJackson]

I agree with all that’s been said, and for example @JedJackson is best at sexing chickens and telling you the breed, @The Moonshiner is best at genetics.

I appreciate the vote of confidence, but there are many others that are just as good as me or better at determining sex and breed. That's not modesty but fact. And none of us gets it right every time, which is why multiple opinions are so valuable, and I think that is true in all of the forums. Working together as a community to give answers, information and help to people is the real strength of BYC, in my opinion.

 

[Blooie]

Why? Makes no sense to be constantly inserting anything into a multi-purpose opening just to see if there might be something there.... At the animal hospitals where I worked we never even took a dog or cat's temperatures unless we were looking for something specific.

 

[chicken vet girl]

@Blooie I take their temperatures if they are drooping their wings, feel to warm, or are acting lethargic. Usually it's with chickens that have history with problems. I have been able to catch ovary infections and sub-temperatures on chickens that way. I didn't mean to say that I just walk around inserting a thermometer into healthy chickens all the time. Because of temperature fluctuations with the weather, I sometimes take a healthy chickens temperature to compare to the chicken that I think has a bad temperature. After all 107 in the summer is Ok, but in the winter probably a fever.

 

[casportpony]

Has anyone else noticed that a chicken's temperature fluctuates depending on whether it's summer or winter? My chickens range 104.5-107.5 in the summer and 103-105 in the winter. Just wondering if it's actually normal.

A vet at UC Davis told me that the temperature of a bird varies and that taking it temperature from vent is not a reliable way so it's not usually done. FWIW, the few times I have taken sick birds to the vet their temps were not taken.

Now I just go by how they feel and I only worry if they feel cool.

 

[chicken vet girl]

It certainly does vary. Does that mean it's totally undependable? Such as in the case of my hen.

 

[aart]

Does that mean it's totally undependable?

Can depend on how that info is interpreted....or misinterpreted.

 

[casportpony]

I went through this before I talked to UC Davis and found that I could take the temp of hen, then two minutes later take it again and it was two degrees higher or lower.