What's Up With All These Sick Chickens?

[Three Stents]

Having second thoughts on raising chickens, seems like the majority of topics here and other forms are about how sick their "hen/rooster" is. What's going on?

 

[tlcmurphy]

Having second thoughts on raising chickens, seems like the majority of topics here and other forms are about how sick their "hen/rooster" is. What's going on?

Many people Google chicken illnesses and it brings them to this forum for help. It doesn’t mean chickens in general are sickly, I think it’s great that there are so many knowledgeable members here!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Why does the news only report terrible things? Strife here, flooding there, economy's bad, everything's awful!

In the same way many users only post on here when they have an issue, whether it's a medical emergency or a behavioral concern.

Most people don't see any need to post about their flock being healthy and happy, the set up is working well, etc. You can of course, but the reality is a large number of users only use the site for questions, not for socializing.

 

[alinas2010]

It can be discouraging to see all the problems people have, but you can also look at it as learning opportunities. Knowing what to do and be prepared in the event of injuries and sickness can make you a great owner

But I agree with the above, I don’t think it’s that they are a tough pet to have, I think this site is just a bit of funnel for people who run into problems with them. There aren’t many options to help treat chickens out there, so many are left to try to figure it out on their own.

 

[McChooky]

My chickens are rarely sick.They free range everyday on fresh ground

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I also have been blessed to have a healthy flock. In 15 years of chicken keeping and over 6 years of visiting regularly here on BYC, I have had only one emergency, and it was a first aid problem because a dog hurt one of my hens. Thanks to BYC, she recovered perfectly well. I do come here to socialize, to learn and to share my little bit of knowledge with others who have problems I'm familiar with (like, "Help, a dog hurt my chicken!").

If you sat at an ER and watched people come and go all day, you'd know that's not a fair representation of everyone's everyday life. BYC is Chicken ER. It's where people come when they need help.

 

[Airyaman]

Chickens can't tell us what's wrong and many can't really afford to take their chickens to the vet.

So we ask questions here instead.

 

[Three Stents]

from what I have seen on all these forums, I don't think there is a sicker animal, than a chicken. Mites, lice, Mareks, Newcastle, Coccidiosis, fowl pox, mycoplasmosis, avian influenza, samonella, bound egg.... then there is the quarateen

 

[Three Stents]

Chickens can't tell us what's wrong and many can't really afford to take their chickens to the vet.

So we ask questions here instead.

this is part of it,,,,,no vets

 

[tlcmurphy]

Do you have chickens?