Tag: Healthy

10 Essential Tips for Healthy Chickens

Provide a clean and spacious coop: Chickens need a clean and dry living environment to prevent diseases. Regularly clean the coop, remove any droppings, and provide fresh bedding.
Provide fresh food and water: Chickens need access to fresh food and water at all times. Provide them with a balanced diet that includes grains, proteins, and minerals, and make sure they have access to clean water to stay hydrated.
Practice good biosecurity: Implement good biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of diseases. Limit access to your chicken coop, avoid introducing new birds without proper quarantine and testing, and practice good hygiene when handling chickens.
Keep chickens protected from predators: Predators like foxes, raccoons, and birds of prey can pose a threat to your chickens. Make sure your coop is securely fenced and protected with sturdy wire mesh to keep predators out.
Allow chickens to free-range: Giving chickens access to a fenced or enclosed area where they can forage for insects, worms, and greens can improve their overall health and well-being. Free-ranging also helps to prevent boredom and encourages natural behaviors.
Keep the coop well-ventilated: Proper ventilation in the coop is crucial for preventing respiratory issues and reducing ammonia buildup from chicken droppings. Make sure the coop has windows or vents that can be opened to allow fresh air to circulate.
Keep the coop and nesting boxes clean: Regularly clean the coop and nesting boxes to prevent the buildup of droppings, which can attract pests and lead to diseases. Replace soiled bedding with fresh bedding regularly.
Provide dust baths: Chickens love to take dust baths, which help them to clean their feathers and prevent mites and lice. Provide a dry, sandy area in the coop or run for them to take dust baths.
Don’t overcrowd: Make sure the coop is spacious enough to allow chickens to move around freely. At least 2ft. of ground space for each bird is preferred.
Limit Treats: A nutritionally balanced diet is compromised by treats. Treats should never compromise more than 5% of a hen’s dietary intake. This includes healthy foods & supplements, which can replace a portion of essential dietary elements found in manufactured feed.

Back to HOME PAGE

How to Buy Healthy Chicks from a Feed Store

Be an Informed Buyer, Ask Questions, Recognize Signs of Poor Health

It’s Spring and you might have buying baby chicks on your mind. This is when the feed stores have all those cute fuzzy butts available, and they certainly are hard to resist. Nothing wrong with being an impulse buyer in my book, but at least be an informed one!
There are things to look for, and of course, you want to bring home healthy chicks. Once you leave the store, there’s no turning back, whatever chick problems you have, you’re stuck with, sorry, no returns.
Ask Questions
It’s good practice to ask the store manager when they received the chicks. Most likely the chicks were in transport before their arrival. During that time, chicks can become dehydrated, stressed, and kept too cold or hot, all compromising a chick’s survival. Most chicks in poor health will die within the first two days of their life. You’ll want to avoid buying chicks until they settle in at least 3-4 days after transport.
Marek’s disease is extremely contagious among chickens and usually fatal, so always make sure the chicks you buy are vaccinated at the hatchery.

Choosing Healthy Chicks

You’ll want to see active chicks, some resting, others eating & drinking, and some under a heat source. This is normal behavior. Avoid chicks that are all huddled together, or lethargic.
Eyes should be clear, and you don’t want to see any signs of fecal impaction, better known as pasty butts, Learn More.
The beak, top, and bottom should be even, there shouldn’t be an overbite, or cross-over which may interfere with proper eating.
Legs should appear sturdy and straight.
Chicks will be fuzzy all over, avoid those with sparse or missing fluff.
Prepare
Have your brooder in place and ready to go before you bring home your baby chicks, it’s important to make their once again transition easy as possible. The brooder box should be the right temperature with bedding, a heat source, and food/water in place.

Back to Chicken Keeping Resources HOME PAGE