Common Chicken Health Problems

Keeping chickens in your backyard is a great way to have fresh eggs around all the time. If you are really brave, you can also have fresh meat for you and your family.

Some commonly asked questions are:
- Can I break even keeping a flock of chickens?
- How old do my pullets have to be before they start laying eggs?
- Which chicken breeds are best for producing the most eggs?
- Which chicken breeds have the best meat?

You can find the answers to all of these questions and more by CLICKING HERE. This site has a ton of useful information about keeping chickens and chicken care. You can also sign up for a FREE chicken keeping newsletter

Find out how to avoid The "7 Deadly Mistakes When Keeping Pet Chickens" by CLICKING HERE.

There are a variety of common chicken health problems that you need to be aware of if you are going to own your own backyard chickens. Most chicken health problems will affect their air sacs, lungs and air passages which obviously will lead to respiratory problems. This can lead to the eventual death of the affected chickens very quickly if you don't treat them.

If you keep the environment that your chickens live in as clean as possible, you can greatly minimize the risk of chicken health problems developing. If you keep too many chickens in an area that is not large enough, you are also asking for trouble. If you allow your hens to raise chicks, you will need to either reduce the number of chickens in your flock. If you don't want to thin out the number of birds you are keeping then you will have enlarge your chicken house and chicken run or add new areas as your flock grows.

There are a lot of common chicken health problems that you need to be aware of. It can be hard to diagnose some of these illnesses and you need a reference manual to refer to. CLICK HERE and download Chicken Keeping Secrets

The two biggest and most common chicken health problems that can affect your flock are mites and lice. There are many different types of mites and lice that you will need to look for.

Mites can infest all types of poultry, not just chickens. Unfortunately, mites are easily spread from wild birds in your area as well as rodents that visit your property. If you show your birds, you need to check them for mites before you bring them home because they may pick them up from affected birds at the show. Mite infestations must be controlled as quickly as possible because they can lead to the death of a lot of birds in your flock.

Find out more how to identify mites. CLICK HERE and get information on more chicken diseases.

Chicken mites The most common form of mites are chicken mites. These parasites live on the actual skin of the birds, in the bedding and in the nesting boxes. They are extremely small parasites that are a yellowish gray color before they feed and then they turn red after eating off your birds. They are nocturnal only and will hide in crevices during the day.

You don't actually need to treat your chickens with this parasite. These mites can be managed fairly easily by regularly cleaning your chicken coops and nesting boxes. Scrubbing and disinfecting works very well with these parasites. The oil kills the mites because it blocks their breathing pours and it won't hurt your chickens or their eggs. You can try using mineral oil and rubbing it all over the bottom of the boxes.

Northern Foul Mites These are nasty little parasites that live on your birds and feed on them around the clock. They are tiny parasites that are a reddish brown color. You can usually tell if your chickens are infested because they cause the feathers to be discolored due to the parasites waste and their eggs.

If your chickens are infested with these mites, they will be weak, won't eat well, will look very thin and their egg production will drop. These parasites can kill your birds so you must monitor them carefully. With this type of infestation you have to treat the birds directly since the parasites live on them.

Scaley Leg Mites This type of mite lives on the legs and feet of the chickens on their scales. The scales will look raised and will separate from the skin of the bird. Your chickens feet and legs may swell up and you may notice that there is a discharge coming from their scales. Again, you have to treat the birds directly for this type of infestation.

Poultry Lice Lice are another cause of chicken health problems that you must control to keep your chickens healthy. There are a lot of different types of lice that can infest your chickens and they will vary depending on where you live. Lice are tiny insects that don't have wings and they actually feed on your chickens skin and feathers with teeth. The affected chickens will have skin irritations, will be weak and egg production will drop.

Having a flock of chickens in your back yard can be a lot of fun. You can add even more fun to the experience by adding Araucana chickens to your flock. They are wonderful chickens that are very self sufficient and lay blue eggs. Click the link to find out more about Araucana Chickens

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As discussed earlier, the best prevention is to keep your chicken coops and nesting boxes as clean as possible. Set up a regimen to regularly disinfect them with soap and water. But sometimes even the cleanest chicken coops and the best cared for chickens will suffer from chicken health problems.

Once you are dealing with infested birds, first remove all of your nesting boxes and all bedding from your chicken coop. Clean and disinfect everything that you can get to. If you can, move your chickens to a new area for a few months until you have a chance to get the infestation under control. Notice I said "under control" instead of "eliminated" because once you have an infestation, it is almost impossible to completely eradicate them. You just have to try and control them.

Then you will need to decide what type of treatment is best for your flock. You can purchase Sevin powder to effectively get rid of lice and mite infestations on your chickens. You can use it directly in your chicken coops and on the chickens themselves. Re-treatment will be required in order to stop the life cycle of new eggs that weren't killed the first time around or your chickens will be re-infested.

Another product that is not toxic is called Orange Guard and it is an extremely organic treatment that you can use in your chicken coops but it cannot be applied directly to your chickens.

For Scaley Leg mites, you can try using a variety of oils like mineral oil, vegetable oil, Vaseline, etc. You have to capture your chickens and apply it very heavily to their legs and feet. Unfortunately this has to be done every two days until your chickens are no longer infested.

A better way to treat Scaley Leg mites is to use Adams Flea and Tick Mist (with IGR). You can spray their legs and feet and then massage it in to make sure that you have even coverage. While it is more expensive initially, works on adult mites and their hatching eggs which is great. It is also cheaper in the long run when you factor in the fact that it works for three months at a time. I mark my calendar and just treat my entire flock every three months like clockwork. The hens and roosters hate it but oh well. I catch them all after dark to save myself a lot of grief.

CLICK HERE and download Chicken Keeping Secrets so that you will be equipped to properly identify chicken diseases in your flock.

Foot problems are very common in chickens. Keep in mind that they only have two feet and if one is injured, they are going to have mobitlity problems. The stress of hobbling around on one leg can actually cause problems with the previously healthy leg leading to a chicken that can't get around at all.

If you notice one of your chickens having trouble getting around, catch that chicken and take a closer look. See if the feet are cut, have an absess or bliste or is swollen. If you notice any problems, it's best to separate that chicken from the flock until it has healed. That way the rest of the chickens won't pick on the injured one and it will have time to recover. It won't have to endure being chased away from food and water and it can actually rest and recover.

Older hens may also develop arthritis. There isn't much you can do except try to make things easier for your hen. Provide perches that are various sizes so that she can pick the one that is the most comfortable for her. Provide ramps for easy access to perches so she can climb up and down without having to land on her feet.

I lost several chickens to two stray dogs this summer during the evening and I was fed up. Their owner's refuse to keep them contained in their yard so I bought some electric tape and installed it around the perimeter of the area where my chickens are allowed to roam free. I sat in a lawn chair and waited for the dogs to arrive that evening.

The first dog attempted to weave his body through the two strips of electrical tape that I installed, got zapped, yelped and ran for his life. The second dog approached more cautiously and merely touched the electric tape with her nose. She also got zapped for her trouble. She didn't run but laid down outside of the electric fencing and I suspect tried to figure out how to get through it. Neither one has been in my yard again so as far as I'm concerned, it worked for me.

Your chickens should not get shocked themselves as long as they can safely run under the wire and clear it without touching it. Whether it is a dog, a chicken or a person, a shock is only delivered when the dog, chicken or person is touching the ground and the fence at the same time.

You can get your very own Flock-Shock SS-600 AC Powered Electric Poultry Fence Energizer 1 Mile Range to help contain your flock and help keep predators out.

Keeping your chickens healthy and disease free doesn't have to be a full time job but it does require some effort on your part. To find out more about how to prevent chicken health problems and chicken diseases visit this link == > healthy happy chickens

Did you know what as more and more American's become worried about the food supply, they are turning to the sustainable living movement? What is the sustainable living movement? The sustainable living movement focuses on the ecology of how we live as humans and stives to regain harmony with nature.

As part of the sustainable living movement, more and more every day people just like you and me in urban and suburban settings, are starting to raise backyard chickens and grow their own organic gardens. It is one small way that we can help reduce our dependence on the national food supply and provide healthy, antibiotic free meat and eggs to our families. Another part of the movement is buying from local farmers that use organic methods to raise their animals as well as fruits and vegetables.

You can find out more about the sustainable living movement by checking out any of the books below. They can help you get started on the path towards sustainable living.

If you're interested in keeping chickens at home, or you already are, then you need to read this review of Chicken Keeping Secrets.

When I first started raising chickens, I bought several chicken raising books. Some of them were very basic and some were way too technical! The great thing about this book is the way it's written. Each subject in the book is clearly written and easy to understand. I keep it on my coffee table and browse through a few pages during the week. There is so much information in this book that I seriously doubt I will ever need to buy another chicken keeping book again.

I bought a number of books on chickens two years ago when I was first entertaining the idea of keeping hens. I can toss them all out now that I have this book. I sure wish it was out when I started this project!

Everything you really need to know to raise chickens is in this book. The authors give clear and reasonable recommendations on vaccinations, worming, feeding... just about everything you can think of.

The book is easy to use and clearly organized. It's also engagingly written. I have more confidence in my chicken keeping abilities.

It is a great value for the price and it comes with a full money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose.

One of the things that I love most about getting this ebook is that you can also reference the easy to use website and sign up for free newsletter covering chicken care, chicken behavior, chicken nutrition and more.

I give it a BIG THUMBS UP! CLICK HERE and download Chicken Keeping Secrets

This book will provide you with litterally everything you need to know and Chicken Keeping Secrets is a must have for anyone whether you're a complete beginner and don't know where to start, or you're a seasoned chicken keeping professional and just want practical "how to" advice on tap.

Introducing Chicken Keeping Secrets brand new, official guide to keeping chickens at home.

In this concise, easy to read, step by step guide - that you can download instantly - you'll discover

* The 10 most commonly kept breeds of chicken including; their suitability for egg laying and /or meat production, their basic requirements and adaptability to your specific climate, and perhaps most importantly if you have children - their different temperaments and personalities.

* A brief history of chicken keeping and how to determine whether keeping chickens in your own backyard is really the right option for you.

* A complete run down on what chickens need to really thrive, the costs involved (they're much lower than you might think), and how much time you're really going to need to dedicate to the new additions to your family

* No fuss, no mess chicken coops and chicken runs

* Feeding and nutrition advice because what you feed your chickens ends up in you!

* Basic chicken health information.

I designed this lens to provide general information on chickens and chicken care for anyone looking for it. But, you should know that I do this for a living and this website generates some revenue through affiliate marketing. If you click a link and purchase something from that link, I will make a percentage off that sale.