As with any household pet, at some point they will have some type of health problem, chickens are no different. In this article I have listed some of the most common chicken health problems, solutions, how to prevent and treat.
Most of these health problems can easily be treated and prevented, only in rare cases will you experience a more severe situation that will result in death.
Mites
Chicken mite are one on the worst pests that can infest your chickens, one of the easiest treatments for mites is prevention.
So you might ask, what does a mite look like and how do I prevent them.
Once the weather starts to warm up be on the lookout, these little mites are gray in color and live on the outside of your chickens. They will feed on your chickens’ blood at night, once these parasites start to feed they will turn red in color.
Finding mites
If you suspect your chickens have mites, go into the coop at night with a flashlight while your hens are roosting , check the perches, and legs, if you have a large number of mites you will be able to see little red specs. examine your chickens around the base of their feathers, and under the wings.
Some other indications that your chickens have mites are-
Loss of feather
Loss of appetite
Blood smears on legs
Pale comb and wattles
Reduction in egg production
Will mites go away?
No! Mites will not go away on there own, if you find mites its best to take care of them right away before a few turn into many.
So how do you eradicate this issues, first if you have only a few hens with mites try to isolate and treat them so the rest of your flock does not become infected. If this is not an option you will need to relocate your hens while you perform a full top to bottom clean out of your entire coop and nesting boxes, replace all the bedding with new, everything MUST be cleaned.
Treatment
Lets look at some natural ways to get ride of these mites in your coop.
To treat your hens you have a couple options, first it to treat your coop with Diatomaceous earth, this is fossilized remains that will cut and kill the mites, use springing around the coop, you can also dust your hens, wear gloves and a mask, try not to breath in the dust or allow your chickens too. Use your best judgment as the benefits of DE out weighs the loss of your flock to parasites, but on the other hand the ingestion of DE by your hens may be beneficial to egg production.
In some cases people have had success with rubbing wood ashes on the skin, similar to DE, but only use ashes from NONE treated wood.
Here are two treatments you can use on your hens-
This is a recipe that you can make up at home, there are a few variation of this out on the internet, but from my experience this works well, but like any treatment, consistency is the key to eliminating these parasites, be sure to focus on the neck and under the wings.
- 25 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed (or 1 oz garlic extract)
- 45 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 30 drops lavender essential oil
- 30 drops peppermint essential oil
- 20 drops cinnamon bark essential oil
- 2 tbs white vinegar or witch hazel (unless using garlic extract)
- Water
If you prefer a ready made mixture with great results martin’s spray works great too, but take into consideration that you will not want to eat the eggs from the chickens that have been treated with a chemical insecticide spray for 1-2 weeks
Be sure to spray your chickens every day for at least two weeks. After two weeks, you can spray them every other day for at least two-three more weeks. I would also recommend changing out the bedding 1-2 more times and continue with the DE for 2-3 weeks.
Prevention
Having a dust Bath available is one of the best ways to prevent mites. If you don’t have a dust bath in your coop or run , consider making one. A dust bath is rather simple and can be made using a shallow pan or box, with either wood ash, DE, or potting soil, you can even do a combination. You will want to keep it covered location or in your coop so it does not get wet.
Chickens take dust baths to naturally shed parasites like mites. Your chickens have no natural defense against these insects without the availability of a dust bath!
Poultry Lice
Another big problem of poultry is the many different forms of lice. Regardless of locality and geographic location there will be variations of lice that are dominant in the area. Lice are small wingless insects, with chewing mouth parts. Unlike mites, lice do not suck blood but rather feed on dry skin scales and feathers. They cause irritation to the host bird with their movement and chewing action. Poultry lice infection generally results in weak birds, lower egg production levels and makes the birds more susceptible to illnesses.
Prevention
Prevention is almost impossible however early detection is the next best way to control louse and mite infestations. You should always keep the chicken coops and bedding clean and fresh. Regularly scrub coop and nesting boxes with disinfectant, soap and water, and make sure to inspect your flock regularly to see if there are signs of any infestation in order to correct the problem before any harm is done.
