Prevention is key to keeping your flock healthy.

• Keep water dishes clean and food dry and contained.
• Manage you coop in such a way to minimize health risks (sanitation and number of chickens).
• Although chickens love your kitchen scraps, beware of what you give them. Do not feed moldy or rotten foods.
• Spend time with your flock and observe their behaviors, poop, and physical characteristics. If there is a problem, catching it early is key! If you find a sick bird, be sure to isolate it from the flock.
• Some possible symptoms to look for indicating injury/illness/disease include: Coughing, wheezing, labored breathing, warts/scabs, swollen joints, loss of feathers, reduced egg production, thin egg shells, fever, abscesses or open wounds, paralysis, twisting of neck/head, discharge from nose/mouth, diarrhea/blood in stool, not eating/drinking, weight loss, retarded growth, lack of coordination, enlarged abdomen.

Even when you follow proper care habits however, injury and disease/illness can still strike your flock. Many chicken keepers feel helpless when they have a sick bird, and it can be difficult to find an avian vet that specializes in chickens. Many chicken diseases also present similar symptoms, so diagnosis and treatment can be tricky. Here are some resources to help you learn about chicken illnesses, injuries, and disease. The forum is also a great place to get your questions answered.

What’s wrong with my chicken?

These great resources from the University of Florida IFAS Extension provide great references for understanding poultry disease and symptoms.

• Common Poultry Diseases (w/ diagnostic charts of clinical signs)

• Mites, Fleas, and Lice

We are looking for more resources related to chicken illness/injury/disease. We could really use a tutorial related to chicken injury- broken bones, dog bites, etc. If you have content you would like to submit, please contact us and help the site grow.