Chickens, like any other animal (us included), they get sick
or injured and need treatment.
Unfortunately, like other animals (children and men excluded), they
cannot tell you what hurts or what does not feel good. This means, you and I have to be not only
Friend and Veterinarian/Nurse, but Detective as well. Our VERY BEST DEFENSE
against ailments is early discovery. If
you can catch an issue at the very beginning stages, you are more likely to
have success with the outcome. I learned
as I went along. I was proactive by
reading, reading, reading, but you can read all you want, experience is the
very, best teacher.
Here is my story:
When I first got chickens, I was ecstatic. I had chickens!!! How cool was that? I had done my reading. I knew what to look for and how to treat
it. I was all set. For the first nearly year and a half,
everything was fine. I had no issues
whatsoever – well, aside from the incredible desire to increase my flock size
by about 100 because these chickens were proving to be so much more amazing
that I expected - - and I had yet to experience any problems and thought they
were incredibly easy to raise.
One day, I realized one of my girls wasn’t feeling
well. I let her go another day while
watching her and googling possible problems and their cures. When she finally exhibited what I felt were
clear and concise signs, I treated her for what I suspected the problem to be
and got better w/in 24 hrs. Easy
peasy. Another couple of years went by,
I kept my flock manageable (I was hiding them in a suburban backyard, mind you)
in size and had very, very few issues aside from an eye infection (from getting
pecked in the eye) and a probable broken toe (which I saw what likely cause it,
but said bird would not let me treat it, still moved around nearly as well as
before and is still getting along just fine, w/out my having helped, and only
limps on the cold and damp days. I did
lose one bird that I have, to this day, no idea what happened. She just keeled over in the coop one
night. She had absolutely zero signs of
any issue, although she always seemed “not quite right”. We teasingly called her Neuro Chicken. She was just flat strange – I am not opposed
to the idea she had true neurological issues from birth. The other bird I lost was due to an attempted
Hawk Attack – she was hit and rolled severely, probably causing internal
injuries.
All of this amazingness led me to believe there was nothing
to this Chicken-Keeping Thing. I mean
seriously, if I could do it this easily, why didn’t everyone else? Well, like my experiences with child-rearing,
I was going to get my eye-opener, it was just a matter of time.
After a couple of years, I moved and brought my
chickens. Still, things were great. However, shortly after moving I lost 2
chickens mysteriously. My daughter was
staying at my place, chicken sitting and called me to say she found them dead one
morning. Again, that mysterious
death. I had been very busy with the
move as well as the normal things I did and I was afraid I had missed
something, but I didn’t think so. I
chalked it up to stress from the move as everyone else was doing perfectly
fine. 
I met and married Hubby and moved (again). This time, I was less stressed on the move
(well, as stress free as a move can be) and did it much better. Pen built, chickens moved and placed in the
house in the evening so they would wake up in their new surroundings thereby,
hopefully, reducing stress. Things
seemed great, still. Everyone
thrived. I lost a good rooster one day,
but I still believe he chocked to death.
I was feeding them some kitchen treats and they were going nuts. He kept grabbing large pieces of veggies and
trying to gobble them down with one gulp rather than break them up like
everyone else was doing. All of a
sudden, he started flapping and thrashing and dropped dead. Seriously!
The same respitory illness I had to deal with before popped up in a
couple of the girls, so I treated that again and they got better w/in the same
24 hrs as the first one did. Still easy
– right?
A year goes by when Hubby and I moved (the third one in under
2 yrs for me - ugh) to our current little piece of heaven. We did things right again – built the pen,
moved the girls over one evening and things went very well. I lost one older bird just after moving,
though I was pretty sure I knew the cause of that. She was old, stressed from the third move in
such a short time and we had 3 days of torrential downpours 2 wks after moving
in. I believe, with the coop as wet as
it was (2” of standing water inside), she simply got too wet and cold. I had tried to put in enough hay to keep them
out of the water, but it just wasn’t enough – everything and everyone was
walking in water for a while – our whole town was virtually under water, there
was no getting around it.
The next 6 months go by.
The only issues I face are another chicken with the respitory issue – I
had started using apple cider vinegar in their water once I hear the
“different” breathing in one bird and, that cleared things up but this time, so
I used the antibiotic. She didn’t get
better. I then noticed she was limping. Hmmm, did she step on something? I started watching her. I checked her legs – they looked a bit
swollen, but nothing obvious to say injury.
I kept watch and one day noticed something I had never seen before. The scales were lifted on her ankles and feet. Off to my magazines and google!
Scaly Leg Mites! They
are not necessarily life threatening, unless left untreated. I treated her, but was too late. She, as well, was an old girl. Apparently, she had a compromised system (she
was the one who I had treated a couple of times for the respitory issue) and
did not battle them well. Take into
account she seriously disliked being handled and that adds stress to treatments. I ended up losing her. I found the leg mites on another bird – who
just barely showed the signs – and treated her.
I also treated the coop and gave it an extremely thorough cleaning. No more leg mites (for now).
Fast forward a couple more months. I purchased some chicks. I kept them inside, in a brooder for about 6
wks, then moved them outside with a light.
W/in 3 wks, I started losing chicks.
In 3 days, I lost 7. The weather
had been uncooperative (cool and rainy), so I thought at first, I had made a
bad move and was preparing the inside for them again, when I noticed something
about the way they were moving about and that their poo looked different. So, back to the magazines and google. Coccidiosis!
Really? I’d read all about this,
but in the years I’d had chickens and hatched chicks, I had never, ever had an
issue with this. Off to Tractor Supply
for the treatment. I did end up losing
one more before the medication kicked in, but the rest got better. Whew – crisis adverted. I did more reading on prevention. I would rather prevent than treat!
A year and a half goes by with few issues – save the dog
issues – that aren’t easily spotted and addressed; ones that nearly anyone can
recognize and take care of. About 2
months ago, one of my daughter’s Silkies starts twisting her neck funny. At first, I watch her and start reading (notice
a trend here?). Wry Neck is what I come
up with. 3 main causes, of which I’m
sure (am I?) I know which one is her cause.
Though, I have to take into account she wasn’t thriving like she should
have since she had been injured in the dog wars and hadn’t been the same since. This is something I’ve noticed with sparkling
clarity – once a chicken has suffered a severe trauma, they nearly never
survive w/out issues that shouldn’t really be issues for long. I treated her for the Wry Neck, but
ultimately it claimed her (which all the reading said it more than likely
would). Another of my birds now has it –
since it is not supposed to be contagious, I am continuing to read on her
symptoms. 
On to the latest issue.
Mites! Yep. Another bird – one who suffered a trauma a
few months ago (severely attacked by the others when I tried to introduce her
to the flock – in the “approved” manner) now has mites. I did not recognize it until a couple of days
ago. I got the treatment and have
treated her, but she isn’t doing so well.
I’m hoping by getting rid of the mites, I’ll be able to bring her back,
but I have to say, I’m not hopeful. My
inexperience may have had too high a cost for her. I feel incredibly guilty about this.
I know I do my best, but I am sure my best could be
better. I continue to read, read,
read. I now “inspect” my birds
regularly. I check feet, notice comb
color, watch who is eating/drinking and how vigorously they do so. I keep the coops clean, watch for injuries
and hope and pray.
In the next month or so, I’ll be posting about each of the
diseases or issues I’ve had. I hope I am
able to help you on your journey. I want
to be a “map” for you to follow that will keep you from having to blaze your
own path. If I can do that for even one
of you, I’ll consider this a true gift.
Until next post – Blessings, Good Thoughts and a Very Happy
Day!!
