Chicken Parasites And Your Chicken
Preventing Chicken Parasites
Generally, chickens are hardy birds, but they are also very susceptible to various chicken diseases, chicken parasites and infestations. These ailments can be avoided if symptoms are recognized early enough and the treatments are done promptly. If symptoms go unrecognized over a period of time, chicken parasite infestations can effect the whole flock.
The primary causes of chicken parasite infestation in chickens include lowered resistance to diseases due to stress from overcrowding. introducing new birds to the flock without quarantining them first and poor sanitation that results from lack of regular cleaning.
The most common forms of chicken parasites are lice, scaly-leg mites, red mites and fowl ticks.
Lice are usually transmitted by introducing other birds that are infected to the chicken coop. These chicken parasites eat the dead skin of the chicken resulting in the bird pecking at themselves and causing irritation and wounds. When other chickens see the blood, they become interested in the wound in therefore they would also peck at it, resulting in depression and death.
Scaly-leg mites come from infested ground and can be found between the scales of the leg of the fowl. Once the scales are penetrated with these mites, the scales would lift and cause the bird to be lame.
Red mites are blackish red in color, breed fast in damp and dark areas, and hide from light. The mites are transmitted to the chickens by wild birds and by rodents and could also spread to your other pets, to your house and from there, they may breed on your bedding. When a chicken goes undetected with these mites, the mites will spread quickly to other chickens and will multiply and number several millions in a few short days. Red mites feed on blood and causes death in chicken when not treated swiftly.
Fowl ticks are similar to red mites in nature; however, they produce tick fever, paralysis, and death when unchecked.
If your chicken has any one of these parasites, try the following treatments:
If your chicken has lice, be sure to spray the infected chicken with sulfur based dust sprays. Malathion solution baths are also effective.
To get rid of scaly-leg mites, brush the chicken leg with warm soapy water and paint the leg with a mixture of methyl and olive oil in equal parts plus half a part of kerosene will kill the mites. Make sure though, that the solution penetrates the scales.
When you find any evidence of red mites in the area, bathe the chicken in Malathion and be sure to disinfect or burn all the hiding places of the mites.
Treatments for fowl ticks are similar to those of red mites.
Early recognition and prompt treatment are necessary for chickens who are unfortunate to aquire chicken parasites. If recognized and treated promptly, ailments that result from chicken parasites can be avoided and therefore resulting in healthy and happy chickens.
Chicken Brooders And Cardboard Boxes
Are you deciding if a chicken brooder or cardboard box is best for your chickens? Whether you choose a cardboard box or a brooder, please keep in mind that it needs to be completely dry before it can be lined properly. It should also be cleaned and changed daily to get rid of various droppings that occur inside the box or brooder in order to prevent any diseases and to maintain good hygiene. The lining for your box or brooder can include, hardware cloth, decomposed non toxic saw dust, and wood shavings, peat moss, clean sand, paper towels (if there are few chicks) and newspaper or newsprint (it’s better to have shredded newspaper than whole newspapers as the newspaper is less absorbent). This lining should be at least 2 inches thick so that the chicks can get a better foothold and also makes the surface non slippery. The brooder or the card box should also be at least be 12 inches or more in height so the chicks will not crawl out of it.
If you choose a cardboard box, be sure that you put a cover on top of it to prevent them from getting out and that you leave holes in it for ventilation. For the newly hatched little chicks, a cardboard box is suitable if they are in small number such as only five. These boxes are inexpensive to set up, but you need to keep in mind that you need to keep it out of a draft because drafts can harm the little chicks. For the cardboard box, you will have to set a heavy based feeder and waterer, so that the chicks don’t tip them over and get all wet. It is very important that you keep baby chicks dry.
Even though chicks do not require precise temperature control, some rare and exotic species of birds may require specific temperature controls. In this case, a chicken brooder is the better choice. Commercial chicken brooders are available in several sizes. Their main purpose is to keep the chickens warm and protected. It is also important that you have the brooder till the time that the chickens can be left outside in the chicken coop. For newborn chicks in brooders, the temperature must be maintained at 90 degree F. As the weeks go by, this temperature can be decreased. When getting a brooder, be sure that you get a brooder that can accommodate the number of chickens you intend to get and consider the room that is needed when the chicks grow. The ideal space requirement per larger chick is 2 sq ft. This will give the chick room to grow and walk about. As with a cardboard box, your brooder must be cleaned everyday and that food and water should be readily available to the chicks at all points of time. Before the chicks could be placed inside, make sure that it is disinfected and cleaned. Commercial chicken brooders come with a variety of temperature controls and thermostat and this removes the headache of checking the chickens often to ensure that they are warm enough. The feeder and the water tray in the commercial brooder are clamped to the outside of the mesh so that the chicks cannot topple the containers or get wet.
Another thing to consider, whether it is a box or a brooder is placing a heat lamp so the chicks can remain warm. It is recommended that you use a red light instead of a white light so you won’t hurt the chicks. A 250-watt infrared light is also a good choice to keep them warm. Be sure that you keep a healthy distance between the light and your chicks so they won’t get over heated as well as keeping warm enough. One thing to look for is indications that the chicks are either too hot or too cold. if they are too cold, they will be huddled together under the lamp. if this happens, you need to move the lamp closer. If you see that the chicks are moving towards the edge of the brooder, you need to move the lamp away from them. Lamps and reflectors are available at your local hardware or home improvement store.
Probiotics And Preventing Chicken Health Problems
Preventing Chicken Health Problems
As you already may know, not all bacteria is bad and that there are certain types of bacteria that assist in fighting harmful bacteria that may enter your chicken’s system which may cause chicken health problems. In addition to your chicken’s diet, it is necessary to provide dietary supplements for enhancing the growth of these beneficial bacteria; these supplements are called probiotics. Probiotics are helpful in the processing of food and they reside inside the intestinal tract.
Proven to be effective for keeping the chickens disease-resistant throughout their entire life, probiotics prevent the various chicken health problems by a process called ‘selective exclusion’. It is proven to be one of the best dietary supplements and people in the poultry industry feed their chickens probiotics on a daily basis. Lactobacillus Acidophilusis is one of the forms of probiotics that is quite effective and it naturally appears in certain foods such as yogurt. With chickens, a suitable way to administer this supplement is through a powder mixed with water or through a suitable liquid medium. Certain other mineral supplements and vitamins should also be provided to the chickens as well as probiotic supplements.
Showing and breeding are examples of the kinds of stress that a chicken goes through in their lives. Hormonal changes also take place resulting in the escalation of the pH levels in the small intestine. During these times, chickens are more prone to diseases and the use of probiotics is suggested for reduce the level of susceptibility to diseases. Since chickens tend to drink more water during breeding periods, is it suggested that you administer the probiotic through the water expediently. Probiotics provide better nutrient absorption and increase in appetite, and will certainly help to prevent chicken health problems.
Needs Of Bigger Chickens
Did you know that chickens are biologically designed to live for 30 years and that they can lay eggs for 18 years of their lives? Unfortunately, this is not the case most of the time because chickens often succumb to predators, disease and other stress factors. A healthy diet, clean, healthy drinking water and proper housing are essential if you want a happy and healthy chicken brood.
Clean drinking water is a must; especially for egg laying hens. Make sure that you change their water at least twice a day in hot weather and at least once a day in cold weather. Make sure to also change the water if you see it dirty with bird droppings and feces. To prevent the chickens from getting inside the drinking water, make sure that you set the drinking container at an elevated level. Special probotics that contain vitamins can also be added to the water. This is an inexpensive measure to take to help enhance their health.
It is important that you consider the feed you provide for your chickens. Since egg laying chickens are segregated from the meat chickens, they often differ in feed as well. Chicken feed that is made for all the stages of the chicken life are easily available at your local poultry shop.
If you have bigger chickens, you may want to control how much they eat as well as customize their feed. It is important that you do not feed them table scraps or add oil in their feed. To help make your chicken immune to cocci over a period of time, you may also use a medicated feed that contains Amprolium.
It is also important that your chickens get vaccinated when they are a day old because the vaccination will guard against life threatening diseases such as ‘Marek’s disease. It is also important that you give your adult and bigger chickens booster vaccinations since ‘Marek’s disease is airborne in nature.
Another important aspect to keeping bigger chickens is the housing because the coop needs to be fortified to guard them against predators. Chicken coops are easy and inexpensive to make. All you have to do is build a a box shaped chicken coop with a strong wire mesh all around to prevent the predator’s form getting inside. Make sure that you give your bigger chickens plenty of space so it will reduce stress. So, the space should be at least 2-3 sq feet of space per chicken and bigger chickens usually require more space. Make sure that your chicken’s coop has adequate ventilation and that the coop is not stuffy; however, be sure that it is not drafty either because a draft will kill them. It is also important that your coop contains insulation to keep your chickens safe in the wintertime. If you let them loose to run around the farm, be sure that you will safely lock them in their coop at night.
Make Sure Your Chickens Get Their Greens
Raising chickens is a very interesting and fun hobby; from a way to providing food or making it into a small business. Hens not only differ in breed, they can also differ in tastes from coop to coop according to the feed they eat. The type of feed affects the taste of both the meat and the eggs of the hens. The traditional feed of hens usually consists of both dry and green feed and green feed is the very important because it will improve the quality of the meat and eggs of the chicken.
One of the major mistakes chicken breeders make is thinking that all types of green feed are the same; however, the type of green feed can affect the health of the chicken and can also add a distinctive odor or taste to the egg. Green fodder, for example, may contain high amounts of water but only some of them may contain a high amount of nutrients. Wheat grass is a popular feed among hens that contains large amounts of nutrients as well as weed clippings from your garden. It is important that you make sure that they eat safe food and plants.
There are two methods to feeding your chickens green food. One way is to cut the grass and the weeds from your garden and give it to them in the coop, the other way is to let your chicken roam around in the yard, also know as the free range method. If you decide on the free range method, make sure that the perimeter is safe for your chicken to roam and free of predators that can harm your chicken. You also need to make sure that there are favorable weather conditions for the birds and that if it gets windy or rainy, you need to move them inside. You also need to move them indoors if you are going to leave your house to go to work or somewhere else in order to keep them from predators. If you decide to feed them greens in their coop, make sure that they get enough green food.
Feeding your chickens greens can also save you money as well as keeping your chickens healthy. If you decide to grow some useful greens in your backyard or garden, it can be a free food source. Make sure that you plant different sections of your garden or yard with useful green plants and grass at different times so that it will always be available. Green food will enhance amounts of omega three, vitamin A and beta carotene in the eggs as well as eliminate a large amounts of cholesterol in the contents of the eggs.