How to Ensure Optimal Health for Your Chickens

Do your chickens have combs that are slack and tender?  Are their feet and legs showing signs of parasites?  Do they have soft and limp bodies and do their eyes lack luster and brightness?  Are their noses and eyes discharging fluid?  Then maybe your chickens have some serious health problems that need to be addressed immediately to ensure their safety and health, like having clean chicken pens that are conducive  to having good health for your chickens.

Another sign that your chickens are laying is that their feet change colors from yellow to white or pale.  Although their bodies should be firm and strong to the touch, they should not show signs of drooping.  If the chickens’ nose and eyes discharge some fluid, then they are sick and need to be treated.

The part where the chickens’ wastes are discharged from the body called the vent should be healthy and must not show signs of irritation.  This is very important because it is here that the eggs also pass so if it is defective, the quality of the eggs would be affected.

When moulting time comes, which is usually when the chickens are a year old, the feathers of the chickens will be shed and new ones will grow just like the changing of the skin on snakes.  Moulting time is from 4 to 6 weeks and after this your chickens will have new feathers.

It is necessary to provide the chickens with enough healthy food at this time because moulting can sap the energy of the chickens.  Protein is the primary nutrient that chickens need and if they are laying they would need substantial amounts of calcium to provide the eggs with strong shells. Make sure to keep healthy chickens in chicken coops as well. 

At one point or another, you might notice that your chickens would get restless.  This could mean that there are parasites in their bodies and feathers.  Infestation with lice, mites, fleas, and ticks is a common problem with chickens and at the first sign of this, you must act promptly to keep it from getting serious.

To help prevent any diseases from infecting your chickens, give them water mixed with antibiotics to protect them.  The best way to prevent any health problems in your chickens is to provide them with enough food and a steady supply of clean water.  Be sure that chicken house is always clean and that the chicken droppings be taken care of properly because it’s not only the health of the chickens that can be affected by dirty surroundings but it can be harmful to humans as well.