Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
find it at the same places you purchase chicken feed. You can add it to food or give it separ-
ately. Grit is not the same as oyster shells; oyster shells dissolve in the chicken's stomach, and
grit does not.
After shopping for your birds and purchasing or making their feed, your chickens have all the
essentials they need to be welcomed into your home. Enjoy spending time with them. If you
opt to hatch eggs, you can look forward to experiencing the birth of new life. New chicks are
adorable, and hatching them in your home can provide a wonderful experience for the whole
family to enjoy.
Chicken Health
Poultry can carry highly contagious diseases. If your flock is diagnosed with certain illnesses,
you are required by law to report it to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Failure to
do so may result in fines or punishment.
Reportable diseases include, but are not limited to, avian flu or bird flu, chronic respiratory
disease, and paratyphoid.
Common diseases that affect poultry include:
Air-sac disease:
This disease is similar to chronic respiratory disease, except air-sac disease
is found in chicks as well as older chickens. Symptoms to look for are nasal discharge, rattled
breathing and wheezing, and loss of appetite. Treat with antibiotics.
Avian influenza
or
bird flu:
This spreads quickly through a flock. Symptoms associated with
bird flu include sudden death, dark wattles and combs, soft eggshells or no shell, fever, sneez-
ing, coughing, watery eyes, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. The cause is a type A influenza vir-
us.
Bird flu is required to be reported to the USDA.
Breast blister:
This affects the keel or breastbone of the chicken. It is a large blister that be-
comes a callous and forms when the breast bone leans against a roost with sharp corners, wire
flooring, or wet, packed bedding. To treat, open and drain the blister, and apply an antibacteri-
al ointment. Prevention includes wrapping sharp corners of the coop in a softer material,
keeping the bedding dry and clean, and not using wire flooring for the entire coop.
Bumble foot:
This affects the chicken's foot pad, where an abscess will form. The chicken
may be resistant to walking. To treat, you may need to take the bird to your vet for antibiotic
