Sometimes, keeping chickens is not a big deal. The problem arises only when they encounter some health problems or some other problems which you may not identify quickly. It is good to examine your chicken regularly, especially when they are lying on your table naked.
Therefore, I am going to discuss some of the common chicken health problems that you might observe on your laying hens or even in other poultry such as ducks and geese.
Common Chicken Health Problems
1. Broody Hens
When your hens decide to hatch or even clutch of eggs and sit on them so that to provide warmth, they may go bloody. Even before fertilizing the eggs, the hen will not leave the eggs without fussing them up. However, some farmers may want their chickens to go bloody so that to get the baby chicken to replace the aged ones or even to grow the flock.
But if you want to cook some eggs, you may not need to have bloody eggs. Therefore, to break up the successfully broody hen, you can isolate the hen from the rest of the poultry. Besides, ensure that they are not sharing water and food with the rest and no access entirely to the nesting box. Similarly, you try to put a clutch of some ice cubes under the bloody hen rather than the eggs.
2. Chicken Mites
These are very tiny bugs that usually drink the blood from chickens. When they grow without a regular check-up, they are capable of causing some illness to your chicken, which may lead to death. If you want to know whether your hens have these mites, you can inspect the eggs. In case you see very tiny spots that are red, then you can take an immediate step to treat them.
Sometimes, you can tell the presence of mites if your chickens refuse to lay eggs on their nest boxes. Therefore, for you to treat this completely, you can use a perm ethrin insecticide. Also, you can decide to keep your chickens with coop sanitary, which is useful in preventing mites. Additionally, if you want to combat the mites, you can as well apply Diatomaceous. Lastly, you can again use wood ash, non-toxic enzymes, and even mite spays.
3. Cannibalism or Picking
At times, you may get your chickens pecking on the skin and feathers of one another. This behavior is usually referred to as picking or cannibalism. In the case of the process, they draw blood, and then the issue may escalate quickly because the chickens are associated with the color red to blood. Sometimes when not taken seriously, picking is a severe problem that leads to death.
Some of the causes of picking problems include overcrowding, too long exposure to bright light, lack of enough water and food, and some other stresses. Therefore, to prevent this picking disease, you can try as much as you can to minimize the stress, remove any injured hen, and strictly follow the lighting system in your coop.
4. Molting
This is not a severe problem for the chickens. But it makes your hens look bare and rugged. Usually, Molting may occur once for every year or even twice. The chickens shed off their feathers and bring in the new ones. Usually, at this time, they are not capable of laying eggs. It is a severe problem among chickens and lasts up to three months or even more months. There are no preventive measures for this disease; instead, you will have to wait until it finishes.
5. Woody Breasts
Woody breast is a severe problem which may affect up to 10% of your chickens and manifest by striated, fibrous, and dense breast. This health problem occurs as a result of the overzealous breeding of the modern commercial broilers. Usually, in case you see some woody breasts, you can start slaughtering your chicken earlier to decrease their rate. Woody breast is one of the problems that are easy to prevent since the chickens may go up to 8 weeks of age.
6. Green Muscle
Green muscle is also referred to as deep pectoral myopathy. You can manifest the disease by green decaying tender of enormous breasted chicken. You can see this by cutting your chicken openly. Sometimes, it is evident that green muscle is a genetic problem; the presence of a very high incidence rate signifies that you start investigating the entire issue in the field.
However, many times people say that the problem occurs as a result of the hens flapping their wings; that is just mere thinking. When the hens flab their wings, it does not necessarily cause the problem. This problem usually arises when the chickens fight with one another or sometimes in a threatening life condition. The threat might arise from anywhere, either from rising water or even an intense predator of pressure.
7. Scratch on The Back of Broilers
This health problem of the chicken occurs as a result of the owner restricting your chickens from feeding or even limiting them on the amount of the feed that you give them. You can only limit the access when you lack enough feeders for the entire chicken to eat all at once.
Usually, the moment you limit feed without enough space for feeding your chickens, you create unnecessary competition. The broiler that is hungry gets a chance to climb on others to reach the feed. This makes the scratches on the back to remain on the entire processing facility.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Chicken Terrible For Your Heart?
Of course, yes. Chicken gives under-consumed minerals and vitamins, which may become the center for low fat, heart-healthy, among many others.
2. Which Part of The Chicken is Healthy?
Usually, the chicken breast has more protein weight that makes it suitable for people who would wish to lose weight while maintaining the mass of their muscles.
Conclusion
Having gone the above article, I hope that you have gotten insightful information on some of the chicken health problems. It is good to examine your hens regularly to ensure that they are in good condition. However, if you see the signs that may lead to any of the problems above, make sure to get the remedy immediately without hesitating.