Properly treating foot injuries in chickens is very important. Cleaning wounds and a bumble foot treatment plan should be started promptly. The chicken may not eat or drink enough if it has a foot injury. This will weaken the bird and could lead to infection and death A good habit to get into is looking at each one of your animals every day. Learning on the homestead never stops. Every day there is a new issue to resolve or roadblock to scale. Knowing all of your animals, and what is normal … [Read more...]
Make a Chicken Coop from a Garden Shed
Make a Chicken Coop from a Garden Shed! The day I brought home the first two chicks, I went against all the advice I give to people thinking about getting chickens. We had a farm but had no chicken coop or really any plan to build one. But two chicks followed me home from work at a feed store and the future was changed forever. Not long after, twelve more chicks arrived to keep the first two chicks company. We now had fourteen baby chicks growing up in our house but they could not stay … [Read more...]
Chicken Wire and Hardware Cloth for Coops
Deciding between chicken wire and hardware cloth is only one of the initial decisions to be made by a new chicken keeper, when building a chicken coop and enclosure. There are certain topics that veteran chicken owners are all too familiar with. But, what about those who are new to raising poultry? I often will cover a topic that may seem mundane and too basic but I believe there are a substantial number of people who are looking for the very basic information to help them get started … [Read more...]
Marek’s Disease Symptoms to Watch For
Marek's Disease symptoms are caused by a particularly strong herpes virus. Marek's Disease can be found in the environment. The usual symptoms involve the nervous system, eyes, skin and other organ systems. A strong variation of the disease shows tumor growth. Marek's Disease is mainly seen in young chicks and older chickens. Chicks and chickens with Marek's Disease can show a complex set of symptoms or be totally symptom free. Marek's virus is transmitted two main ways. The virus can be … [Read more...]
Emergency Chicken Health Care
Emergency Chicken Health Care It's a feeling of helplessness when you find one of your chickens hurt or ill and you don't have anything on hand to begin treatment. Many first aid kits for livestock or general purpose first aid kits will have some of the items necessary to help emergency chicken health care. However, its better to build a kit that will meet the needs of your chickens. What to Look For First, it is important to recognize normal behavior for your flock members. … [Read more...]
