How to Raise Healthy Chickens

If you are a novice at raising chickens, you may find yourself overwhelmed with the wealth of information regarding their health. The fact of the matter is that no two people raise their chickens the same. What one person chooses to do may not be another's choice. However, if you at least know the basics, you will find that raising a healthy chicken isn't complex at all.

Things You'll Need

• Waterers
• Feeders
• Pine shavings
• Bleach
• Mite/lice powder

Instructions

1. 

   Keep their food dishes filled. A hungry chicken is a far cry from a healthy chicken. It is essential that their food dishes and water containerss be full at all times. Also, if it be at all possible, allow your chickens to free range. This insures that what they are eating is all natural, made from Mother Nature herself. However if this is not an option, check on your chickens three times a day and fill their dishes accordingly.

2. 

   Clean their water containers. Once a day you should dump the water, clean the dish with bleach water and refill it. Chickens can be dirty animals, often letting their bladder and bowels empty into their food and water. By bleaching their dishes, you will kill any bacteria that could kill them.

3. 

   Clean their coops two to three times a week. The number of times you clean their cages is dependent on the number of chickens you have placed together. It is vital that you rake out the old pine shavings and replace it with fresh. Chicken stool is a major contaminant for them, so to avoid any of the numerous diseases a chicken can become infected with, stool free living quarters is the way to go.

4. Buy heat lamps. This is especially important in the winter months when temperatures drop below freezing. While heat lamps are generally only used for chicks when they are newly hatched, they are used for adult chickens to prevent them from freezing to death. A one hundred watt bulb is sufficient for eight to ten chickens.

5. 

   Check for lice or mites. It is a good idea to check periodically for chicken lice or mites, especially during the fall and winter when these parasites are most prevalent. Mites and lice can cause ordinarily healthy chickens to lose their feathers, weight, and slow or stop egg production. If you notice that your chickens have become infested, you can purchase a lice/mite powder from your local feed store.

Tips & Warnings

• If you notice that one or more of your chickens is not eating, is losing weight, or is getting pecked by the rest of the flock, remove it immediately. These are signs of sickness and you do not want it to infect the other chickens. You will also want to call your local U.S. Department of Agriculture to have the chicken tested for any disease it may have. The results will help you determine if the rest of the flock should be tested and/or treated.

Resources

• Official site of the U.S. Department of Agriculture