Health & Facts
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Chickens can be very therapeutic to keep, and can often be a great relaxant, watching them while they go about their daily business, which in turn is great for the soul..
Be mindful that there is also a lot of misinformation out there, including many preconceived myths & misconceptions that can be found on the world wide web, not everything you read on the internet is fact.! In New Zealand we are lucky enough not to have most of the nasty diseases that are found in a lot of poultry flocks in many other countries around the world. This is why MAF have very restricted laws banning the importation of live birds and fertile eggs from other countries, as many of these diseases can be carried in via the egg.. doing so will result in long court case and more than likely a very hefty fine. In June 2015 one such person was fined $45.K by an Auckland Judge for bringing in fertile hatching eggs from the UK. |
However, like the saying goes "where you have livestock you also have dead stock" and sometimes unexplained deaths can and do occur.! Often these deaths could have been avoided if the bird was just picked up and checked thoroughly for mites and or any other nasty parasites.!
Overweight birds also pose a risk of heart attack, and just like people, their weight should be watched.! An overweight hen will not produce well either.!
If you notice a chicken or any bird is not looking quite right or is
not acting as they usually do.. it is important to act quickly.!
Acting quickly maybe the only thing to save her.. A sick or off colour hen often
means she has more than likely been off colour for some time longer than was
obvious to you, and often when you notice something is not right, they are simply
just no longer able to hide it anymore..
Chickens are predisposed from way back amongst their forest ancestors, to mask
any illness to survive in the wild, so often when you see something sick, it is often
too late to save them..
Check her weight and condition first and check for parasites also, i.e. mites or lice..
Drenching them will be prudent and a good dust bath and dusting the entire birds
with Pestene powder will also help, but as mites live in their house you will need to
clean out their nest boxes & entire house and dust liberally with DE as this will be
more economical than using the Pestene powder as the quantity is double per
weight range.
not acting as they usually do.. it is important to act quickly.!
Acting quickly maybe the only thing to save her.. A sick or off colour hen often
means she has more than likely been off colour for some time longer than was
obvious to you, and often when you notice something is not right, they are simply
just no longer able to hide it anymore..
Chickens are predisposed from way back amongst their forest ancestors, to mask
any illness to survive in the wild, so often when you see something sick, it is often
too late to save them..
Check her weight and condition first and check for parasites also, i.e. mites or lice..
Drenching them will be prudent and a good dust bath and dusting the entire birds
with Pestene powder will also help, but as mites live in their house you will need to
clean out their nest boxes & entire house and dust liberally with DE as this will be
more economical than using the Pestene powder as the quantity is double per
weight range.
- For more info on DE and other health products, please see here
- For more info on above & what you need to know about keeping Chickens, please see here
- For more info on health issues, please see our FAQ page here
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Introducing new birds into your flock.. How do I introduce my new young pullets (or new Hens) into an existing flock ? Answer: Firstly young Pullets @10 -12 weeks old are usually far too young to be put in with older adult birds and or an existing flock - so introducing them slowly will require a separate area for them right next to your other birds so they can get used to each other through the wire mesh…. Or if you have a large chook run / enclosure a good idea is to put another hutch or small chook house with run inside their area (a rabbit hutch or dog kennel with attached run or similar will suffice) or if you are able to put up a temporary netting fence, which can be taken away at a later date, as long as they have a cozy kennel box or similar to snuggle up in at night and if the weather turns bad. When times comes to introduce your new birds into the coop with other birds.. |
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If you have a hen or pullets that you have trouble introducing into an existing flock, try the following method....
Take one hen from the main group (preferably one that's near the bottom of the pecking order) and put her with the "new" birds.... Watch to check that she's not picking on the new bird/s though, and after a few days (or up to a week) if they are getting on well - try re-introducing them all together into the main flock.
Supervise for a while and see how things are going and if the bullying starts up again, you may have to start over, (or remove the dominant hen out of the coop / pen) and try again, it is always better in introduce more than one or two at one time, so one is less likely to be targeted more.
Take one hen from the main group (preferably one that's near the bottom of the pecking order) and put her with the "new" birds.... Watch to check that she's not picking on the new bird/s though, and after a few days (or up to a week) if they are getting on well - try re-introducing them all together into the main flock.
Supervise for a while and see how things are going and if the bullying starts up again, you may have to start over, (or remove the dominant hen out of the coop / pen) and try again, it is always better in introduce more than one or two at one time, so one is less likely to be targeted more.