You should do a visual inspection of your chickens each day. I like to do this when I let them out of their coop in the morning and when I feed and water them. I love to just sit down and watch them play just to see who will come up to me for pets but while I play with them I watch for signs of illness.
Things You Can Check to See If Your Chicken is Healthy
In this video Mike Colley of FAI Farms shows how to tell if your bird is healthy or not. If you can catch your bird you need to check the following things
Eyes: Should be clear and bright with no signs of cloudiness, discharge, or favus eye worm.
Feather condition: Nice sheen, even covering of feathers. Check wing feathers to make sure none are missing, broken, or damaged. If you see or feel notches on the length of the wing feathers it means the bird has had a disease at sometime in their life (this is especially important to check if you are buying a chicken).
Comb/wattles/earlobes: Should be free of damage and bright colored for their breed.
Nostrils: Look for swelling, lumps or moisture around nostrils or eyes. (See Coccidiosis treatments).
Listen: Hold your ear to your birds side and listen for gurgling, rasping, or other sounds of congestion that could indicate your bird has a respiratory problem such as mycoplasma gallisepticum.
Look at legs and feet: Legs and feet should be smooth and clean, raised scales are a sign of scaly leg mites, redness or sores on the bottom of the feet are a sign of injury or bumblefoot. Silkie chickens and other breeds with feathered feet are prone to ingrown feathers which can cause swelling, infection, severe illness, and may affect the way the bird walks.
Check the vent area: Slight pinkness around the vent area is normal, paleness means the bird is either sick or is going to stop laying eggs. Bright red means the bird has a vent infection or could be egg bound. Crustiness, white or yellowish curds around the vent indicate a parasite infestation, Paracolon bacterial infection or fungal infection.
Check for parasites: Use a magnifying glass, then lift the birds feathers under the arms, the vent area, and around the preen gland for signs of mites, lice, or other parasites. Look for insects, eggs, and larvae. Some mites will start burrowing up into the feather shaft which will cause the shaft to look darker than normal or have a white build up.
See video below.
- Activity: Bird should be alert, not acting droopy, sitting around for long periods or all day. Chickens should be moving around, walking without limping, active, and have good vocal sounds with no signs of spitting or gurgling.
Eyes: Should be clear and bright with no signs of cloudiness, discharge, or favus eye worm.
Feather condition: Nice sheen, even covering of feathers. Check wing feathers to make sure none are missing, broken, or damaged. If you see or feel notches on the length of the wing feathers it means the bird has had a disease at sometime in their life (this is especially important to check if you are buying a chicken).
Comb/wattles/earlobes: Should be free of damage and bright colored for their breed.
Nostrils: Look for swelling, lumps or moisture around nostrils or eyes. (See Coccidiosis treatments).
Listen: Hold your ear to your birds side and listen for gurgling, rasping, or other sounds of congestion that could indicate your bird has a respiratory problem such as mycoplasma gallisepticum.
Look at legs and feet: Legs and feet should be smooth and clean, raised scales are a sign of scaly leg mites, redness or sores on the bottom of the feet are a sign of injury or bumblefoot. Silkie chickens and other breeds with feathered feet are prone to ingrown feathers which can cause swelling, infection, severe illness, and may affect the way the bird walks.
Check the vent area: Slight pinkness around the vent area is normal, paleness means the bird is either sick or is going to stop laying eggs. Bright red means the bird has a vent infection or could be egg bound. Crustiness, white or yellowish curds around the vent indicate a parasite infestation, Paracolon bacterial infection or fungal infection.
Check for parasites: Use a magnifying glass, then lift the birds feathers under the arms, the vent area, and around the preen gland for signs of mites, lice, or other parasites. Look for insects, eggs, and larvae. Some mites will start burrowing up into the feather shaft which will cause the shaft to look darker than normal or have a white build up.
See video below.
References:
Mike Colley - FAI Farms - Chicken Basic Health Check. (2019). YouTube. Retrieved 9 January 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK-n2-ATAbc&list=PLixka3eKKE1aX7ouEP63TeTUJ_z0zJJLR
Mike Colley - FAI Farms - Chicken Basic Health Check. (2019). YouTube. Retrieved 9 January 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK-n2-ATAbc&list=PLixka3eKKE1aX7ouEP63TeTUJ_z0zJJLR
