HOW TO IDENTIFY SICK CHICKEN & SEPARATE THEM.
1) LOOK INTO THE EYES.
Look into the eyes of your chickens. Healthy chickens generally have aware, bright and clear eyes.
Sleepy or cloudy eyes could be a sign of illness (this is known as conjunctivitis).
2) CHECK THE VENT.
Healthy chickens generally have well-placed and regular looking vent. But it could be a sign of prolapsed vent or your chicken could be egg bound if your chicken has a protruding vent.
3) EXAMINE THE EXCREMENT.
You should also examine the excrement of your chickens on a regular basis. Examining the excrement regularly also help to identify sick chicken.
Your chicken could be seriously ill if it has blood in it’s excrement. This is a common sign of coccidia which is a contagious disease and can be deadly in young chicks.
4) INSPECT THE COMB AND WATTLE.
Inspect the comb and wattle of your chickens regularly. Healthy chickens generally have bright red comb and wattle. But if you notice any change in color (such as pale), then it could be a symptom of sickness.
If you get snow in your country, then a pale comb or wattle can indicate frost bite.
Also you can see a cream colored wattle or comb in the young pullets, because younger ones don’t develop bright combs or wattles until they are fully matured.
5) LOOK THROUGH THE FEATHERS.
Feathers of the chicken is an excellent area for external parasites. So, you should regularly look for lice or mites on the skin and feathers of your birds.
These bugs are generally very small but they can cause your bird to become very weak and agitated.
In case of mite attack you will notice white, flaky build up at the shaft of the feathers (these are easier to spot and called mite eggs).
6) LOOK AT THE LEGS.
You can also identify sick chicken by looking at it’s legs. Healthy chickens generally have clear and well-shaped legs.
Raised scales can indicate scaly-leg mites. If any of your bird has a black scab on the bottom of it’s foot, this is known as bumble foot.
7) BODY SHAPE.
Look at the body shape of your chickens. Your chicken is probably sick if you notice your chicken’s wings and tail are stopped down.
Generally healthy chickens have perked up steady body. A puffed up chicken could also be a symptom (although chickens generally do this in the cold weather).
8) MONITOR THE CROP AND BREATHING.
The crop of the chicken is located below the beak, in the middle of it’s front body. Examine the crop and breathing of your chickens.
Your chickens are either ill or have something stuck in their crop if your bird is sneezing or wheezing.
Crop of the healthy chickens generally should not be engorged, hard or squishy. Generally a full crop is normal, because it’s the way of digesting food.
You can easily identify sick chicken if you notice any of these symptoms. If you notice any of these symptoms or changes in behavior, then you should act as fast as possible.
Chickens generally show sickly symptoms in the last stages. However, all of the above problems can be treated as long as you get your chicken help as soon as possible.
