Chickens are prone to many diseases and disorders. As a chicken keeper, it’s important to understand what can go wrong with your chickens.
To make sure you’re chickens are healthy:
A common but pesky problem is dealing with wormy chickens.
Symptoms | Cause |
---|---|
Black Spots on a Chicken Comb & Wattles | health issues like peck marks, Fowlpox, frostbite, … |
Blood in Chicken Poop | internal damage due to parasites, diseases, cocci, or other infections |
Bleeding Beak | injury, ruptured blood vessels, or diseases like wet fowl pox and canker |
Belly, Swollen | hearth failure & high blood pressure causes fluids to leak into the belly |
Coughing | respiratory diseases like bronchitis, chronic respiratory disease, coryza, laryngotracheitis, fowl cholera, new castle disease |
Comb, Purple | a purple comb and wattles are seen in fowl cholera |
Diarrhea, yellow | issues with liver or gallbladder, bacterial or viral infections |
Diarrhea, green | green and yellow diarrhea is seen in fowl cholera |
Feathers, losing, dull | normal during molting, can also be due to fights, worms, lice, or mites |
Eggs, Soft Shelled | quirks in the eggshell-building process, normal in young birds, can be caused by stress and several diseases |
Eggs, Blood on the shell | a small injury or stretching of the vent, be alert when it’s frequent or when there is blood in the chicken poop, or when the hen has a dirty bottom |
Eggs, Blood in the yolk | burst blood vessels in the ovary of a chicken, fine to eat, occurs frequently |
Eyes, Foamy Bubbles | a respiratory disease causing excessive tearing of the watery eye or an eye injury |
Eyes, Cloudy | ammonia irritation, eye injuries, or caused by one of several (respiratory) diseases |
Eyes, Infection | several causes, independently or as part of more complicated conditions |
Gurgling Sounds | sign of a respiratory tract infection, viral or bacterial, common in Infectious Bronchitis, Chronic Respiratory Disease, Infectious Coryza, or Infectious Laryngotracheitis |
Head-Shaking | irritation caused by flies, difficulties swallowing, water in the nares, lice, mites, or an underlying respiratory disease or neurological disorder |
Legs, Scabby | scaly leg mites, caused by microscopic critters that nestle under the keratin scales of a chicken’s legs and feet |
Nosebleed | most common are injuries, but can also be air quality, rat poison or vitamin k deficiency, or infectious laryngotracheitis |
Penguin Stand | a common sign of egg binding in chickens, when an egg gets stuck in the oviduct, or egg yolk peritonitis, where a yolk enters the body cavity |
Sneezing | respiratory diseases like bronchitis, chronic respiratory disease, coryza, laryngotracheitis, fowl cholera, new castle disease |
Throat, Sores | common in (wet) Fowl Pox, Canker, or Sour crop, but can also occur in other bacterial infections |
Worms | several types of worms affect chickens, use dewormers for treatment and prevention like Ivermectin |
Yawning | something stuck in the throat, panting to cool down, rearranging the crop, or symptom of several diseases that can cause yawning |
Behavior | Discussion & Prevention |
---|---|
Aggressive Roosters | How to Tame an Aggressive Rooster? Chicken Saddle DIY (Free Pattern) |
Drinking Excessively | Chicken Drinking Excessively: Causes & Treatment |
Dust Bathing | Creating a Dust Bath for Chickens |
Finding their way home | Can Chickens Find Their Way Home? |
Living Alone | Can Chickens Live Alone? |
Look Hungry | Why do Chickens Always Seem Hungry? |
Mourning | Do Chickens Mourn? |
Molting | Chicken Molting Care Guide |
Panting | How To Cool Chickens Down (And What NOT To Do!) |
Penguin Stand | Egg Bound Chickens: Symptoms and Treatment Egg Yolk Peritonitis |
Purring | Why Does A Chicken Purr? |
Scared Behavior | 5 Reasons Why Your Chicken Is Scared |
Sleeping, bedtime | How Do Chickens Sleep? |
Squatting | Why Is My Chicken Squatting? |
Walking Backward | Can Chickens Walk Backward? |
Disease | Main Symptom | Cause |
---|---|---|
Canker | Sores in the throat | Parasite |
Chronic Respiratory Disease | Coughing, Sneezing, Gurgling | Bacteria |
Coccidiosis | Blood in droppings | Parasite |
Infectious Bronchitis | Coughing, Sneezing, Gurgling | Virus |
Infectious Coryza | Coughing, Sneezing, Diarrhea | Bacteria |
Infectious Laryngotracheitis | Coughing, Sneezing | Virus |
Egg Yolk Peritonitis | Penguin Stand, Swollen Belly | Yolk |
Favus | White Spots on the Combs | Fungus |
Fowl Cholera | Purple Comb, Green Diarrhea | Bacteria |
Fowlpox (Dry) | Black Spots on the Combs | Virus |
Fowlpox (Wet) | Yellow Sores | Virus |
Marek’s Disease | Paralyzation, tumors | Virus |
Newcastle Disease | Gasping, Stumbling, Diarrhea | Virus |
Pasty Butt | Clogged vent in Chicks | Water Balance |
Scaly Leg Mites | Thick, Scabby Legs | Mite |
Sour Crop | Patches in the mouth, Diarrhea | Yeast |
Water Belly (Ascites) | Swollen belly full of liquid | Hearth Failure |
Common tools to prevent injuries due to aggressive behavior: