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, Pale | a chicken’s comb should always be a blush pink or red. A pale comb may be a sign of severe health issues |
| 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 |
| Eggs, Abnormal Shape | many egg abnormalities can occur during a hen’s lifetime. Let’s see which types and whether the egg is safe to eat. |
| 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 |
| Head Position Abnormal | Wry neck in chickens manifests with an abnormal head and neck position, but it also occurs in Botulism in chickens. |
| 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. But also Salpingitis, the condition causing lash eggs or water belly are possible reasons. |
| 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 |
| Vent, Dirty | Common in Vent Gleet, pasty butt or fly strike |
| Vent, Protrudes Outside the Body | Prolapsed vent, also known as a vent prolapse or a ‘blowout,’ is a health issue where the chicken’s cloaca protrudes outside the body |
| Worms | several types of worms affect chickens, use dewormers for treatment and prevention like Ivermectin or fenbendazole |
| 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? |
| Egg Eating | Signs of egg eating in chickens and how to solve it |
| Disease | Main Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|---|
| Botulism | Limp neck, muscle weakness, droopy eyelids | Bacteria |
| 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 prevention and treatment methods include:
