Smart Starts for Healthy Backyard Flocks During Spring Chick Season

by Sara Flexor

Spring is here, and it’s the season for baby chicks. The tubs full of fuzzy babies in feed stores are enticing. 

However, as with bringing home any animal, there are things to consider to have the best transition and life for new chicks.

Purchasing chicks from big stores is actually not a bad thing. Those chicks are processed through disease-free programs and are vaccinated against several diseases. 

Adding chicks to the flock

For individuals who have other birds at home, new chicks can bring in diseases they aren’t immune to, so isolating new chicks for at least 10 days to watch for illness is imperative.

Also, older chickens will pick on babies. Do not mix ages until after the new chicks have adult feathers – around six weeks of age – and before introducing them to established flocks.

When the time is right, place new chicks in an enclosure inside of the chicken run, but still separate them from older hens. 

After a week or two of close proximity, one can commingle the chickens. 

Placing new chickens in the henhouse at night – under the cover of darkness – is the best practice for integration. Chickens wake up together and don’t usually notice new members in the flock. 

Providing plenty of space also helps with a cohesive flock. Adult chickens need four feet of indoor space and five to 10 feet of outdoor space. 

A coop should be large enough to house chickens without overcrowding. 

For 10 regular-size chickens, 30 square feet is ideal. Perch space should provide eight to 10 inches per bird. 

Adequate space helps reduce bullying, cannibalism and disease. 

Disease treatment

and prevention

There are also various diseases to watch out for in chickens. Several of these can spread to humans and can lead to serious health problems or death. 

Salmonella is a very serious disease associated with poultry. It is spread through droppings which contaminate eggs, coop surfaces and hands. It can also be spread by eating undercooked poultry or eggs from infected birds. 

Chickens themselves don’t generally show symptoms, but chicks are a source of infections, especially in children who are prone to handling and kissing the chicks. 

Symptoms in humans include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, salmonella causes as many as 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths in the U.S. each year. 

To protect oneself from the spread of salmonella, wash hands after handling birds, eggs or meat. Don’t kiss or snuggle birds. Rinse eggs and never soak them. Don’t wash chickens in the kitchen. If washing eggs off in the kitchen sink, disinfect the sink after. Cook poultry and eggs to an appropriate temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Disinfect surfaces that touch raw meat or eggs. 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza is another bird disease impacting human health. This is a highly contagious virus causing sudden death in birds. 

Wild waterfowl and other birds spread the virus to flocks by droppings or direct contact.

Common signs in chickens include sudden death, drop in egg production, difficulty breathing, tremors and discoloration or swelling of the head, neck or eyes. In humans, symptoms replicate influenza. 

Flock prevention methods include limiting wild bird contact, limiting shared equipment and wearing clean clothes and shoes when in contact with other flocks. 

Separate new birds to watch for illness. 

Marek’s disease is another poultry illness. This disease can cause severe illness or death in flocks but does not spread to humans. This is a herpesvirus which triggers uncontrolled white blood cell growth. 

Infected birds may have paralysis, neck weakness, collapsed crop, weight loss and death.

Marek’s disease spreads easily through feather dander and can survive for months. There is no cure but there is a vaccine. 

Prevention measures include buying vaccinated chicks, separating new birds to watch for illness and washing and sanitizing hands and equipment between bird groups. 

Lice and mites are also pests which infiltrate chickens, but don’t usually cause death. They will, however, cause itching, feather loss, anemia and weight loss. 

Lice feed on the skin, feathers and blood of chickens. They spread from bird to bird through direct contact. They are detected by observing insects on the skin or feathers, egg clumps on feather shafts, feather damage, itching and egg decline. 

Mites feed on birds and can burrow into the legs, causing a crusty buildup. Signs of mites include dark specks moving on the skin, pale combs, blood specks on eggs and crusty legs. 

Prevention measures include cleaning coops often and providing dust boxes and insecticidal dust. 

Treatment for lice and mites includes spraying or dusting birds and coop surfaces. 

For leg mites, isolate the bird and apply petroleum jelly daily for two weeks to suffocate the mites. Cleaning and treating for dust and mites regularly is necessary, as they develop resistance to treatments. 

Chickens can be a beneficial addition to homes, while supplying fresh eggs and meat for families. Keeping flocks and families safe is part of a successful bird management.

Sara Fleenor is the University of Wyoming Extension agriculture and natural resources educator serving Crook County. She can be reached at sfleenor@uwyo.edu or 307-283-1192.