CHICAGO EXOTICS ANIMAL HOSPITAL
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Backyard Chicken Care


Pet Appeal and Behavior
Of all the fowl species, chickens seem to bond most easily with owners.   They are entertaining and have individual personalities.  Chickens are usually gentle.  However, during breeding season they can become aggressive, especially the males.  

Sources of Chicken for Pets
Many commercial hatcheries provide chickens.  They should be purchased as chicks that have already been vaccinated for Marek’s disease, which is a highly contagious viral disease.  Chickens that are intended for show competition need to be vaccinated for avian pox, infectious laryngotracheitis, Newcastle’s disease (another viral disease), mycoplasma, and other diseases that are specific for the state and/or club.  

Housing for Adults
Chicken coops provide shelter and safety for sleeping and laying eggs.  Be mindful that coops need to be made of strong material to prevent chickens from getting injured as well as predators from getting in.  The sides should be made up of wire or sheet metal that is extended underground.  The materials should also be easy to clean and dry.  Finally, the coops need to be well ventilated.  
During the summer months a shaded portion is essential to prevent overheating.  During the winter months, heat may need to be supplemented to prevent the chickens from getting hypothermia.  

Indoor/outdoor aviaries can also be used.  They should be as large as possible.  There should be extra height to allow for roosting.  The roost should be placed so that the tail or wing does not touch the side of the aviary.  To avoid sharp corners, dense nontoxic bushes can be planted.  Natural turf surfaces are best since it can be easily cleaned.  Finally, there should be an area used for dust/sand baths.  

Appropriate substrate needs to be placed on the turf surfaces.  This includes shavings, sawdust, straw or recycled paper pellets (Yesterday’s News).  The depth of the chosen substrate should be 6-8 inches deep (15-20cm).  The substrate needs to be changed as often as possible to prevent ammonia buildup.  Clean nesting material needs to be provided for nests at all times.  

When a chicken is residing in the home, an appropriate area is needed to be section off with a child’s gate or puppy play pen.  Appropriate substrate is also needed.  Newspaper covered with stray or hay works well.  However, towels and blankets may be used for bedding.  Carpet and upholstery fabric may not be used since the chicken may entangle its nails which can lead to injury.  Also, be mindful of small household items (i.e.: rubber bands, jewelry, grouting, window/door insulation material and foam shoe insole).  This can lead to impaction or other gastrointestinal disorders.  

The pet chicken should not be left unattended in the house, especially with other pets.  The sleeping boxes or pen areas should be well secured.  They should be offered some daily access to the outdoors and dust/sand areas for grooming.

Housing for Chicks
Baby chickens need to have supplemental heat in a draft free area when they hatch to about 10 weeks of age.  For 1-week-old chicks, the room temperature should be 90°F (32°C) and then a gradual temperature drop of 5°F (3°C) every week until the temperature is 70°F (21°C).  As the chicks grow, larger living space needs to be provided.  At 4 weeks of age the floor space for each chick is ½ sq. foot.  This will increase to 5 sq. feet (0.5 m2) at 21 weeks of age.  A water container is provided for every 25-50 chicks.  The water and food container needs to be outside the edge of the hover brooders.  

Diets for Adults
Many disorders of chicken and other poultry are usually related to malnutrition.  A seed diet, chicken scratch (pelleted food), or cracked corns are not a complete diet.  There are commercial formulated diets that are specifically made for domestic fowls.  This includes chick starter, layer, broiler, and adult maintenance.  Among all these, there are considerable variation in the levels of calcium, protein and energy.  Therefore, it will be good to combine the different commercial diets.  It is best to feed commercial diets that are free of coccidiostats, antiflagellates, or antimicrobials.  Extra-label use of medicated feed for production purposes is not allowed.

To make a feed change, mix new feeds into the daily diet slowly over a few days.  This will gradually help the chicken convert to the new diet.  Fresh greens should be provided to give diversity.  Owners should not offer table scraps, bakery goods, and human food in general.  An occasional treat of mealworms or earthworms may be provided.  Always measure out the portion of feed.  This will give the owner an idea if the chicken is getting enough feed or too much if the chicken is becoming obese.  Pellets or complete rations have an adequate supply of calcium.  It should not be supplemented with lime or crushed shell.  Fresh, clean water must be available at all times and clean daily.  

Chickens that are not allowed to freely roam should have access to grit.  There should be various sizes of grit since the chickens select stones that are suitable for the body mass.  The container must be emptied and refilled regularly.  

Diets for Chicks
At the first 6 weeks of age a chick needs a 20% protein starter mash.  Gradually this can change to a 16% protein formula after 8 weeks of age.  

Newly hatched chicks should have feed provided.  It should be on a large, flat plate on which they can move around and practice picking.  By 5-7 days of age, food can be offered in a larger container.  Shallow bowls should be used for water since they can drown in larger containers.  

Determining Sex
Most chicken breeds have sexual dimorphism between adults.  This can be seen with size (height and width), body mass (weight), and color of the plumage, shape of certain feathers, presence of spurs and the length and color of the tail feathers.  In some breeds, fertile cocks may have plumage that resembles the hen.  Some skilled individuals can determine the gender by examining the cloaca in 1-day-old chick or in an adult.

There are also behavioral differences between the cock and the hen that can indicate gender but is not always indicative.  Endoscopic examination of the gonads provides definitive determination of gender.  


Vaccination Program
The major goal in owning more than one chicken is disease prevention.  This means avoiding entry of disease organisms into the home.  Important vaccinations are Marek’s disease, infectious laryngotracheitis, avian pox, Newcastle’s disease, and infectious bursal disease.  

Health Certificates
Before chickens are transported to another country, the Veterinary Services Area Office of the state must be contacted.  Health certification usually requires testing for mycoplasma (bacterium that can cause respiratory distress), salmonella (specifically the poultry-specific Salmonella pullorum), and influenza species.  

Grooming
For grooming, many chickens do not prefer water.  They take baths in dust or sand.  The dust/sand on the plumage may function to lightly abrade and polish the edge of the feathers.  This may also help reduce the number of external parasites.  However, the owner needs to make sure the dust/sand are not contaminated.  If the chicken has external parasites, then insect powders should be used only if they are nontoxic.  

Beak trimming is not recommended for chickens that are raised for hobby or pets.  If beak trimmings are needed, a veterinarian should be the one to trim it.  If done improperly, it can interfere with the bird’s ability to eat as well as causing an infection.  Also, it may interfere with the bird’s social ranking in the flock.  

Owners of roosters may have a veterinarian blunt the tips of the spurs.  This needs to be done by a veterinarian since there is a potential for bleeding.  Blunting of the tips of the spurs can prevent bodily harm to other roosters, chickens, and the owner. 

Trimming of the flight feathers can be done to prevent the chicken from escaping from open aviaries.  This may be important during the breeding season to reduce the mobility of an aggressive cock.  Some of the flight feathers must remain to prevent damage to the keel; this allows the chicken to fly instead of crashing when frightened.  

If you have any NON-EMERGENT questions, please feel free to call us at 847-329-8709
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  • Home
  • Emergency Care
  • Care Sheets
    • General Care >
      • Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
      • Heating Reptile Enclosures
      • Health Veggie Shopping for Reptiles
      • Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
      • Metabolic Bone Disease Care
      • Vaccines in Exotic Animals
    • Birds >
      • Amazon Care
      • Avian Influenza Fact Sheet
      • Avian Influenza for Poultry Fact Sheet
      • Avian Bornavirus Testing
      • Budgie Care
      • Canaries
      • Chicken Care
      • Chronic Egg Laying
      • Cleaning and Disinfecting
      • Cockatiels (and other small Psittacines)
      • Cockatoo Care
      • ​Converting Your Bird to a Pelleted Diet
      • Feather Picking
      • General Parrot Care
      • Handfeeding Baby Parrots
      • Healthy Shopping for your Birds
      • Infectious Diseases of Parrots
      • Instructions for Physical Therapy in Birds
      • Lead Poisoning
      • McWatters Diet (Homemade Mash)
      • Macaw Care
      • Parrot Precautions
      • Polyoma Virus
      • Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease
      • Proventricular Dilatation Disease
      • Spiroform Pharangitis (Spirochetes)
      • Baby Starling and Sparrow guidelines
      • Territorial Aggression
      • Unsafe Plants for Birds
      • Weaning Baby Birds
      • What to Feed Your Pet Bird
      • Wing Injury and Rehabilitation
      • Wing Trims
      • Your Overly Reproductive Female Bird
      • Zinc Toxicity
    • Caiman Care
    • Ferret and Fox Care >
      • Your Ferret’s First Visit to the Vet
      • An Overview of Ferret Adrenal Disease
      • Chronic Diarrhea in Ferrets
      • Ferret Dentistry
      • Heart Disease in Ferrets
      • Heartworm Disease in Ferrets
      • Insulinoma in Ferrets
      • Lymphoma In Ferrets
      • Bob’s Chicken Gravy
      • Fennec Foxes
      • Red Foxes
    • Fish >
      • Algae in your Freshwater Aquarium
      • Eel Care
      • Freshwater Tropical Fish Care
      • Beginning a Freshwater Aquarium
      • Cleaning your Freshwater Aquarium
      • How to Feed your Fish
      • Aquarium Corals
      • Koi Care
      • General Goldfish Care
      • Hermit Crab Care
    • Invertebrate Care
    • Frogs, Toads, and Other Amphibians >
      • Argentine Horned Frogs
      • Bullfrog Care
      • Dart Frog Care
      • Feeding Pet Frogs and Toads
      • Fire Bellied Toad Care
      • Pixie Frog Care
      • Red Eyed Tree Frog Care
      • Short Tongue Syndrome
      • Tiger Salamander Care
      • Axolotl Care
      • White Lipped Tree Frog Care
      • White's Tree Frog Care
      • Ranavirus
    • Guinea Pigs and Rodents >
      • Chinchilla Care
      • Cuy Criollo (Giant Guinea Pig)
      • Health Problems with Guinea Pigs
      • Degu Care
      • Gerbil Care
      • Guinea Pig Care
      • Hamster Care
      • Diabetic Hamster Diet
      • Mice Care
      • Rat Care
      • Health Problems with Rats
      • Prairie Dog Care
      • Odontoma
      • Veggies For Guinea Pigs
      • Visible Tumors in Rodents
      • Vitamin C Deficiency In Guinea Pigs
    • Hedgehog Care >
      • Baby Hedgehog (Hoglet) Care
    • Kinkajoos and Armadillos >
      • Kinkajou Care
      • Nine Banded Armadillo Care
    • Lizards >
      • Anole Care
      • Bearded Dragon Care
      • Blue Tongued Skink Care
      • Crested Gecko Care
      • Geckos of New Caledonia
      • Crocodile Monitor Care
      • Frilled Lizard Care
      • Green Iguana Care
      • Jackson's Chameleon Care
      • Leopard Gecko Care
      • Nile Monitor Care
      • Old World Chameleon Care
      • Panther Chameleon Care
      • Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink Care
      • Savannah Monitor Care
      • Tegu Care
      • Thai Water Dragon Care
      • Uromastyx Care
      • Veiled Chameleon Care
    • Potbellied Pigs >
      • Pot Belly Pigs
      • Diamond Skin Disease
    • Rabbits >
      • Bonding Rabbits Bullet Point Checklist
      • Healthy Shopping for Rabbits
      • Complete Rabbit Care
      • Getting To Know Your New Bunny
      • Training Your Bunny
      • What To Feed Your Rabbit
      • Learning to Use the Litter Box
      • What To Expect From Your New Rabbit
      • Dental Disease in Rabbits
      • Heart Disease in Rabbits
      • Healthy Stool in Rabbits
      • Gastrointestinal Stasis in Rabbits
      • RHDV2 Fact Sheet
      • Parasites of Rabbits
      • Sore Hocks in Rabbits
      • Pasteurella in Rabbits
      • Medicating Your Rabbit or Guinea Pig
    • Snakes >
      • Amazon Tree Boa Care
      • Ball Python Care
      • Black Rat Snake Care
      • Boa Constrictor Care
      • Brazilian Rainbow Boa Care
      • Burmese Python Care
      • California Kingsnake Care
      • Cornsnake Care
      • Dumeril's Boa Care
      • Eastern Kingsnake Care
      • Emerald Tree Boa Care
      • Garter Snake Care
      • Green Tree Python Care
      • Western Hognose Care
      • Mexican Black Kingsnake Care
      • Rosy Boa Care
      • Sand Boa Care
      • Western Fox Snake Care
      • Inclusion Body Disease
    • Sugar Gliders and Marsupials
    • Turtles and Tortoises >
      • Alligator Snapping Turtle Care
      • Bell's Hingeback Care
      • Box Turtle Care
      • Chinese Box Turtle Care
      • Common Snapping Turtle Care
      • General Tortoise Husbandry
      • Leopard Tortoise Care
      • Mud Turtle Care
      • Musk Turtle Care
      • Painted Turtle Care
      • Red Eared Slider Care
      • Russian Tortoise Care
      • Soft Shelled Turtle Care
      • Sulcata Care >
        • Diet For Sulcata Tortoises
      • Common Health Problems
      • General Care of Aquatic Turtles
      • Redfoot tortoise Care
  • Contact
    • Referrals
  • Vets, Externs & Shelters
    • Xoran CT
    • Acupuncture and Chiropratic Medicine
    • Erchonia Laser
    • Vet Day Camp >
      • Heart Supplement Formula
      • Avian Hemotology
    • Shelters
    • Externships
    • Jobs
  • Products
  • Links
  • About Us
  • Chicago Exotics Blog
    • About Us April Fools Page
  • Happy Turtle Stories
  • Tour
  • ADV Testing Information
  • Lacy Act Summary