There is currently no known treatment for Marek’s, but thankfully there is a vaccine available! The vaccine is injected in the back of a chick’s neck just under the skin within 24 hours after hatching. It’s important to remember the vaccine does not prevent chickens from acquiring or spreading Marek’s but it does help reduce the severity of clinical signs and even death.
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In recent news, southern California is dealing with an outbreak of a highly virulent strain of Newcastle disease. This outbreak means that many backyard flock owners must have their flocks humanely euthanized for the protection of the entire country’s poultry population. We can all imagine how devastating this would be for us, not to mention the impact that a nationwide outbreak could have on our food supply from egg and chicken meat sources.
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Crooked or bent toes in chicks can be an unsightly condition, but in the majority of cases, having bent toes does not affect the chicken’s ability to live a completely normal life. Crooked or bent toes (bending sideways) is different from a condition called curled toes paralysis (toes curl under causing the bird to walk on the top of the foot). Here are a few reasons when and why your chicks may develop curled or bent toes and how to treat them.
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The frizzle feathering sometimes found in chickens is a rare occurrence, and therefore highly desired in some breeds. Here is an overview of how the frizzle feather mutation occurs and why not all chicks sold as frizzles will have frizzled feathers.
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Coccida thrive in humid and warm locations, so the first line of defense is to keep that brooder litter clean and dry! Spilled waterers and a build up of chick manure will very quickly allow the coccidia in the environment to gain a foothold and explode, allowing your chicks to become heavily infected very quickly.
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If you own poultry, eventually there will come a time when you need to treat an injury or illness with one of your birds. You can save yourself some stress and help your sick or injured patient quickly if you are well-prepared with a poultry first aid kit.
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