Chickens are surprisingly prone to injury and disease. They love to peck at each other, causing scratches and missing feathers, and they’re often a target for predators. Chickens can also get worms, mites, lice, respiratory illnesses, and poultry-specific conditions like bumblefoot, sour crop, and vent gleet.
Even if you’re the most diligent chicken owner, chances are that you’ll run into one of these issues eventually, which is why I recommend putting together a basic chicken first-aid kit for your flock. By having essentials on-hand, you’ll be able to treat your birds right away, ensuring they’re back on the mend in no time.
After several years of chicken ownership, here are the chicken first-aid essentials that I always like to keep stocked.
1. A Chicken Health Guide
If you’re new to chickens — or even if you’ve owned them for years — you should invest in this book. It’s widely considered one of the best guides on chicken health and diseases, and reviewers say it covers pretty much every ailment you’ll ever run into with your flock.
Bottom line? It’s well worth the $14!
2. Disposable Gloves
Your own safety should always come first when handling sick or injured animals, so take a minute to put on a pair of disposable gloves! This simple step will help protect you from infections, blood, parasites, pests, poop, and more.
I always keep a box of nitrile gloves in my chicken coop — they’re mounted to the wall for easy access.
3. Antimicrobial Spray
If you only purchase one product for your chicken first-aid kit, my vote is for Vetericyn. I reach for it more than any other product, as the antimicrobial formula helps with a wide range of common chicken injuries.
The spray can be applied to pecking injuries, breast blisters, vent prolapse, frost bite, and bumblefoot, and it helps ward off infection and speed up healing.
4. Styptic Powder
Kwik Stop is another handy product to have in your coop. The styptic powder helps to quickly stop superficial bleeding — like if your birds have been pecking at each other. I also keep it nearby when cutting my dogs’ nails and sheering our alpacas!
5. Disposable Syringes
These are another inexpensive first-aid supply that I always keep around. The 10ml syringes are perfect for dosing medication, but they can also be used to give water, electrolytes, or food to sick birds.
6. Aspirin
If you have an injured bird, it’s safe give them aspirin as a pain reliever. You’ll want to look for non-coated pills, and it’s generally easiest to offer it dissolved into their water. For adult birds, mix 5 tablets into 1 gallon of water.
7. Vet Wrap
If you need to wrap up a chicken’s injury, you’ll want to apply a layer of gauze then secure it in place with some type of vet wrap. I prefer these smaller 1-inch rolls for chickens, but it comes in all sorts of sizes and colors.
8. Electrolytes
Electrolytes are a quick and easy way to give a sick chicken an extra boost. This particular formula includes a mix of probiotics, electrolytes, and acidifiers to promote nutrient absorption and overall gut health, and it can be used for birds of all ages. It’s also great to have available for extra-hot days, as it can help ward off dehydration.
9. Neosporin
For chickens with deeper cuts or wounds, infection is always a concern. Thankfully, Neosporin is safe to use on chickens — so long as it’s the original version, not the pain-relief version. The ointment can help kill germs and prevent infection as your bird heals.
10. A Hen Saddle
Hen saddles are traditionally used when hens are being over-mated and losing feathers on their back, but I also occasionally use them on recovering birds. The saddle will cover your bird’s back and sides, and it does a good job protecting the area to help wounds heal.
11. Leg Bands
If you have a small flock, you might not need these, but I find them very handy for keeping tabs on sick chickens. Because we have around 50 birds, I like to band any sick or injured ladies before releasing them back into the main coop. This makes them much easier to track down for subsequent check-ups.
12. Epsom Salt
Epsom salt is often used when treating an egg-bound chicken or bumblefoot, and because it’s shelf-stable, I like to buy a big bag to keep in the cupboard. It’s a mineral compound made of magnesium and sulfate, and it comes in handy any time you need to soak a bird.
Common Chicken Medications
While it’s good to have basic first-aid supplies on hand, I don’t recommend going out and stocking up on specialty medications for your birds. Many of these medications have a limited shelf life, and you don’t know when — or if — your birds will need them.
With that in mind, these are a few common over-the-counter medications that you may end up needing to purchase for your flock:
- CORID: This liquid medication is used to treat coccidiosis, a condition caused by the coccidia parasite. The common dosage for chickens is 2 teaspoons per gallon of water, administered for 5 to 7 days.
- Safe-Guard: This is a chicken-specific dewormer that uses the active ingredient fenbendazole, and it treats several types of parasites. It should be mixed into your chickens’ water and given for 5 days.
- Elector PSP: If you have a mite infestation in your chicken coop, Elector PSP is the fastest way to treat it. This medication is quite pricey, but it’s unbeatable for eradicating multiple kinds of poultry mites.
Egg Withdrawal
When looking at chicken medication, you may see an “egg withdrawal” period listed. When certain drugs are given to birds, the medication is absorbed into their body and may be deposited into developing eggs. These eggs are unsafe to eat, so you’ll want to dispose of them during the egg withdrawal window.
Chicken First-Aid FAQs
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