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Domestic Poultry 125

Record Keeping

A detailed history should be obtained from the person presenting the chicks, if available. If the
chicks were found, they should be asked where they found them, how long they have had them,
whether they attempted to feed or water them (and the results), and what environmental condi-
tions they had been exposed to (such as cold nights). If an owner is presenting you with chicks that
he or she is raising, finding out about the growing environment, feed, vaccination history, history
of exposure to other birds, and history of avian disease on the premises can potentially yield help-
ful information about underlying causes of disease or injury. Specifically, ask about housing, feed-
ing, and environmental conditions.
Housing: Are chicks raised in a brooder or loose with other birds? Of what material is the
brooder made? If it is a nonporous material, do they clean and disinfect after each brood? With
what disinfectants? If they use cardboard boxes to brood, do they reuse them for brooding? From
what source do they get the cardboard boxes?
Feed: What are they feeding? Where do they purchase it? Does the feed ever have an “off” or
musty smell? If so, do they feed it? How do they store the feed? Do they feed additional feed such
as table scraps or scratch feed? What type of feeder is used? Does it appear that the chicks are hav-
ing difficulty eating?
Environment: Are chicks brooded indoors or outdoors? If they are brooded outdoors, are they
raised near or have access to other birds? If so, what species? Are chicks exposed to drafts? To direct
sunlight? To rain? What type of litter is used? Is newspaper used during brooding? When is litter
changed? Does litter ever get wet and caked? Is mold ever found when litter is changed?

Common Medical Problems and Solutions

Most pet poultry, unless used for show, rarely encounter the same intensity of disease exposure
that commercial poultry do. However, domestic poultry are afflicted by a plethora of contagious
diseases of tremendous concern to regulatory agencies, and people who keep these species as pets
or for small‐scale production of eggs or meat should be aware of these issues. Nonetheless, keeping
poultry can be very rewarding and many perceived “disease” conditions are actually the result of
environmental or feed mismanagement or are unusual presentations of normal events (such as
molting). Vaccinations, with a few exceptions, are unnecessary for backyard poultry and can be
difficult to obtain in the proper dose size. Most vaccines are sold in bottles of 500–10 000 doses, and
mixing errors can be devastating. In addition, medication is also frequently tailored for commercial
flock sizes, and dilution errors for small flocks are common. If vaccines are given, be sure to docu-
ment all dilution calculations in case of possible overdosing. Due to space constraints, a thorough
discussion of most infectious diseases will not be included here. Please see Boulianne (2013) for an
excellent and inexpensive resource for most avian diseases for chickens, ducks and geese, and
game birds.
The following sections are not meant to be comprehensive, but include some of the more com-
mon conditions that are encountered in backyard poultry practice. Note that for any insecticides or
medications listed, it is important to follow application instructions and the drug withdrawal
requirements for human safety. Insecticides and medications and their residues can remain in
muscle tissue or eggs, which can be harmful to humans. Following withdrawal requirements helps
ensure that consumption of any meat or eggs from treated birds does not cause harm to the
consumer.