Chicken Health Problems: Spot Them Early, Fix Them Fast

At feed time, just watch: is everyone moving, eating and bright-eyed? Combs red (not pale or purple)? Feathers smooth? Droppings firm with white caps? Anyone hiding in a corner gets picked up for a closer look. That habit catches 90% of problems early.

The number one Australian flock problem. They live in coop crevices by day and feed on roosting birds at night: anaemia, pale combs, drop in laying, birds reluctant to roost. Check: wipe a white tissue under the perch ends at night, red smears = mites. Fix: strip and scrub the coop, treat crevices (registered mite treatments or heat), repeat in 7 days to catch hatchlings. Dust baths help prevent.

Live on the bird: look for straw-coloured crawlers and egg clumps at feather bases around the vent. Treat birds directly with a registered poultry dust or spray, all birds, repeat per label.

Pale combs, dirty vents, drop in condition while eating well. Worm the whole flock with a registered poultry wormer every 6 months (more in warm wet climates), and respect egg withholding periods on the label.

Raised, crusty, thickened leg scales. Slow-burn misery, easy fix: dunk legs in vegetable oil weekly (suffocates the mites) or use a registered treatment; repeat for several weeks until scales smooth over.

The Australian killer: panting, wings held out, lethargy on 35°C+ days. Shade, multiple waterers, frozen water bottles, and never confine birds in unventilated coops on hot afternoons. The app warns you when a heatwave is forecast for your region.