Waterfowl

Backyard Chicken & Duck Care

Backyard Chicken & Duck Care

If you are looking for information about Backyard Chicken and Duck Care, like how to set them up and care for them to ensure optimal health, visit Beauty of Birds.

 

Chicken and Duck Care

Chicken Species … Breeding Chicken … Preventing Poultry Diseases / Disease Outbreaks … Mass Production … Chickens as Pets or Useful Backyard Animals … Heat Stress in Poultry and Its Management … Chicken Diseases

 

 

 

The following information has been provided by Dr. Rob Marshall, Avian Vet:
 

Boy Feeding chicken in the backyard. Backyard Chicken & Duck Care.
Boy Feeding chicken in the backyard. Backyard Chicken & Ducks Care.

Backyard Fowl

Backyard and exhibition poultry flocks are at a distinct health advantage because they run free. Free-range poultry are able to select exactly what they need from the yard in terms of trace elements and vitamin-rich green food.

They also get copious amounts of direct sunshine, the greatest health tonic of all. On the down-side, however, free-range poultry flocks are exposed to many germs that abound in wet areas after rain. These wet areas are hazardous to health. Wet weather and disease prevention programmes should be incorporated into a regular health programme. The programmes described on this page follow organic farming principles and use natural methods to control disease and, with the addition of a vaccination programme, produce a naturally disease-resistant flock.

Additional vaccination programmes may be necessary for chickens, whilst gamefowl and waterfowl require special programmes to prevent those diseases (Blackhead, Hexamita, Giardia and Cochlosoma) transmitted by motile protozoal parasites.

 

Backyard Chickens

The backyard chicken makes a remarkable pet, especially when reared soon after hatching. It has the loyalty of a dog, the intelligence of a cockatoo and the cheekiness of a monkey. It is one of the few pet birds that can pay its way, delivering a pay-load almost every day in the form of a “prima protein” nutritious egg.

The chicken is a highly efficient egg producer, but must be fed correctly. Without the correct feeding the backyard chicken becomes exposed to ill health and disease. Certainly, the backyard vegetation and a grain diet provides these birds with much of their nutritional needs, but nutritional supplements are still required for continuing good health.

A regular disease control programme keeps the hens in top shape.

 

Backyard Ducks and Geese

Ducks and geese are remarkably resistant to most illnesses. However, they are prone to illness from moulds and giardia following wet spells.

Domesticated Ducks

Domesticated Geese

Duck in the Backyard
Duck in the Backyard

 

Backyard Game Fowl

A structured approach to parasite and disease control is necessary to maintain the health and wellbeing of backyard game fowl. Care must be taken to house “disease-compatible” species together when keeping different species of game fowl.

For example, pheasants and other game fowl may be successfully “run” with geese and ducks who do not “carry” Histomonas (blackhead) infection.

Game fowl, however, must not be “run” with chicken (fowl) species who commonly carry Histomonas and Heterakis (caecal) worms and readily infect juvenile and newly introduced game fowl with often fatal outcomes.

 

Common Chicken Diseases


Species Research by Sibylle Johnson


 

Please Note: The articles or images on this page are the sole property of the authors or photographers. Please contact them directly with respect to any copyright or licensing questions. Thank you.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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