Most backyard chicken keepers do not have easy access to a veterinarian willing or able to provide health care treatment for an injured chicken, so when a pet chicken gets hurt, self-help is typically the only recourse to keep your flock healthy. Some of the following basic first aid measures for injured chickens may be life-saving when a visit to the vet isn’t a viable option!
Before we get into the nitty gritty details of chicken health, be sure to familiarize yourself with The Basics as far as the major parts of a chicken as well as the differences between males (roosters) and females (hens). Then, we’d definitely recommend becoming familiar with the anatomy of a chicken. This knowledge will help significantly with more intricate ailments involving various anatomy of the chicken.
The types of injuries that most commonly occur in backyard flocks are those from chickens fighting with one another, picking each other and attacks by such as dogs, raccoons, foxes and hawks. Keeping calm when discovering an injured chicken is the first priority and when you know what needs to be done, it’s easier to remain composed. Just like when treating an injured child; if you’re calm, cool and collected, most likely so will they!
Preparing for inevitable chicken injuries is important, and is luckily easily done. In this section, we will give some demonstrations of what we recommend in a Chicken First Aid Kit, comprised by Amy, who used to be a veterinary technician for many years; and Clif, who used to be a practicing paramedic and now teaches wilderness and emergency medicine full time. After that is a great infographic about how to examine a sick chicken; and then we’ll get into some of the basics of Chicken First Aid! Oh, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a basic understanding of the anatomy of a chicken, too!
