First Aid Kit for a Backyard Chicken Flock
Your chicken-keeping philosophy will determine how well stocked your backyard flock first aid kit should be. At a minimum, every flock keeper should have a hospital cage in which to assess and isolate a sick or injured chicken, and have the ability to humanely euthanize a hopelessly ill bird. Other items you may find useful in your first aid kit are
A spare heat lamp and bulb (non-shatterproof) or other heat source to warm a chilled bird (especially chicks). Steer clear of clamp-style heat lamps; get the kind you can hang securely from the ceiling.
An electric fan, mister, or other cooling device to cool an overheated chicken.
An antiseptic solution and a 10ml syringe for flushing wounds.
A pair of forceps (tweezers) for examining wounds and picking out debris, and a pair of scissors for removing bandages.
A package of gauze sponges for blotting and cleaning wounds.
A method to stop bleeding, such as blood-stop powder, a styptic pencil, cornstarch, or a tea bag.
A roll of 1-inch wide adhesive cloth bandaging tape, and a roll of 2-inch wide self-cling bandaging tape for dressing injured feet or wings.
A package or bottle of a poultry vitamin and electrolyte preparation to mix with drinking water.
A tube of water-based personal lubricant for dealing with a prolapsed vent or suspected egg-bound bird.
Your veterinarian’s phone number.
Raising Chickens Glossary
broiler; broiler bird
Any chicken of a breed known or developed for meat; usually with deeper, larger breasts, a larger frame, and fast growth.
Raising Chickens Glossary
brooder
An enclosed area for chicks in the first few weeks of life; provides warmth and safety in the absence of a mother hen.
Raising Chickens Glossary
chiggers
A common external parasite of chickens (and humans) that feed on blood while injecting an irritant into the skin.
Raising Chickens Glossary
Coccidia
An internal parasite of chickens that lines the digestive tract and may cause serious problems.
Raising Chickens Glossary
coccidiosis
An infection by Coccidia.
Raising Chickens Glossary
coccidiostats
A medicine that controls the disease coccidiosis; often added to commercial chicken feed.
Raising Chickens Glossary
cockerel
A young male chicken.
Raising Chickens Glossary
County Extension agent
A county employee, sometimes called an educator, who is associated with a land-grant university in the same state and whose job is to take research-based knowledge and bring it to the general public.
Raising Chickens Glossary
crumbles
Medium-sized pieces of feed, actually broken-up pellets.
Raising Chickens Glossary
egg binding
The condition that occurs when a hen has an egg that she can’t pass from the oviduct for some reason.
Raising Chickens Glossary
fowl tick
An external parasite of chickens, common in the U.S. South, that feed on the chicken’s blood but do not stay attached.
Raising Chickens Glossary
gapeworm
A common internal parasite of free-range or pastured chickens, usually found in the trachea; may cause serious breathing problems.
Raising Chickens Glossary
grit
1. Small rocks or gravel; aids digestion for chickens. 2. Chicken feed supplement, made of crushed limestone and granite, available for purchase in feed stores for chickens requiring extra grit.
Raising Chickens Glossary
hybrid
A cross between two chicken breeds, usually created to take advantage of specific qualities such as increased breast meat.
Raising Chickens Glossary
layer; laying hen
Any chicken of a breed known or developed for laying eggs; will not sit on their own eggs.
Raising Chickens Glossary
lice
A common external parasite of chickens that feeds on feathers or shedding skin cells.
Raising Chickens Glossary
Raising Chickens Glossary
mite
A common external parasite of chickens that burrows into the chicken’s skin and feeds on chicken blood.
Raising Chickens Glossary
oocysts
Immature Coccidia that are passed in fecal matter. Coccidia is an internal parasite of chickens that lines the digestive tract.
Raising Chickens Glossary
parasite
Things that feed on a chicken’s blood, other body secretions, or its feathers; may be internal or external.
Raising Chickens Glossary
pellets
Long, narrow, cylinder-shaped pieces of compressed feed.
Raising Chickens Glossary
pullet
A young female chicken who has not started laying eggs.
Raising Chickens Glossary
roost
1. (noun) Any above-floor structure provided for a bird to perch on. 2. (verb) The act of perching on such a structure.
Raising Chickens Glossary
roundworm
A common internal parasite of chickens, usually found in the intestines but occasionally in the oviduct or even an egg
Raising Chickens Glossary
shelter-and-run unit
A form of chicken housing that combines an indoor, protected area with an outside enclosure.
Raising Chickens Glossary
Raising Chickens Glossary
tapeworm
A common internal parasite of chickens, usually found in the intestines and usually considered harmless.
Raising Chickens Glossary
vent; vent area
The common opening for feces in chickens.
Raising Chickens Glossary
vet wrap
A bandage, often used with animals, that sticks to itself.
Raising Chickens Glossary
zoning variance
A formal agreement with the governing body of an area to allow one individual or entity to deviate from the restrictions of a zoning area.
Raising Chickens Glossary
zoning; zoning area
1. (noun) An area or district with specific restrictions or rules about the types of buildings and activities that can take place there. 2. (adjective) Of or about the restrictions required due to the zoning area.
