Flock health - using your senses
Copyright: www.theranger.co.uk
Producers are only too well aware that the costs of investigating production and mortality problems in free range laying flocks can be an expensive business. Often extensive diagnostic tests may be required to solve the problem. However, a huge amount of information about flock health, or otherwise, can be gained by just using your senses as you carry out daily checks within your chicken house.
Most people don't even realise how much information they are gathering while just walking through the flock.
The best person to judge the health of your stock is you, the producer. After all, you see the birds every day, you know your chickens and their little habits (no two flocks are ever the same!), so what can your senses tell you?
1) Sight.
Bird characteristics:
You can see at a glance what the birds are doing and where they are and can easily note any change in behaviour, for example, if birds are failing to range as they normally would or birds are crowding in one area of the shed. If you see something unusual, then you can investigate.
What do the birds look like? Birds should be alert, active and inquisitive. You should be looked for good comb colour, good comb development, tight healthy feathering. By looking at the flock, you can see how birds are moving. Is there any lameness present? Can you see any signs of skin damage, feather loss which might indicate a pecking or a parasitic problem? Look carefully at the feathering of the birds. Feather scoring is a useful guide to bird welfare and can be used as part of a welfare assessment. Can you see any signs of skin damage or feather loss which might indicate a pecking or a parasitic problem?
By looking at the faces of the birds, you can also see whether there is any evidence of nasal discharge or discharge from the eyes (which sometimes appears as black marks where dust sticks to the discharge.
Environmental characteristics:
You can judge a lot about the birds' environment just by looking. What is the appearance of the litter? Is it friable and pleasant or wet and starting to cap? You can look at the droppings on litter on the slatted area and outside. Are they normal droppings, dark with a white cap, or do they appear wet or with an abnormal colour or blood stained . Are roundworms visible in droppings?
Looking carefully at the surfaces and any ledges in the service area, egg store and house, can you see any evidence of beetles or rodent droppings? Within the house, looking closely at slats, feed track and nest boxes, is there any evidence of red mite?
What about the visibility within the house? You should be able to see clearly, if not, and the atmosphere is very dusty, there is likely to be an air quality problem.
Looking at the range area, you can judge condition of the grazing, for example is it too long and may need topping or are there poached wet areas which should be fenced off or draining improved at the next turnaround.
You should be looking to see if there is any evidence of predator activity, for example, looking for fox droppings close to the electric fence? From a biosecurity point of view, you should keep an eye on the numbers of wild birds on the pasture, particularly if you are close to areas where water fowl gather.
Egg characteristics:
Looking at eggs can tell you a lot! You will be able to note if there has been any change in shell colour or texture. You can note whether there are any blood stained eggs and whether the number of these has increased. Are there marks on eggs which could indicate a red mite problem ? You can note whether there is any change in egg size or shape and whether there are cracks. Has egg size changed?
As well as keeping a record of figures of egg production it is useful to graph the information, as a graph gives you an instant picture of the performance of the flock which you or any visitors to the site can glance at and immediately understand how the flock are performing. A graph of production can also help you look back at the flock performance and identify by the pattern and timing of any drops or problems with production what the trigger factors may have been which may give you information to try and avoid such problems in a subsequent flock. You can also highlight the success (or otherwise) of any treatments, feed changes or other interventions by adding them to the graph. Looking at records of water consumption can also give you early warning of possible health problems.
What about the appearance of the litter? Can you see nice, normal droppings, dark with a white cap, or are droppings wet, abnormal colour or with blood or even worms present? What about the house equipment? Is there feed in feeders? Does it look and smell of good quality? Are drinkers clean and full of water? Are drinkers leaking?
2) Hearing
You will be listening to the flock without realising it. It is often worth pausing for a moment before you open the door to the shed to note whether the flock sound contented or whether there is any sign of distress, for example, alarm calls.
Once you are inside the house, are birds talking "contentedly" or are they are abnormally quiet? Any change in behaviour should alert you to a possible problem. By listening to the birds, you can also notice if there is any coughing or snicking present and as you walk round the house you can hear whether the fans are working normally as you would expect.
If you enter the house at night when birds are roosting, take a moment to listen before you do anything in the house. This is often when birds are quiet and you may more easily pick up any abnormal respiratory sounds - for example sneezing.
3) Smell
What can your sense of smell tell you? Within the shed, if there are air quality problems you may detect ammonia or a generally stale smell.
If litter conditions are damp, you may also find a mouldy, musty smell in the shed.
If you have rodent problems, you may smell the distinct "musty" smell of mice.
4) Touch
Handling birds and weighing can provide a lot of information about flock health and will help you to have a better look at the feathers and check for mites and other parasites and pecking damage.
As producers will be aware from other articles in The Ranger, correct bodyweights are of paramount importance for successful free range production.
It is important to have regular weighing programme in place, particularly early in lay and up to peak to achieve optimum flock condition and performance.
5) Other senses
If you feel too hot or too cold when walking through the shed or find that it is drafty and unpleasant, remember that the birds may feel uncomfortable too and that you may need to address the environment to improve it for the flock.
As you will see from the above, producers gather a vast amount of information each day about their flock often without even realising they are doing it.
If the information you have gathered suggests there may be a problem, ring your vet with all the information you can and discuss the problem.
It may be that the answer is clear to you both. If not, further tests may be required.
The more information you can provide to your veterinary surgeon, the more likely it is that a rapid diagnosis will be reached so that the problem can be addressed and sorted out quickly.
