11/09/2025
Things I've learned over the years to keep a healthy flock. (1) Practice strict Biosecurity. Don't let others come to your farm. It may seem great to let them come to show them the quality of your birds, but DON'T DO IT! Also, don't bring in unknown birds from a flock swap not knowing anything about them. I've kept a closed flock & adhered to this practice for years & I've had very little issues of any kind that would hurt my flock. I stand by this rule. Very important when you're breeding for other people too. (2) When raising chicks, pretreat for coccidiosis when they go on dirt. Do the regular dose of endocox for 3 days (toltrazuril) which is 1 tsp per gallon of drinking water for the powder form of endocox (other dosages apply for liquid Toltrazuril depending on strength). Pretreating & watching afterwards for signs of cocci are very important to getting past the danger stage. If done right, they will develop immunity at a young age & never be bothered with it again. (3) For Polish, supplement with B Vitamins. I use a liquid B complex added to wet food. I say, for Polish, because they don't absorb Vit B/Thiamine enough in their feed. (4) Winterize your chicken runs with plastic or panels. If you block wind & cut down on cold temps getting in, their bodies will not have to work harder to keep them warm & their immunity will stay high enough to keep them healthy. Everything plays together to keep birds healthy & thriving! (5) This is mainly for Polish. Young Polish under a year old are skinny & that makes them more fragile. If they don't have "meat on their bones" they can have trouble keeping warm. I make sure I put weight on my young birds to help them get thru cold nights. I provide a plate of warm gruel every night. I offer scratch to my adults at night so their bodies can burn that corn to keep warm. I always supplement with heating plates thru winter for the youngest ones. And if it gets in the 20's, my adults get heating plates also. I show in the winter months & want my adults to be comfortable & continue to look good. I know this is a touchy subject, so don't come at me. If you disagree, keep it to yourself. I have my way & it works. I've lost birds to the cold before, usually the young ones under a year. (6) Keep everything clean. I know it may seem like a lot of work, but cleaning water once a week & sanitizing them is important. Slime can build up. Would you want to drink water from a slime cup? NO. So do that for them. Keep runs as clean as possible. I do mine once a month replacing bedding & the next day, you can hardly tell they were changed, but I know they're better. (7) Provide fruits & veggies, for extra nutrition. You can hang lettuce for them to peck on. I like to do fruit kabobs with 🍅 🍏 & 🌽 They love pecking at them, takes several hours for it to disappear. Keeps them busy as well as being good for them. I'm going to stop here, since this post is already too long. Just remember, you've taken the time to acquire these beautiful birds & you love them, so make sure you're giving them the best life! Thank you for reading 💖
