Natural Disease & Pest Prevention: Gut Health & Your Flock
*Disclaimer: I’m not a veterinary professional. Your choices for the care and maintenance of your livestock are solely your responsibility. Please see my full content disclaimer.
You’ve heard the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That saying is especially true in the world of backyard chicken keeping. Harsh chemical interventions and cures for pests and diseases while effective often come with severe drawbacks for your flock like an egg withdrawal period (meaning you can’t eat your eggs impacted by these treatments) and a monetary cost to you. Many common chicken pests and diseases can be avoided with consistent, responsible backyard chicken practices including regular maintenance of your chicken area, deep seasonal cleaning of your chicken area, biosecurity measures, and intentional, targeted chicken nutrition.
Healthy, happy chickens lay more eggs and not only that, but their eggs will also be safer for you and your family. Always cook any poultry products to recommended safe temperatures. Incorporating vitamin rich and probiotic foods into your flock’s diet can help prevent disease, bacteria, and pest infestations. Bacteria and natural parasites like worms are present in even the most well-maintained chicken environment. By strengthening your flock’s natural immunity and gut health, you are giving your flock the best chance possible to prevent costly infestations and other issues which impact their overall health and productivity.
Probiotics as a regular part of your backyard flock’s diet aids both in boosting their natural productivity but also can make for healthier chickens and eggs. Probiotics can improve your hen’s egg size and quality by supporting her overall health. Probiotics also help to give the beneficial, natural bacteria present in your chicken a competitive edge against harmful bacteria, like salmonella. A healthy balance of probiotics also helps to aid your flock’s ability to absorb nutrients, maximizing the effectiveness of your chosen poultry feed and boosting your flock’s natural immunity at the same time. A probiotic diet can also benefit flock’s recovering from the strain of harsh weather conditions or rebounding from chemical treatments to regain their natural strength and vitality.
It is important note again that natural measures are meant as preventions to avoid the need for additional treatments. For severe or persistent infestations or symptoms marked by pale combs, a loss of productivity, or other concerning signs, chemical interventions and/or veterinary consultation may be recommended. Both farm box stores and online pet suppliers offer over the counter treatments for many backyard chicken conditions.
It’s easy and affordable to boost your chosen chicken feed with a few natural ingredients to give your flock a natural edge against costly diseases and pests.
Fermenting your chosen chicken feed. Fermenting your chicken feed increased the amount of B vitamins and also makes your chosen chicken food easier for your flock to digest. Use the formula one part chicken feed to two parts filtered water. You can ferment your feed for as little as 24 hours or up to 3 days. You can purchase filtered water, use an installed water filter or filtered pitcher, or leave tap water in an open container overnight so the chlorine can evaporate before combining with your chicken feed. Make sure to leave space in your chosen container because fermented feed doubles in size. Cover with a loose lid so air created from the fermentation process can escape. You can use a loose screw lid left partially open, a cheese cloth, or items like an old t-shirt. Experiment with a small batch first as some chicken feeds work better for fermentation than others. Fermented feed should be bubbly and smell sour similar to Greek yogurt or kombucha. If the batch is sour, it will smell fowl like droppings and should be discarded. Keep in a cool dry place and feed within 3 days. Discard any unused feed. Be sure to remove and clean any resulting livestock dishes.
Pumpkin seeds. Unseasoned pumpkin seeds contain cucurbitacin which paralyzes worms. Not to mention they’re delicious and chickens love them!
Cayenne. Cayenne is thought have natural anti-viral and anti-bacterial qualities in addition to boosting your chicken’s circulation and natural immunity.
Brassicas. This group of plants is packed with vitamins. Cabbage, kale, broccoli, and turnips are all believed to naturally repel worms.
Nasturtium flowers. Did you know that you and your flock can eat nasturtium flowers and greens? They are also thought to be a natural anti-parasitic.
Oregano, lemon balm, and mint. These readily accessible kitchen herbs are thought to have natural anti-bacterial qualities. They can also be dried and added to bedding and nesting materials for their pleasant scent and to repel pests.
Unflavored Greek yogurt with raw honey. This mixture can be added in small amounts to your fermented feed to give your chicken’s natural gut biome a super boost. Honey is also known to have a calming effect on chickens.
Natural food boosters like Roosty’s Flock Armor. Flock Armor contains black pepper, capsicum annum, garlic powder, chilli flakes, oregano, and flack seed all in one easy to use mix which is safe to be added to your daily feeding regimen. This unique mix provides potent parasite prevention and supports digestive health as well as egg production.
Providing your flock with grit and oyster shell. These inexpensive supplements can be offered to your flock in a free choices dispenser to aid digestion and egg health. Oyster shell provides essential calcium for strong eggshells and feather regrowth. Grit helps your flock properly digest their food to absorb the maximum amount of nutrients possible. Your chickens don’t chew their food and instead rely on grit in an organ called their gizzard to break up their food so they can digest it properly. Grit also helps prevent impacted crop and sour crop. If your flock moves on new, fresh pasture daily these supplements may not be necessary. If your flock like most backyard flocks lives in partial or full-time confinement, these supplements are essential to your flock’s overall health. One bag of each of these supplements will be adequate for a small family flock for months. These supplements are available at your local livestock supplier, farm box stores, and online pet retailers. You can provide these supplements in a free choice dispenser or dish, and refresh as needed.
With just a few simple, natural preventions you can give your backyard flock an immunity boost to help protect them from costly infestations and diseases. Combine one or all of these natural preventions in a livestock safe dish for luxurious natural treat for your flock. Healthier chickens lay more eggs and happier flocks and families make this world a better place.
I hope you enjoyed this post about easy, affordable, natural ways you can help your flock stay healthier naturally. Be sure to check out Chuck’s other social media for more backyard chicken and homesteading content.
You can find Roosty’s Flock Armor at the link below
Chuck and the Chicks 