Health and biosecurity
Prevention, parasites, moulting, quarantine, biosecurity: Elsanor's answers to keep your hens healthy.
21 perguntas
Our flock is free of mycoplasma and salmonella, and that is a commitment we hold to over time, not a one-off declaration. Every batch is tracked digitally from egg to dispatch: run of origin, incubation, rearing, despatch. It is that traceability which allows us, should any question arise about a bird, to trace its whole ancestry. Biosecurity is not an extra in our trade: without it no breeding programme holds up over time.
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Two quite distinct qualities: health and conformity to the standard. On health, the eye should be bright and wide open with no swelling, the breathing silent, the plumage and vent clean; a complete vaccination programme is a real plus. On the standard, look at the flock's show results: it is the only outside and impartial judgement that exists on a line. A breeder who never exhibits may well work seriously, but his own assessment has never been set against a judge's — it may therefore be off without his knowing.
It is a real plus, and it is decided at the point of purchase: some vaccinations are carried out at the hatchery in the very first days and can never be made up later. The best-known example is Marek's disease, for which only day-one vaccination is effective. Always ask your retailer what has been done. Here, the health record of every batch is logged, so we know precisely where a bird comes from and what it has received.
A sick hen shows it first in her bearing: she keeps apart, stands still with ruffled feathers and head drawn in, and stops scratching. Then look at the eye — bright and wide open in a healthy bird —, the comb, the breathing, the state of the plumage and vent, and the consistency of the droppings. A hen that does not come to feed with the others is a strong signal. At any persistent doubt, isolate her and call a vet.
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The good signs are simple: a bright, dry eye, comb and wattles well coloured, silent breathing, clean smooth plumage, a clear vent, firm weight when lifted, and above all active behaviour — a hen in good form scratches, explores and is first to the feed. It is that daily observation, far more than any occasional examination, that lets trouble be caught in time.
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The commonest cause is the moult, an entirely normal annual renewal. But there are other explanations: external parasites, feather pecking between hens short of space or occupation, the cockerel treading the hens' backs in the breeding season, or more rarely a deficiency. Look at where the feathers are missing: the location nearly always points to the right cause.
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Allow six to twelve weeks, most often in late summer or autumn. The pattern varies a great deal: some hens lose their feathers very quickly and end up almost bare, others replace them gradually without it being noticed. Either way there is no cause for concern — it is a natural transition before winter. The hen draws heavily on protein to rebuild her plumage: this is no time to ease off on feeding.
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No, or very little. Rebuilding a full set of plumage takes enormous resources, and the body cannot manage both at once. The stop is therefore normal and expected, and it lasts as long as the moult. It is one of the reasons our statistics are read over a complete season: burying the moult in a monthly average would make no sense.
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It is not compulsory for a private keeper, but it is a real advantage, particularly against diseases for which there is no treatment once they take hold. Some vaccinations are given at the hatchery in the first days and cannot be made up: Marek's disease is one, effective only if given on day one. Ask your retailer what has been done to the birds you are buying — the answer says a good deal about how sound the source is.
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Biosecurity does most of the work, and it rests on simple habits: limit contact with outside birds, bring in no bird without quarantine, keep the house dry and the bedding clean, clean regularly, and stop wild birds reaching the feeders. On our holding these principles shape the whole organisation — it is what allows a clean flock to be maintained over time.
Red mite is present in almost every flock. It lives in the house and not on the hen: by day it hides in cracks and under the perches, and comes out to feed at night. Cleaning and treating the building therefore brings genuine relief, but does not settle the problem for good — a few always survive in some corner and the population builds up again. In our experience the only truly lasting solution is a veterinary treatment given to the hens by mouth, in two doses seven days apart so as to catch the successive generations. Discuss it with your vet: these products are prescription-only and carry withdrawal periods before the eggs can be eaten.
The signs: dull or thin plumage, frequent scratching, restlessness at night, a pale comb, a drop in laying, weight loss despite a normal appetite. Part the feathers around the vent and under the wings to look for parasites or their eggs, and inspect the house at night with a torch: that is where red mite shows itself. Internal parasites, by contrast, cannot be seen — they are inferred from the bird's general condition.
Yes, but on a considered basis: routine and over-frequent treatment ends up selecting for resistant parasites. A regular rhythm suited to the run and the stocking density is enough in most cases. The products that may be used and the withdrawal periods before eating the eggs vary — that is a point to settle with a vet rather than on a forum.
Yes, always — and the period that gave the practice its name remains the right one: forty days. It is the time that allows problems to show themselves before they reach your flock. See to the newcomers last, wash your hands, do not use the same equipment. One important reservation: some infections, mycoplasma in particular, remain present for life in a carrier bird. No quarantine eliminates them; it only allows them to be spotted.
In two stages, never in one. First the mechanical clean: take out all the bedding, scrape, brush — a disinfectant does not work on dirty surfaces. Only then the disinfection, on dry surfaces. Pay particular attention to cracks, perches and nest boxes, where parasites take hold. Let everything dry and air before the hens go back in.
Start by examining her: a wound, a foreign body under the foot, a broken nail, a swollen joint, an inflamed footpad. Lameness appearing after a jump from a high perch is often minor; a hot, swollen leg far less so. Isolate the hen so she can eat and drink undisturbed, and consult a vet if it persists beyond a few days.
Isolate the rest of the group at once and suspend all movement of birds or equipment in or out. Note what you observe: number of birds affected, age, signs preceding death, sequence of events. Those details are worth far more to the vet than any internet search, and the vet alone may make a diagnosis. Sudden, grouped mortality must be taken seriously, including for regulatory reasons.
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Declaring it proves nothing: only official testing counts. Our flock is tested continuously, not at a one-off inspection — it is a requirement for export, and that is precisely what gives the claim its value. These two families of organism are among the most troublesome in poultry keeping: mycoplasma settles lastingly in the respiratory tract and passes to the chicks, while salmonella raises a major public health question. Holding that status calls for strict biosecurity and batch-by-batch monitoring, every day of the year.
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It is above all an excellent indicator of health and hormonal state: a pale, shrunken or cold comb often signals a problem, whereas a bright, well-coloured comb goes with a hen in full lay. It is the first place to look when something seems wrong. A role in temperature regulation is also attributed to it, given its blood supply; we have not, however, observed that large-combed breeds come through our summers any better.
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A daily discipline, not a promise. The production site is closed and entry limited to those strictly needed, under conditions: no prior visit to another poultry holding, and members of our team keep no birds at home. To that are added disinfection of vehicles at the site entrance, a change of clothing, and a compulsory shower on entering each building. It is that level of requirement which allows a clean flock to be maintained over time.
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A vet used to poultry: avian medicine is a discipline in its own right, which a practitioner geared to cats and dogs does not necessarily practise. The problem is not incompetence but the shortcut — faced with non-specific signs, the same hypothesis comes round repeatedly, Marek's disease being the classic instance, because a vet is expected to put a name to a problem. Yet many avian diseases are confirmed only by testing: without it you have a lead, not a diagnosis. And a diagnosis merely suggested soon hardens into certainty once repeated, sometimes to the detriment of the selling flock. The right question is a simple one: lead or certainty, and can the testing be taken further?
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