What can I feed my sick chicken? Ailing chickens are often picky and can loose their appetite quickly. If a chicken stops eating or drinking, things quickly get worse, and you don’t have much time left to help them get better. That’s why it is so important to keep a sick chicken’s appetite stimulated and to keep them hydrated. When feeding a sick chicken, you want to encourage a good appetite as well as feed the chicken foods that will stimulate a speedy recovery. Hopefully these tips for feeding a sick chicken will help!.
As a chicken owner, it can be concerning when one of your chickens suddenly stops eating. A sick chicken that refuses food is at risk of becoming malnourished, which will make it harder for them to recover. When a chicken loses its appetite, it’s important to take action quickly to get them eating again. In this article, I’ll share tips on what to feed a sick chicken that won’t eat to help stimulate their appetite and provide the nutrients they need.
Why Proper Nutrition is Crucial for Sick Chickens
A chicken’s diet has a direct effect on its health, so making sure a sick chicken gets enough food is very important for its recovery. Here’s why .
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Sick chickens have weakened immune systems and require nutrients to help support healing, Lack of proper nutrition will prolong illness,
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Without food, a sick chicken will become weaker, making it difficult to fight off sickness.
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Nutrients provide energy for a chicken’s body to keep organ systems functioning during illness.
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When a chicken stops eating all together, its health quickly gets worse. Quick action is needed to re-stimulate their appetite.
To sum up, food is what keeps a chicken’s body going, especially when it’s sick. Let’s look at ways to get them eating again.
Tips on What to Feed a Sick Chicken With No Appetite
If your sick chicken has stopped eating its normal food, try the following techniques and diet changes:
1. Offer High-Nutrient Foods
First, feed your chicken foods that are high in nutrients, even if it only eats a small amount. Good options are:
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Cooked eggs – scrambled or hard boiled. Eggs have a great nutritional profile.
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Oatmeal – provides carbs, protein and B vitamins.
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Rice – easily digested and high in nutrients. Mix in broth for extra flavor.
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Lean meats – shred chicken, turkey or beef over their food.
2. Make Food Appealing
Since sick chickens are picky, make the food smell and look delicious:
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Mix in a bit of yogurt, cottage cheese or peas to add flavor, moisture and nutrition.
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Warm up their food slightly to make it more aromatic.
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Dice veggies like carrots, sweet potato and greens into small, bite-size pieces.
3. Assist with Hand-Feeding
If your chicken refuses to eat on its own, hand-feeding may help stimulate their appetite. Sit with your chicken and slowly offer small pieces of nutrient-dense foods like boiled eggs, meat, rice, oats or veggie pieces.
4. Provide Liquid Nutrition
If hand-feeding isn’t working, give liquid nutrition. Try:
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Nutrient-dense broths made with chicken, beef or bone broth. Slowly pour into their beak.
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Meal replacement shakes made for sick animals – mix with water.
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Pedialyte to provide electrolytes and fluids.
5. Consider Supplements
Supplements tailor-made for sick chickens provide an insurance policy to fill any nutrition gaps:
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Powders to mix into food like VitaChick or Chick NV.
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Nourishing gels like Nutri-Drench. Massage into mouth and beak.
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Probiotics to support digestion and gut health.
If homemade options fail to entice, supplements ensure nutrition intake.
When to Call a Veterinarian
It’s always a good idea to consult an avian vet if your sick chicken won’t eat. A vet can:
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Diagnose the illness and provide appropriate treatment.
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Suggest feeding techniques and diet plans.
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In severe cases, administer IV or injectable nutrition.
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Determine if the chicken needs to be force fed with a feeding tube.
Call a vet immediately if your chicken hasn’t eaten for over 2 days and condition is declining rapidly. The sooner treatment begins, the better chance your chicken has of bouncing back to health.
Be Patient and Keep Trying
Getting a sick chicken that has lost its appetite to start eating again takes patience and persistence. Keep offering various foods and use different techniques until you find something that stimulates their appetite. With time and proper nutrition, most chickens will regain their strength and appetite. Just remember, don’t give up! With a little TLC and the right diet, your feathered friend will be on the road to recovery in no time.
Basic Herbs for a Sick Chicken:
- parsley
- turmeric
- garlic
- cinnamon
- oregano (this is a strong herb)
A Diet for Ailing Chickens
If you notice that one of your chickens isn’t feeling well, you need to think about what they’re eating right away. After you take the usual sick chicken precautions you will want to dive into the nitty gritty of figuring out what is causing them to ail and how you can help. Your flock’s diet plays a big role in how healthy they stay.
A chicken needs food and water to stay alive and make sure all of its body’s functions work right. Deficiencies and imbalances in the diet can both cause health issues. But what a chicken eats can also have a big effect on its overall health, even if the illness isn’t caused by the food.
Signs of improper feed and water intake include:
- A chicken that doesn’t eat will often have bile in its poop, which is green.
- If a chicken isn’t getting the food it needs, it will start to lose weight. To check for thinness, press on both sides of the breast bone.
- shrunken or pale comb and wattles—these are some of the first places where food and blood flow are cut off.
- Long, sunken facial features—a chicken that isn’t getting enough food will lose weight and its facial features will start to sink in, making its face look long and thin.
Is My Chicken Sick? How to Treat Chickens Naturally
FAQ
How to feed a sick chicken that won’t eat?
Try giving her extra help, like electrolytes in water, scrambled eggs, plain yogurt, or water mixed in with her food to make her want to eat.
What is the best thing to give a sick chicken?
Vi-tal) or you can use Pedialyte or diluted Gatorade (diluted 50/50 with water). You can offer these in a bowl or if she isn’t drinking on her own you can administer fluids (and hand feeding) via towel restraining and a syringe or dropper. Wrap bird “burrito style” and hold securely upright in lap.
Can a sick chicken get better on its own?
In most cases, sick chickens simply have a slight cold and take a few days to get over the condition — once the symptoms have completely gone and the bird has recovered it can be let out to rejoin the flock. Obviously, with severe illness the bird may not recover and subsequently die.
How do you perk up a sick chicken?
Getting a sick chicken better: Once you get your chicken inside, make sure it has lots of water. If really weak you may need to help her to drink. If she will eat, it is good to get her eating something. Mushy easy to swallow food is best, something like porridge or bread soaked in water for example.