By Gail Damerow, Jeanne Smith DVM
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Extra resources for The Chicken Health Handbook
Sample text
Calcium transport is aided by a system of so-called ''medullary" bones, from which a hen gets 47 percent of the calcium used in eggshell formation. Skeletal problems can be caused by insufficient calcium, either because the diet is deficient or because a disease or other condition keeps calcium from being properly metabolized. Common problems include crooked or humped back, crooked keel, and wry tail (that flops to one side). By far the most common problem is weak legs, which may be related to genetics, nutrition, infection, or some combination thereof.
You can sometimes see a full crop bulging at the base of a bird's neck. Occasionally the crop becomes impacted (see "Crop Impaction," page 264). Crop impaction may occur when feed is withheld preparatory to worming, causing chickens to eat too much at once afterward. Crops may also get packed when birds are free ranged where little is available to eat but tough, fibrous vegetation. Even if the bird continues to eat, nutrition cannot get through. The swollen crop may cut off the windpipe, suffocating the bird.
Stress Behavior If you're familiar with the way your chickens normally act, you can readily notice changes caused by stress and can take appropriate action. You may be able to alleviate the stress behavior through a simple management change. Continuing stress that causes long-term behavioral changes seriously reduces a chicken's resistance to disease. Sometimes the stress behavior itself is a first sign of disease. Stress behavior falls into three basic categories: Diarrhea Labored breathing Changes in normal behavior or activity patterns Diarrhea becomes evident as a stress sign when you grab a bird suddenly and it reacts by pooping on you.