Monday, February 28, 2011

Chicken First Aid Kit

If you raise chickens, chances are you may have unfortunately lost a chicken or two to predators or disease. Rather than scrambling to find supplies to administer First Aid treatment to an injured hen or rooster, it's helpful to have them all in one place in the form of a poultry First Aid Kit.


Gather all your supplies and store them in a container. I used an old box, but you can use a Tupperware, basket or whatever you like. I stored mine in our shed with our chicken feed, but now that it is getting warmer I moved it to a closet inside our house. You can certainly include more supplies to tailor to your specific needs, but here's what I have in mine: 


Topical ointments, antiseptics, wound dressings


Gauze pads for wounds


Oral antibiotics and a package of vitamins and electrolytes


A syringe to administer the oral medications (just dribble a little on their 
beak and they will drink the rest of it)


You can't forget the treats!! (I usually cave in and give mine their 
favorite: shredded cheese, grapes, or bread)


You will also need to have on hand old towels, washcloths, and Q-tips and/or cotton balls. You may also consider keeping in your kit a needle and thread as well as supplies for broken limbs.  Hopefully you won't ever have to utilized your First Aid kit, but if your flock were to be attacked or suffer some illnesses, it's better to be prepared. Chickens can be surprisingly resilient, and it's amazing the wonders a little bit of nursing can do.