Have you ever walked out to your coop in the morning only to find one of your feathered friends looking a bit… off? Maybe she’s huddled in a corner, not interested in her breakfast, or just not acting like her usual perky self? As a chicken keeper for over 7 years now, I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit.
Finding a sick chicken in your flock can send you into panic mode real quick. But don’t worry! I’m gonna walk you through exactly what to do when you’ve got a chicken that’s under the weather. Whether you’re a newbie backyard chicken keeper or a seasoned pro, this guide will help you identify, isolate, and treat your sick birds so they can get back to scratching and clucking in no time.
How to Tell If Your Chicken Is Actually Sick
Before jumping into action, you need to know what you’re dealing with Healthy chickens are active, have bright red combs and wattles, clear eyes, and smooth, well-groomed feathers But chickens are prey animals and they’re REALLY good at hiding their symptoms until they’re super sick.
Here are the most common sick chicken symptoms to watch for:
Physical Appearance Changes
- Discolored comb or wattles – A pale, purple, or black comb instead of bright red
- Ruffled or patchy feathers that look dull instead of shiny
- Missing feathers or bald spots (could be parasites or bullying)
- Swelling around eyes, head, or wattles
- Scales on legs that are raised and inflamed (probably scaly leg mites)
- Spots or lesions on skin or in mouth
Behavior Changes
- Lethargy – A chicken that’s not moving around much
- Decreased appetite – Not interested in treats or regular feed
- Standing alone away from the flock (this is a BIG red flag!)
- Decreased egg production or deformed eggs
- Excessive scratching or preening
- Lameness or waddling when they walk
- Paralysis of legs, wings, or neck in severe cases
Other Warning Signs
- Respiratory issues – Coughing, sneezing, wheezing, or labored breathing
- Eye or nasal discharge – Bubbles, stickiness, or crustiness
- Abnormal droppings – Diarrhea, bloody stool, or white fecal matter
- Hard or mushy crop – Indicates crop issues
- Clogged vent – Can be Pasty Butt in chicks or Vent Gleet in adults
I’ll never forget when my favorite Barred Rock Pepper started showing signs of illness. She was hanging out alone, her comb was pale, and she just looked… sad. When your chickens start acting weird, trust your gut! Don’t wait until things get worse.
5 Critical Steps for Sick Chicken Treatment
Step 1: Isolate Your Sick Chicken IMMEDIATELY
This is the #1 most important thing you can do! As soon as you spot symptoms, get that chicken away from the rest of your flock.
Here’s what you’ll need
- A separate enclosure (dog crate, rabbit hutch, or even a large cardboard box with mesh on top)
- Fresh bedding
- Separate food and water containers
- A warm, quiet location away from the main coop
I keep an old dog crate in my garage specifically for chicken emergencies. When isolating your sick bird:
- Wear disposable gloves when handling the sick chicken
- Care for the sick bird LAST after tending to your healthy flock
- Consider using boot covers or a bleach water foot bath outside the quarantine area
- Wash your hands thoroughly after handling the sick chicken
Remember: chickens are social creatures, but when they’re sick, they need rest more than company. Plus, this protects your other birds from catching whatever might be going around.
Step 2: Focus on Hydration & Nutrition
Just like when we’re sick, staying hydrated is SUPER important for sick chickens.
For hydration:
- Provide clean, fresh water at all times
- Add electrolytes or vitamins to their water (I use a sports drink in a pinch!)
- If they won’t drink on their own, use a medicine dropper or syringe to give them water
For nutrition:
- Make a “chicken mash” by crushing layer feed and mixing with warm water or milk
- Try tempting them with scrambled eggs, yogurt, or oatmeal
- Hand-feed them if necessary using a spoon or syringe
- Add a probiotic to their food to support gut health
My hen Lucy wouldn’t eat anything when she was sick last summer until I tried warm oatmeal with a tiny bit of molasses. Sometimes you gotta get creative!
Step 3: Create a Healing Environment
Your sick chicken needs a stress-free, comfortable environment to recover:
- Keep them warm – Use a heat lamp if necessary, especially for respiratory issues
- Provide soft bedding – Clean straw or pine shavings work great
- Ensure good ventilation – But avoid drafts
- Clean their area daily – Replace soiled bedding to prevent further infection
- Limit handling – Check on them regularly but minimize stress
Step 4: Identify & Treat the Specific Illness
Now that your chicken is stable, you need to figure out what’s making them sick. Here are some common chicken illnesses and their treatments:
External Parasites (Mites & Lice)
- Symptoms: Excessive scratching, feather loss, visible bugs on skin
- Treatment: Dust baths with diatomaceous earth, poultry dust, or essential oils
Respiratory Infections
- Symptoms: Sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, labored breathing
- Treatment: Isolate, improve ventilation, consider antibiotics from vet
Crop Issues (Impacted or Sour Crop)
- Symptoms: Hard or mushy crop, foul smell from mouth
- Treatment: For impacted crop – massage crop gently, olive oil, warm water; for sour crop – anti-fungal treatment
Egg Binding
- Symptoms: Waddling, straining, decreased egg production
- Treatment: Warm bath, lubricant around vent, calcium supplementation
Internal Parasites (Worms)
- Symptoms: Weight loss, pale comb, abnormal droppings
- Treatment: Dewormer from feed store, followed by probiotics
For serious conditions like Marek’s Disease, Fowl Pox, or Newcastle Disease, consult a vet as these can be harder to treat at home.
Don’t be afraid to call your vet! Many vets will treat chickens now, and getting a proper diagnosis can save your bird’s life.
Step 5: Deep Clean the Coop Before Reintegration
Before your chicken rejoins the flock, do a thorough cleaning of your coop:
- Remove all old bedding and burn or dispose of it far from the coop
- Wash all surfaces with soap and water
- Disinfect with a poultry-safe disinfectant
- Let the coop dry completely before adding fresh bedding
- Consider adding herbs like oregano, thyme, or mint to nesting boxes for their antimicrobial properties
I’ve learned the hard way that skipping this step can lead to recurring illness in your flock. Take the time to do it right!
Reintegrating Your Chicken After Recovery
Once your chicken seems healthy again, don’t just toss her back in with the flock! Chickens establish a pecking order, and your girl will be at the bottom if you’re not careful.
Here’s how to safely reintroduce your recovered chicken:
- Make sure she’s fully recovered – No more symptoms for at least a week
- Introduce during the day – Never at night when chickens are settling in
- Use a “see but don’t touch” approach first – Put her in a crate inside the run where everyone can see each other
- Watch for bullying – Be prepared to intervene if other chickens get aggressive
- Provide extra feeding stations – So she doesn’t have to compete
- Consider adding another “new” chicken – This divides the flock’s attention
Preventing Future Illness in Your Flock
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, especially with chickens! Here are my top tips for keeping your flock healthy:
- Good coop management – Clean, dry bedding and proper ventilation
- Regular health checks – Inspect your chickens weekly for early signs of trouble
- Quality feed – Don’t skimp on nutrition
- Fresh water daily – Change water frequently and clean containers
- Prevent overcrowding – Give your birds plenty of space
- Quarantine new birds – For at least 30 days before introducing to your flock
- Control parasites – Regular inspection and preventative treatments
- Reduce stress – Minimize predator scares, excessive handling, and temperature extremes
- Offer immune-boosting herbs – Oregano, garlic, thyme, and echinacea can help
I like to add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to each gallon of water about once a week. My chickens seem to stay healthier, and it helps keep their water containers cleaner too!
When to Say Goodbye
This is the hardest part of chicken keeping, but sometimes, despite your best efforts, a chicken won’t recover. If your chicken is suffering and not responding to treatment after several days, you may need to consider humane euthanasia.
Signs that it might be time:
- Not eating or drinking for more than 24-48 hours
- Unable to stand or move
- Obvious pain or distress
- Severe respiratory distress
- No improvement after several days of treatment
Contact your local vet about humane euthanasia options or research humane methods if you must do it yourself. It’s never an easy decision, but sometimes it’s the kindest one.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with a sick chicken can be stressful, but having a plan in place makes all the difference. Remember these key points:
- Act quickly when you notice symptoms
- Isolate immediately to prevent spread
- Focus on hydration and nutrition
- Create a healing environment
- Identify and treat the specific illness
- Clean thoroughly before reintegration
Most importantly, trust your instincts. You know your chickens better than anyone, and often you’ll notice something’s wrong before obvious symptoms appear.
Do you have a sick chicken treatment success story? Or questions about a current chicken health issue? Drop a comment below, and I’ll do my best to help! We chicken keepers gotta stick together!
Disclaimer: I’m not a veterinarian, just an experienced chicken keeper. Always consult with a poultry vet for serious health concerns. This article is based on personal experience and research.
Lice and Mites
We had our first run in with lice about 6 months into our chicken journey when we bought lice infested chickens from someone we thought we knew well, but in fact, were stuck with sick chickens. I made the mistake of treating them chemically, and almost ended up in the hospital myself. After their first treatment, I learned of a much better way to continue treating them (as they need to be treated for an entire month).
Lice and mites transmit from other birds. However, if left long enough, can become an epidemic and kill your chickens by feeding on their blood supply. It takes awhile to get to that point, which is how we knew the chickens had lice before they arrived here (and none of my other flock had them, but had to be treated still). Should you find yourself with an anemic chicken, raw red meat in his/her diet is essential to get their iron levels back up.
The safest and best treatment: This needs its own blog post, and lucky for you, I wrote one specifically for this. Go find out this amazing treatment here. I have gotten so much amazing feedback from it over the years. I know it won’t disappoint you!
Scaly leg mites are very similar in transmittal as lice and mites for chickens. However, I have read some pretty crazy “treatments” online for it. Someone even suggested you douse the legs in gasoline or kerosene. Please, do not do that.
The safest and best treatment: Soak your chickens legs in a warm water bath with dish liquid. Scrub their legs with a toothbrush to help loosen any dying scales. Dry and slather both legs and feet with a thick oil such as coconut oil, neem oil, or olive oil. This will help smoother the mites and allow for quicker growth of new scales. Add this oil to the legs of the chickens for at least 4 weeks, once or twice a week. Offering the same DE and wood ash dust bath to your chickens is also essential. You’ll also need to clean out the entire coop, dust with DE (without the chickens inside the coop) and make sure you’ve gotten all of the old bedding out. Don’t forget to dust the roosts as well!
Cocci can be a vicious parasite in your flock’s digestive tract. A sick chicken with cocci can be fatal. While it mostly attacks younger digestive tracts, such as with chicks, it can also attack your adult flock as well. This would cause diarrhea, unusual feces, blood in feces, and even death if left long enough.
The safest and best treatment: Kocci free is a very effective treatment. We use many of the Vibactra plus products on our homestead. They are an incredible source for herbal remedies. In fact, you can use Kocci free as a preventative as well once a month. Simply add it to their water.
Prevention of Chicken Illnesses Is Key
If you take nothing else away from this blog, please take away this. Prevention on your homestead is essential. Many common chicken illnesses and issues can be prevented or at least counteracted. So, how do you prevent illnesses in your chickens?
Make sure they have all the nutrients they need. Skip the GMO feed if you can. Organic is certainly best, but not possible for some incomes. If you want, you can make your own chicken feed.
This is a really ideal way to help prevent disease and illness in your flock––add supplements to your chicken feed. I highly suggest adding things such as dried/powdered garlic, Diatomaceous Earth (DE), Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS), Oregano, and Turmeric into their feed and diet as much as possible. You can learn all about why we add these, and more about herbs for chickens, in this blog post.
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) helps alkalize the body in any living being. It’s also great for gut and crop health in chickens because it’s filled with wonderful probiotics and has anti-fungal properties. A sick chicken will be your best friend if you give them ACV!
I do not suggest adding ACV to water during the hot months, as it can actually cause them to over heat more in the summer time.
Growing your own chicken garden isn’t always the easiest, but when you can set aside time to dry herbs (or order them online), and add it into their feed, you’ll see your chickens health improve dramatically.
Herbs and snacks such as garlic, oregano, thyme, marigolds, dandelions, violets, chickweed, red raspberry leaf, elderberry (dried), and autumn olive berry are great, wild grown options for your flock. We also like to use astragalus in our chicken feed. Some of these things you can find right in your own backyard. Others you can forage for. And still, others, you can grow yourself or order large bags of online here. They are a great way to help with chicken diseases and treatment.
Learn more about herbs and supplements for your chickens here.
Essential oils are a very quick alternative to harsh chemicals when you have a sick chicken. We’ve healed many a chicken strictly with Oregano and Melaleuca! You can find out more about EOs in my book, The Homesteader’s Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook.
Ultimately, some things happen because of unsafe living areas. Whether it’s a predator attack, or a hen getting her leg caught in some contraption—do a check on your barn, coop, and foraging areas often. Rid these areas of any potential safety hazards for your flock and yourself.
Is My Chicken Sick? How to Treat Chickens Naturally
FAQ
Do chickens recover from being sick?
The time it takes for an injured chicken to heal or a sick chicken to recover varies depending on the severity of the injury or disease. Some may need a few hours to recover, others may need a few days, weeks, or even months to be healthy enough to rejoin the flock.
How to make a dying chicken comfortable naturally?
To make a dying chicken comfortable naturally, provide a quiet, warm, and safe space away from the flock. Offer easily digestible, high-energy foods like warm mash or scrambled eggs, and ensure access to clean water with added electrolytes to combat dehydration. Offer comfort through gentle physical presence, such as sitting nearby and soft petting if the chicken is receptive to human interaction, but avoid forceful handling.
Can sugar water help sick chickens?
Sugar water can act as an electrolyte- like supplement, similar to molasses or commercial electrolyte solutions, helping to combat stress and dehydration in sick birds. This is especially important since URIs can cause mucus buildup, making swallowing and breathing harder, leading to reduced water intake.
How long can a sick chicken go without food?