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Natural ways

SHEET
FACT
to keep chickens healthy
Unhealthy chickens
Sick chickens stop producing eggs or their eggs may be no good. Some chickens may
even die. Chickens with a stomach infection look dull, refuse to eat and may have
diarrhoea. If their wattles and comb are pale, they may have worms or blood sucking
parasites. If chickens often sneeze, they may have a cold or influenza. When their
feathers look rumpled, they may have external parasites like lice, mites, fleas or ticks.
If egg shells are soft, the chickens lack calcium.

What makes chickens sick

Dirty drinking water, unclean surroundings, and stale
or improper food cause poor health in chicken.
Simple tips to keep chickens healthy
Clean drinking water is crucial
Every day, remove the poop from the coop and nesting to keep chickens healthy
box areas. Remove the uneaten or spilled feed.
Ensure that chickens have always enough clean drinking water. You can purify drinking
water by adding a pinch of turmeric powder. Or add potassium permanganate, the size
of a mustard seed, to a glass of water.
Feed chickens a balanced diet of grains like wheat, maize, rice or pearl millet.
Occasionally, give them oil seeds, pulses and greens.
During the rainy and winter season, chop 2 cloves of garlic and mix it in the feed. This
is sufficient for 5 chickens. In summer, you can take a teaspoon of chopped onion and
mix it with the feed. This amount is for 5 small chickens. For larger chickens double the
amount. Give the garlic or onion once a week.
Once a month, you can also add leaves of bitter gourd, or other bitter medicinal plants
such as kadu kirayat, curry leaves or neem leaves to the feed.
Once every 3 months, deworm the chickens. Carve an unripe papaya fruit with a knife
to get the sap. Take 5 tablespoons of papaya sap and mix it in the drinking water. This
is good for 10 chickens. Or once a month, mix a pinch of betel nut powder in the feed.
Mix half a teaspoon of hydrated lime or one tablespoon of crushed eggshell with the
chicken feed when you start seeing signs of calcium deficiency.
Every month remove all the old straw and put fresh straw. To keep away parasites, add
between the straw leaves of eucalyptus, lemon grass, rosemary, tea tree or other
aromatic plants. You can also tie a small bouquet of these leaves in the hen house.

Watch a full video on this topic at www.accessagriculture.org or contact one of the people below to get the video on DVD.

Authors: Nitya Ghotge, Atul Pagar, Sachin Wagh, Vikas Benkar, Sangita Khapre
Anthra and Atul Pagar, 2021 Local contact: Edited by Jonas Wanvoeke and
email: anthraoffice@gmail.com Paul Van Mele
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