Chickens can be found in almost every household or farm. They have high immunity, they have good fertility and endurance, they are unpretentious in care. But at the same time, chickens are susceptible to infection with various diseases. Many breeders have a question why chickens sit on their feet, how to treat such an ailment?

Conditions for keeping birds

For successful breeding of birds, certain conditions must be created. Among the most significant are the following:

  • well equipped, warm and clean poultry house;
  • walking area;
  • balanced diet;
  • compliance with sanitary standards of maintenance;
  • good lighting of the room.

Of no small importance is also how correctly the breed of chickens is chosen. The conditions in which it will be located depend on this.

Chickens

A variety of materials can be used to build a poultry house, but it is better if they are natural. The room should be spacious, bright, well-ventilated and warm. For good lighting, the chicken coop should have not only windows built into the walls, but also artificial lighting. For this purpose, fluorescent lamps can be used.

Good ventilation can be ensured by means of equipment in the ceiling of the box with doors that can be easily opened if necessary. In addition, the room must be ventilated by opening the doors in it.

Planks or clay can be used to equip the floor.

Advice! It is better to build the floor with a slight slope. This will greatly facilitate the cleaning process.

It is recommended to cover the floor surface with straw, hay or sawdust. The room must be equipped with perches. They should be narrow so that the birds can easily wrap their legs around them. The height of the perch can vary within 0.5 - 0.8 cm. To save space in the hen house, perches can be arranged in several tiers.

Arrangement of a chicken coop

An equally important condition for equipping a hen house is the construction of nests for laying hens. To do this, you can use wooden boxes, the inside of which is covered with straw or hay. Their number depends on the size of the herd.

If it is planned to keep chickens of different ages in the hen house, it is better to divide its territory into separate zones by using boards with a height of at least 0.5 m. It is also desirable to have an aviary for walking chickens. The territory of the aviary is fenced off with a net or a wooden fence. The height of the fence should be within 1, 5 - 2, 0 m. The area is recommended to be sown with green manure.

You can feed birds not only with human food waste, but also with combined feed. It is especially important to include them in the diet of young birds. You can also prepare your own feed mixtures. For this, it is recommended to use bone meal, grain, cereals, grass, meal, bran, boiled vegetables.

Chicken feed

Birds should always have clean and fresh water and change it every day. Drinking bowls and feeders are best located around the perimeter of the house in easily accessible places at the height of the bird's back.

Important! It is better not to place feeders near drinkers. If water splashes out, the feed will quickly deteriorate.

If these simple recommendations are followed, it will be possible to create the most comfortable conditions for keeping and breeding chickens.

Chickens fall to their feet: cause and treatment

To understand why the chicken became depleted and what to do, you need to carefully analyze the conditions and diet of the birds. Symptoms that chickens are sick:

  • the bird begins to limp, falls on its side;
  • complete or partial paralysis of the paws;
  • poor appetite;
  • activity decreases;
  • the hen spreads its wings.

Chickens fall to their feet

There may be several reasons why the chicken sits and does not get up. Only when they are accurately established can a chicken that has sat on its feet be lifted. Typical ailments:

  • Rickets. The reason for the development of the disease is a lack of vitamin D in the body of chickens, a lack of sunlight, phosphorus and calcium salts. Birds that have the opportunity to walk in an aviary are much less likely to get this disease. The disease can develop in individuals of different ages. The symptoms of the disease are complete paw failure. The bird begins to pull its paws, the chickens completely fall on their side, the layers sick with rickets lay eggs with soft shells, and sometimes they completely stop laying. In addition, the process of bone formation in the chicken is disrupted, and the process of calcium-phosphorus metabolism fails. This is why the chicken does not stand up during rickets. You can cure rickets of chickens by changing the diet. It is necessary to introduce carbohydrates, proteins, fats, cabbage, beets, carrots into it. The introduction of vitamin supplements, such as sprouted grains, also gives positive results. Be sure to give chickens calcium in the form of chalk or shells, which have a direct effect on the formation of the skeleton of birds.
  • Arthritis. Another reason why chickens fall to their feet. This disease can affect both roosters and layers, and chickens. With the development of the disease in chickens, inflammation of the joint capsules occurs, as well as the tissues that are adjacent to them. As a result, the limbs of the birds are fully extended. The cause of the disease lies in poor nutrition and poor hygiene in the poultry house. The possibility of infection of birds with a virus is also possible. Chickens become practically immobile, some may limp, and their joints become hot and inactive. Basically, the disease is not treated and after a while the birds die.
  • Tendon displacement. The disease mainly affects broilers or fast growing chickens. It is provoked by an insufficient amount of vitamin B, especially in winter. When sick, birds lie or fall back. At the last stage of the disease, the paws may simply come off. Getting rid of the disease is quite difficult. Experienced breeders prefer not to wait for the bird to die, but simply slaughter it.

Chicken legs failed, how to treat? This question interests all poultry farmers. The first thing to do is to establish the reason that the chicken fell. This can only be done by a veterinarian. One of the first steps is to adjust the nutrition of chickens, to make it as balanced and varied as possible.

Fact! The main reason for the fall of chickens is poor nutrition.

The second thing to do is to analyze the conditions in which the livestock is kept. Failure to observe hygiene in the hen house can provoke the development of leg diseases in chickens.

The chicken sat on its feet what to do, how to treat?

To get rid of ailments, veterinarians advise using the drug Tricalcium phosphate, which contains a fairly large amount of trace elements necessary to prevent the development of limb diseases in birds. The drug is introduced into chicken food in an amount of no more than 2% of the total feed weight. The results from taking this remedy are very good: after a few weeks, the chickens are on their feet.

Treatment of chickens with "Tricalcium phosphate"

It is recommended to treat arthritis with drugs of the group of antibiotics and antivirals (Ampicillin, Sulfadimethoxin, Benzylpenicillin, Polymyxin M sulfate). The duration of therapy is no more than 5 days.

The reason and treatment for chickens to sit on their feet is a problem that every breeder can have.Often, in order to get rid of it, veterinarians advise using the drug Atofan. It needs to be added to food. This should be done until the symptoms of the disease disappear completely.

Important! To prevent contamination of the entire livestock, veterinarians advise treating all birds, not just those that are already sick.

If a cut on a paw is found in a chicken, it must be isolated from the rest, and the wound should be treated with a solution of peroxide. Treat until she is on her feet. How to treat a chicken that cannot walk? You can use the folk method: give her vodka to drink. This should be done very carefully. You can pour vodka into the beak with a teaspoon or pipette if the chicken is young.

To prevent the disease, it is necessary to clean and disinfect the chicken coop in a timely manner.

You should also not neglect preventive measures. They consist in the timely cleaning of the poultry house and its disinfection, the organization of an effective ventilation system. These are fairly simple procedures that do not require a lot of time and effort.

It is important to figure out why the chickens sit on their feet as soon as possible, the cause and treatment are always inextricably linked. By following the recommendations in this article, you can minimize the likelihood that birds will get sick and die.