🐔 2025 Vet-Approved Guide to Backyard Chickens: Health, Breeds & Care 🏡

By Dr. Duncan Houston BVSc

Backyard chickens bring joy, fresh eggs, and companionship to thousands of families across Australia. 🥚 Whether you raise Silkies as pets, keep Isa Browns for egg production, or prep birds for show—understanding their unique needs ensures they live long, healthy, and productive lives. 🌿

🏡 Backyard vs. Commercial Poultry

Unlike commercial birds bred for speed and profit, backyard chickens are cherished for their personality and lifespan. However, free-ranging life exposes them to changing weather, parasites, and environmental threats—so a tailored care plan is essential. 🩺

🐔 Best Backyard Breeds

🥚 Isa Browns

• Extremely prolific egg layers (up to 270 eggs in year one)
• Docile and friendly—ideal for families
• Egg production drops significantly after age 3
• Best treated as productive utility birds

🐣 Chinese Silkies

• Up to 10-year lifespan—perfect family pets
• Lay 90–120 eggs per year in spring/summer
• Broody, gentle, and extremely affectionate
• Require softer food and leafy greens

✅ Pro Tip: A mixed flock of Isa Browns + Silkies gives you eggs year-round and charming pet companionship!

🪵 Coop, Food & Foraging Tips

• Free range during the day—but no access to compost or fresh fertilizer
• Return to enclosed coop at night for predator safety
• Feed a mix of layer crumble, coarse mash, greens, clean water & kitchen scraps
• Young pullets require additional vitamins & minerals

🏆 Show Poultry Care

Pre-Show Programme (4 Weeks Before Show)

• 🔄 Treat for worms, mites, lice, and respiratory illness
• 🧴 Respiratory treatments if sneezing or eye issues occur
• 💊 Add supplements to Turbobooster food (5g per 2kg)

Show Programme (Final 3 Weeks)

• ✨ Boosts feather shine, comb & wattle color
• 🔍 "Glass" eyes and tiny droppings indicate peak show condition
• 💪 Vitality and posture improve significantly

🩺 Common Chicken Health Issues

Withholding periods apply when using medication—always follow label instructions. 🧪

🦠 Blackhead Disease (Histomoniasis)

• Serious in turkeys, guinea fowl, and peafowl
• Transmitted via caecal worms and earthworms—not droppings directly
• Prevention is key through soil hygiene and regular deworming

🧫 Coccidiosis

• Fatal if untreated
• Use Toltrazuril during outbreaks or after prolonged rain
• Observe a 1-week egg/meat withholding period

🌡️ Uterus Infection (Egg Peritonitis)

• Triggered by mineral/vitamin deficiency and mould exposure
• Leads to bloated abdomen and fever
• Prevent with Fvite + Turbobooster + weekly water cleanser

🪱 Worms

• Common after wet weather
• Treat with Metronidazole + Praziquantel
• Follow 7-day withholding rule for eggs/meat

🌫️ Mould Infections

• Cause gasping or sudden death
• Prevent by clearing mouldy bedding and yard waste
• Use weekly water cleanser as prevention

🪶 Blocked Gizzard

• Caused by over-ingesting dirty soil
• Signs: pale comb, fewer droppings, thirst
• Emergency treatment: ER Formula + Quik Gel

📝 Weekly & Seasonal Health Tips

• 🧴 Add cleanser to water 1 day weekly
• 💊 Use Fvite, Turbobooster, and Energy Powder for laying hens
• 🥚 Monitor egg shell quality and frequency
• 🌡️ Keep coops dry—wetness breeds parasites and mould

📲 Get Help with Chicken Health

For customized poultry health plans, visit AskAVet.com or download the Ask A Vet app. 🐔 Our team can assist with daily care, nutrition, egg laying, parasite prevention, and first aid. 📱💚