Eight Measures for Preventing and Treating Diseases in Free-range Chickens

Raising chicken flocks in forested areas, orchards, hills and mountain dens increases the activity of the chickens. The chicken flocks can feed on some insects, grass seeds, etc. The eggs produced are rich in nutrition and have a good taste, which are deeply loved by consumers. However, free-range chicken flocks are more prone to illness. The characteristics of diseases in free-range chicken flocks are that respiratory diseases are relatively rare, but intestinal diseases are more common, such as necrotizing enteritis and ulcerative enteritis. Therefore, the eight measures for disease prevention and control in wild chicken farming are introduced as follows:

To facilitate disease prevention, a good site should be selected. The selection of the venue should follow the following points: it should be conducive to epidemic prevention and also convenient for transportation. The site should be selected in a dry and well-drained place. There should be shading equipment in the venue to prevent heatstroke from excessive sun exposure or catching a cold from getting caught in the rain. Moreover, there should be no dead ponds or sewage pits in the chicken's activity area. After the rain, the accumulated water in the site should be cleared in time. Build sand bath pits in the areas where the chicken flocks are active to prevent external parasitic diseases.

2. There should be a chicken coop of appropriate size. Although chickens are active in the wild during the day, they need to return to the chicken coop at night. They also need to return on cloudy or rainy days. The chicken coop should be convenient for the chickens to come back. The chicken coop should not be too small either.

3. Raise the chicks in advance according to the season. Chicks can be raised in the house first. After 30 days of age, they can be released into the wild. Otherwise, the flock cannot adapt to the wild environment and is prone to illness.

4. When free-range, supplement the feed according to the season and the conditions of the site to avoid nutritional deficiency.

5. Regular vaccines should be administered on time and correctly, especially paying attention to the prevention of chickenpox in advance.

6. It is necessary to frequently feed some antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs in daily life. Regular deworming is indispensable and very important for free-range chickens.

7. Remove the feces in the chicken coop in a timely manner and disinfect the chicken coop and activity area regularly.

When raising in the forest or orchards, it is necessary to prevent pesticide poisoning.