The Chicken Health Handbook

Although there is no doubt that the author is very knowledgeable on her subject, I found the book not very user friendly.

It was purchased with the intent of having a guide to go to when I had health issues with my chickens. There is much information that is technical and unless one wants to study it and try to commit information to memory, it is not a quick reference guide in emergencies.

I also found that many of the medications recommended for treatment of a problem I took time to diagnose, were unavailable; thus rendering the information useless at the time I needed it the most.

Although disappointed, I am unaware of any other current options for chicken health books; I give it a three star rating due to the vast knowledge given.

I've had chickens for over 15 years, and have worked with them longer than that. I've owned this book for about 10 of those years. Thankfully, I rarely have problems with my chickens (other than a family of foxes one year). When I have had a problem and referred to this book I NEVER found the answers I needed. Unless you know the official diagnosis of your chicken's condition you will most likely not find the treatment you need in this book. If you are lucky enough to pinpoint a few symptoms that may be this diagnosis or that diagnosis then the treatments are so medically termed that it's near impossible to understand or come up with the medicines readily. Medicines are listed in medical/pharmaceutical terminology.

I've worked with wild animals, taken wildlife rehabilitation courses, and treated and cared for many a bird (and other critters) in my time. It does not have to be this technical.

If you are looking for a symptom guide that will help you develop a course of treatment ... and want to be able to pull most of the necessary supplies out of your cabinets or at the very least be able to find what you need quickly at your local farmer's service center using equipment that is familiar to the average farmer... THIS AIN'T IT!!!!

Here is an excerpt from The Chicken Health Handbook on TREATING SHOCK(pg 194):
"Shock is a condition brought on by a serious wound or other severe stress, such as an allergic reaction to antibiotics or being chased and caught by a dog and shaken in the dog's mouth. Shock causes pale skin, reduced circulation, rapid weak pulse, rapid breathing, subnormal body temperature, weakness, and sometimes a prostration and death. If the bird is valuable enough to warrant the expense, and a vet is close enough at hand, the bird may recover after veterinary treatment with steroids and fluids. Otherwise, all you can do is keep the bird warm and calm until it either recovers or dies."

I have had a tremendous amount of luck treating shock by following the methods outlined in Care of the Wild by W.J. Jordan and John Hughes and Care of the Wild Feathered and Furred by Mae Hickman and Maxine Guy. Suffice it to say you need to do 4 things to treat shock. 1.Get/Keep them warm, 2.Give them sugar, 3.Place them in a quiet place, 4.Observe closely making adjustments as needed. To warm them place the critter in a box with either a brooder light (100 watt incandescent bulb) over them or a heating pad under (not in) the box. Give them a few drops of sugar water on their tongue from a syringe. To make the sugar water simply dilute sugar in hot water. Ratio of sugar to water does not matter - just make it very sweet. If they will not swallow it you can force feed a few drops at a time by administering it into their throat BEING VERY CAREFUL to get the syringe far enough back into their throat to avoid the air passages located on the upper beak. Remember they don't need a lot. Keep doing this as long as the bird looks weak. You may bring the bird out of shock only to have them go back into shock again later. If this happens repeat the process.

I wish I had an alternative reference suggestion for you. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a helpful guide (book, Internet, or otherwise) specific for chickens. If you have, please share it with all of us by commenting on this post.

Having invested a lot of good money in a large flock of over 500 chickens, I was at pains to see that every aspect of their welfare, care and diet was of the best possible quality. I must have been doing something right because my eggs quickly became much sought after. As with all new ventures, however, the honeymoon ended just as soon noticed one of my birds was unwell.

With replacing any sick bird being a far cheaper option than vets bills, it soon became a question of either culling or curing. This book is fairly comprehensive when it comes to poultry health and has proved to be one of the best books on the subject I was able to find. Subjects range from Diet, anatomy, health, parasites, diseases, environment, rats, incubation, brooding and so forth. As I say, fairly comprehensive.

It is very difficult to read a book of this type from cover to cover - although there are sections which should be read and understood by all poultry keepers. Readers will, however, be consulting this book in the hope of finding an answer to something specific. It is important, therefore, to find the symptoms displayed by a sick bird adequately described so that the reader is able to identify the problem and be certain that his diagnosis is correct. Generally speaking, I did find the information to be there, but finding that description of a specific illness, disease or whatever was the hardest part. This can become frustrating - especially when you want to get on and find the correct remedy.

In short, I would suggest this is a very good book. I believe it really does contain the answers to the many and varied questions people will have about the health of their birds but finding that answer did prove to be very difficult at times.

I would, therefore, suggest the serious keeper studies this book over a period of time in order to form a solid appreciation of everything concerned with the health of their Chickens.

NM

Very informative book. This book is very helpful. It would be good for a novice or to add to an experienced poultryman's library. I would recommend.

This is one that I've referred to over and over since I've gotten my chickens. Especially, since my sweet and gentle rooster suddenly died. I liked that it gave instructions on how to save the body for postmortem exam by a state/college agency. Covers a TON of chicken health issues with really good syptom charts, etc.

One thing I would've liked to seen added to this book is perhaps a homeopathic remedy section like what to feed chicks on an emergency basis if the chicken won't eat, or how to flush a poisoned chickens system (which is what happened to my rooster) with common food items found around your house.

Overall, this is one book that I would suggest EVERY chicken owner should get. If you don't refer to it right away, you will!

There's a lot of info in this book, but I don't know how useful it would be for most people who raise a few chickens in their backyard. I learned a lot about Marek's from the book, which was great for me because my birds came down with it, and the book helped me to understand what's going on. There isn't much you can do for your bird once it gets afflicted with Marek's so I didn't find any remedies for it, but it gave me peace of mind about not spending a ton of money trying to treat my chickens.

You also get a bit paranoid reading this book, because if there is anything wrong with your chicken, this book has a long list of diseases that chickens can get, so you wonder if it's at all possible to raise healthy chickens.

It would have been helpful if the author provided dosages for the recommended drugs or supplements. Also, there are hardly any natural remedies recommended, which is a shame because some things can be addressed with natural remedies. Fresh Eggs Daily is a book with lots of good info, but no one seems to have it in stock. I got my copy of it from a local bookstore.

This is the very best book available for raising chickens. A must have for all back yard chicken raisers.

As a poultry extensionist, this is by far one of my favorites to recommend for those who raise and rear poultry that have had some reoccuring problems! Gail really does put situations into understandable terms for the everyday poultry enthusiast. If you have raised poultry, this one should be on your shelf or at least in easy reach.

This book is very informative. It lists not only the different diseases that affect chickens, it also provides you with a symptom list. Therefore, you can look up a specific poultry disease, or you can look up the symptoms that your chicken is having and do a little investigating. Very useful. This book allows you to do your own detective work to a point (sometimes you still need a specialist). I was very impressed that it detailed acquired, passive, and artificial immunity. These are terms that are used in the medical field and her explanations in my opinion were very accurate. A book that helps you make a diagnosis as well as teach you how to PREVENT these diseases. I found it useful.

I first reviewed this book through the library. I found it to be written in a language that is easy to understand and straightforward about the information contained in it. She lists all types of problems with chickens that could come up. I purchased my copy for my home library so that I always have this information on hand to help me diagnose my chickens and their possible health problems. I feel that it is a must for any chicken keeper.

This book was recommended by so many people, I find it hard to follow and understand when trying to diagnose a specific problem within poultry. Online forums are proving to be more useful with this as just a backup.