Wholesome, nutritious eggs begin with a healthy flock

Stay ahead of your flock’s health using a three-step wellness approach.

Farm fresh eggs. Quality family time by the chicken coop. Healthy meals on your family’s table. You depend on your flock for a lot – that’s why it’s important to keep your backyard chickens healthy and happy.

“We know producing wholesome, nutritious eggs is important to you,” says David Mathes, director of sales and marketing at DBC Ag Products. “That’s why we’ve made poultry health our priority for over 35 years – helping keep millions of baby chicks, pullets and laying hens healthy and producing safe food.”

By taking a proactive approach to flock health, you can help your birds will stay productive.

“Using a simple three-step wellness approach, you can support your flocks’ digestive health and immune function,” says Mathes.

Here are three steps for a healthy flock:

1. Keep chicken waterers clean

Clean, fresh water is crucial for bird health and cools them through panting in warmer weather.  Since panting releases water, dehydration can occur. How to keep chickens cool? Change water daily and ensure there is plenty of water available all day.

“If one of your birds gets sick, it can contaminate the water, quickly spreading disease to the rest of the flock,” says Mathes. “Daily water sanitation keeps it clean and helps reduce exposure to waterborne pathogens.”

Whether you use public water or have a private well, water should be sanitized to reduce pathogens in chicken water and waterers. Look for an effective natural sanitizer, like Oxy E-100, you can easily add to your flock’s water.

“By sanitizing water, you’re also helping break down organic matter and biofilm that can quickly build on chicken waterers, especially in warm temperatures,” says Mathes.

2. Support backyard flock digestive health

Maintaining normal digestive health and supporting the immune system helps your entire flock stay healthy and productive.

“Eubiotics are a great way to support your flock’s digestive health – whether you’re raising baby chicks, laying hens or caring for an older flock,” says Mathes.

Eubiotics are a class of natural feed additives that help provide a healthy balance of microbiota in a chicken’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract, supporting digestive health and a functioning immune system. Eubiotics usually come in tablet or powder form, which dissolve in your flock’s drinking water.

Here’s how common ingredients in eubiotics work:

  • Probiotics deliver viable microorganisms to help maintain a natural population balance of probiotic microorganisms in the GI tract and support digestive health.
  • Prebiotics provide a food source for naturally occurring microorganisms in the gut to maintain proper flora and support digestion.
  • Organic acids help provide nutritional support for the digestive tract mucosal lining for a healthy, active GI tract microbiome.
  • Essential oils offer flavoring for appetite, while supporting gut health and digestive function.

Enzymes, egg proteins and yucca schidigera also pair well with eubiotics to deliver additional GI support.

“By supporting your flock’s digestive system with eubiotics, you’re also helping them convert feed into the nutrients their body needs for growth, maintenance and egg production,” says Mathes. “We’ve seen the most success in feeding HealthyFlock® Tabs to birds of all ages.”

3. Reduce chicken stressors

Every season can bring new environmental stressors to your flock.

“When birds spend more time outside, you’re in less control of their environment, opening the door to more challenges in maintaining normal health and wellness,” says Mathes. “When birds experience stress, it negatively impacts their immune system and production.”

Weather swings, feed alterations, handling, adding new birds to the flock or moving them to a new location can also cause stress. Keeping birds on the same ground for extended periods can also increase environmental exposures.

“Support your flock during environmental stress by incorporating Zyfend® A, an all-natural eubiotic supplement, in your flock’s daily wellness plan to help maintain normal digestive health and production,” says Mathes.

If you’re raising chickens for eggs, look for a supplement with no egg discard requirement that you can add into your flock’s water.

“By staying ahead of flock stress with a proactive three-step wellness approach, you can help keep your birds producing safe, wholesome eggs for your family,” says Mathes.

Learn how you can achieve all three steps with the Backyard Chicken® Health Pack, a three-part wellness plan to support flock health. Excellent for ducks, geese, guineas, pigeons and all domestic poultry and waterfowl.