What to Include in Your Chicken First Aid Kit

August 29, 2019

Keeping stocked first aid kits for the different animals and humans on your homestead is always a good idea, and chickens are no exception. This post will cover what to include in your chicken first aid kit. As I’m sure you very well know, time is of the essence during emergencies. Running to the store for the proper supplies when someone is sick or during an emergency is not the best use of your time and the extra minutes it takes to hunt down the right supplies can make all the difference for your sick or injured critters. If you live rurally like I do, chances are you won’t even be able to find what you need quickly enough for it to be useful. Here is what to include in your chicken first aid kit.

Disposable gloves – It’s always a good idea to wear disposable gloves when treating chicken injuries as you never know if there are bacteria present that can be transmitted to humans.

Electrolytes – Chances are you have powdered electrolytes from bringing your chicks home. It’s a good idea to keep several packets or homemade powder on hand for stressed, dehydrated, or hot chickens.

Anti-bacterial gel spray – Having a topical wound and skin care spray to clean lacerations or treat wounds is a good idea. Many sprays you can find online are safe for all types of animals, so this is a very useful item to have in your chicken first aid kit.

Blue dying antiseptic spray – Because chickens are drawn to the color red, an antiseptic spray like Blu-Kot that dyes a bleeding sore blue is a very useful tool to have on hand. Not only can it help keep chickens from pecking on other birds, but the spray can also help prevent infection.

Antibacterial ointment – A clear antibacterial ointment like Neosporin is helpful to protect sores or cuts from infections.

Nutri-drench – This nutrition supplement is a blend of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids and is great to have on hand for the first week or two of life for any newly hatched chicks that might be struggling. It can give chicks a needed immune system boost when they need quick help.

Gauze and vet wrap – These items are useful to cover cuts or other bleeding injuries to keep them clean or to keep chickens from pecking at the wounds.

Scissors – If you’ve ever tried ripping vet wrap, you know it’s pretty impossible. It’s handy to have scissors in the first aid kit so I know where they are when I need them. If your house is anything like mine, scissors always disappear!

Dropper or syringe – Helpful for feeding ill chicks or administering nutria-drench. They also come in handy if you need to clean out a wound.

Cornstarch – This common kitchen item is useful to stop bleeding, particular bleeding nails or beaks. Keep a small container of it in your chicken first aid kit so you don’t have to hunt for it in the kitchen.

Injured Chicken Hospital Ward

In addition to keeping a stocked first aid kit, it’s also a good idea to have a safe isolation area if any of your chickens are injured or ill. Chickens love to pick on the weakest chicken. If one of your chickens should become injured or ill, it might be a good idea to isolate it in a chicken hospital area so you can nurse it back to health in an area where no other chickens can pick on it.

What do you include in your fist aid kit for chickens that I didn’t mention? Please share!

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More about Michelle Marine

I'm a semi-crunchy Eastern Iowa mom of 4 crazy kids on a quest to stay sane and healthy. We try to live a sustainable lifestyle on 5 acres with chickens, dogs, rabbits & more! Grab some coffee or wine and hang out for a bit!

1 Comment
    1. Do you sell larger hens? I recently purchased “laying hens” which I thought were larger – but they were chicks (I’m ok with that).

      Ideally I would like hens in the 4 – 6 month age.

      Thank you very much.

      Mark Garrison

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