Stress is chickens’ natural physiological response to protect themselves, but too much stress can reduce your flock’s health. For prey animals like chickens, stress initiates the fight or flight response that helps them survive in the wild.
Figuring out how stress is affecting your flock may feel like a puzzle in some ways, because not every chicken will experience stress the same way. Stress levels may vary with factors like breed (laying hens tend to be more prone to stress then meat birds) or social hierarchy (birds lower in the pecking order tend to get more stressed). When stress does happen, providing additional supplements can help reduce the symptoms and make your chickens feel better.
The first step to understanding how to treat stress via supplementation is to determine the level of stress: mild, moderate, or severe. Chickens will exhibit certain behaviors depending on where they fall on that spectrum. The more stress behaviors your chicken performs, the more stressed she likely is.
Let’s start with mild stress. Mild stress usually occurs for a short period of time, and therefore tends to have a short-term effect on your flock. See below for some examples of mild stress and how chickens in your flock may respond to them.
|
Possible Causes of Mild Stress |
Stress Behaviors |
|
Temporary hot weather (above 85 degrees for 24 hours or less) |
Panting Legs and/or wings stretched out Drinking more water Seeking shade |
|
Brief delay in food and water
|
Running to food when it is provided Eating non-food items (like shavings) |
|
High egg production that causes a chicken to be unable to lay her egg in a protected area |
Laying 1 egg a day for 14 consecutive days Laying eggs in an open area Making distress noises |
|
Temporary loud noises like a dog barking |
Flightiness (runs away and flutters wings) or more skittish than normal Avoiding or running away from certain areas |
|
Temporary predator |
Flightiness (runs away and flutters wings) or more skittish than normal Avoiding or running away from certain areas Hiding in a certain area |
Next up, moderate stress. Moderate stress can occur when there are multiple mild stressors (as seen in the table above) or at least one of the stressors listed below.
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Possible Causes of Moderate Stress |
Stress Behaviors |
|
Low grade infection or parasite |
Diarrhea Self-isolating Wing dropping |
|
Extreme weather changes (above 90 degrees for 24 hours or more)
|
Panting Stretching legs and/or wings Drinking more |
|
Continuous loud noises like construction |
Flightiness (runs away and flutters wings) or more skittish than normal Avoiding or running away from certain areas |
|
Introduction of new birds |
Flightiness (runs away and flutters wings) or more skittish than normal Avoiding or running away from new birds Fighting within the flock to reestablish the pecking order Guarding certain areas |
|
Regular predator threats, like hawks or large birds flying over consistently |
Flightiness (runs away and flutters wings) or more skittish than normal Avoiding or running away from certain areas Making distress calls, squawking loudly |
Finally, there’s severe stress. Severe stress can be caused by multiple mild and/or moderate stressors (as seen in the tables above) or by one of the following issues:
|
Possible Causes of Severe Stress |
Stress Behaviors |
|
Infection or injury (includes egg bound) |
Diarrhea Hens seem lethargic Self-isolating Inability to move or walking with a limp Not laying eggs |
|
Extreme weather changes (above 95 degrees and high humidity for 24 hours or more)
|
Panting Stretching out legs and/or wings Drinking more Discoloration of comb and wattle (bright red) Not laying eggs |
|
Moving chickens to a new environment and introducing new birds |
Fighting to be the dominant hen Cuts and scrapes on the hens Severe feather pecking |
|
Extremely loud noises like fireworks |
Flightiness (runs away and flutters wings) or more skittish than normal Avoiding or running away from certain areas Making distress calls, squawking loudly Refusing to eat |
|
No feed or water for over 24 hours |
Not laying eggs Weight loss Curly feathers Running to feed and water when it becomes available Eating non-food items (like shavings) |
|
Predator attack (such as a raccoon getting into feed or eggs, or snakes in the coop) that could lead to the loss of a bird |
Flightiness (runs away and flutters wings) or more skittish than normal Avoiding or running away from certain areas Making distress calls, squawking loudly Birds missing feathers and may find loose feathers all over coop |
As you can see, every level of stress from mild to severe directly affects the health of our chickens. As evidenced by the symptoms listed above, intestinal function is especially at risk when chickens are stressed—and when chickens have digestive issues, it can lead to larger problems. When even a mild stressor alters a chicken’s gut ever so slightly, the continuation of that stressor and/or exposure to additional stressors can severely affects their health. For that reason, keeping your chickens’ intestinal tract balanced is key to reducing the effects of stress. Probiotics, which are found in FlockLeader products, can be used to treat stress as well as to prevent stress from affecting chickens heavily. Probiotics work best when applied daily.
If you have more questions about stress your flock may be experiencing, reach out to one of our experts via FlockLeader’s online chat, give us a call, or send us an email.