Stressed chickens are not happy or healthy. They lay fewer eggs and are much more likely to suffer from parasites and disease. In fact, many common chicken illnesses such as mycoplasmosis, coccidiosis and even E. coli, generally only occur in chickens that are stressed!
Because they are used to hearing human voices, a radio gives them a sense of security – day or night – even if it doesn’t totally mask the external noise. It has been proven that hens are calmed by classical music, so stick on some Beethoven for the ultimate in chicken relaxation!
Recognising stress in chickens
So how do you know if your chickens are stressed?
Stress can affect chickens in many different ways. Chicken keepers who spend time observing their flock will be familiar with normal behaviour and can easily recognise when their chickens are feeling stressed.
Any deviation from normal chicken behaviour, and particularly things like spending less time dust-bathing or resting, can be a sign of stress. However, different birds will respond to stress differently.
Common signs of stress in chickens can include:
- Poor appearance, including bedraggled, dull feathers and abnormal feathering
- Increased illness and disease
- Increased parasite loads
- Failure to display normal behaviours such as dust-bathing, preening etc.
- Irregular appetite and weight loss
- Poor egg production
- Abnormal social behaviours such as aggression, bullying or flightiness
- Lethargy and droopiness
In almost all cases, stress will cause health issues and a greater susceptibility to parasites and diseases, which, in turn, cause further stress.
Common causes and symptoms of stress in the chicken coop
This scientific review on managing stress in chickens identifies seven types of stressors for chickens, which we have listed below. While any chicken can suffer from any type of stress, heat stress, nutritional stress and social stress are most common in backyard flocks.
While heat stress is the biggest concern in Australia, cold stress can be a problem for chicks.
Chickens can suffer from heat stress once temperatures rise above 29 degrees Celsius.
Heat stress is most likely to occur when:
- Temperatures do not decrease overnight
- High humidity is combined with high temperatures
- The drinking water is warm or there is no where to keep cool in the coop
- The hot weather is uncommon or unseasonable
Chicks are susceptible to cold stress if the brooder is draughty or even a few degrees too cold. Cold drinking water can also be an issue.
Adult chickens can also suffer in cold climates, and chickens with feathers that are not water-proof, such as Silkies, are susceptible to cold stress if they get wet.
Environmental stress is uncommon in most well-managed chicken coops.
Causes of environmental stress include:
- Wet or dirty litter
- Built-up droppings
- Too few/uncomfortable nesting boxes
- Too much light – This is one reason that we prefer heating plates for brooders instead of heat lamps
- Environmental changes – Usually only a problem in fearful, already stressed chickens
Poor diet and poor feeding practices are some of the most common causes of stress in backyard chickens.
Laying eggs takes lots of energy, and if hens are not getting enough protein and other nutrients, this quickly takes a toll on their body, causing stress.
To avoid deficiencies, chickens need a good quality food and they need to be encouraged to eat it, by limiting any additions to the diet such as scraps. Shell grit is also required by all laying hens.
Poor feeding practices can also contribute to stress. These include:
- Feeding chickens only once (or a few times) per day
- Providing a limited amount of feed
- Insufficient feeder space for all hens
- Bullies preventing other chickens from eating
Where feed or feeder access is limited, dominant hens will usually be able to eat enough to meet their dietary needs regardless. But lower ranked hens will not be able to access sufficient food and will suffer from stress.
Hunger, excessive competition for food and and frustration when trying to access food are all particularly stressful for chickens.
Changes to the diet can also cause stress to chickens. For this reason, it is recommended that any new chicken feed is introduced slowly over a period of a week to 10 days, to allow the chickens to adjust to the change.
Physiological stress occurs with natural processes such as growth, sexual maturity and reproduction. It isnt normally an issue for backyard chickens, but can be a big problem for commercial chicken farms.
Rapid growth, often caused by the use of 24-hour lighting and feed additives, is usually only a problem in the fast-maturing meat breeds used by commercial farms. Using a heat plate and ensuring chicks have a good diet and ample room to jump, climb and flap their wings as they grow, prevents most problems.
When chickens reach sexual maturity, the changes in their body can cause stress.
Laying eggs takes a physical toll, which is why nutrition is so important for laying hens. It is also important to let laying hens follow their natural cycle of laying and moulting, which provides a rest from egg production.
A broody hen devotes everything to her eggs, only rarely leaving the nest to eat, drink or dust-bathe. Once the chicks hatch, most of her energy and food goes to them. While reproduction is a natural process, hens require special care while brooding in order to avoid stress-related problems.
Anything that stimulates the immune system and takes energy away from normal bodily functions will cause physical stress. While uncommon in a well-managed chicken coop, this type of stress can be caused by:
- Disease challenges, often due to a dirty coop, unclean feed/water or contact with wild birds
- Failure to treat chickens regularly for mites, lice and worms
- Physical injuries
- Handling and transport
Chickens are social animals and are very susceptible to social stress. Social problems are much less likely to occur in backyard flocks than in commercial situations, but they can still be a problem.
Chickens should never be kept alone. They will suffer severely if isolated from the flock. Chicks are particularly susceptible to social isolation, which can cause life-long, stress-related changes!
Any upset to the pecking order causes stress for chickens, because they have to renegotiate their place in the flock hierarchy. Obviously some pecking order changes are unavoidable, but constantly adding birds to your flock, or taking them away, is not recommended.
Flocks should have no more than 30 birds. Chickens can only remember around 30 other birds, so in larger flocks they are constantly renegotiating the pecking order, which causes stress.
Having enough space for the flock size is also important. This helps prevent boredom and reduces bullying by allowing lower-ranked chickens to stay out of the way of more dominant birds.
Bullying can occur in any flock, although it is more common where chickens are over-crowded or bored. Bullying causes extreme stress to the victim and can often lead to nutritional deficiencies and physical injuries as well.
Generally speaking, having a range of ages in your flock is a good thing, as it helps to maintain a more stable pecking order. But large differences in size can cause issues, as smaller birds can suffer from bullying, insufficient access to feed and injury. In mixed-breed flocks, it is also important to ensure your rooster is a similar size to your smallest hen.
Keeping a rooster generally makes hens happier and decreases stress. But a rooster that is aggressive towards the hens or too rough when mating can stress the hens.
Anything that causes fear can cause psychological stress. Because backyard chickens have more contact with their keepers and the wider environment, they are generally less fearful than commercially-raised chickens. In fact, many of the things that cause stress and fear in commercial flocks don’t affect backyard chooks at all!
Predators are one of the most common causes of stress in a backyard flock. Chicken keepers often observe that their flock seems unsettled, only for the coop to be attacked soon afterwards. Usually, the predator has been scoping out the coop for quite some time, trying to find a way in, but the chicken keeper has not identified the problem until it is too late. Even rodents in the coop at night can cause stress!
Commercially farmed chickens are notorious for being stressed by changes to routine – even a farmer walking through the chicken house in the wrong direction or at the wrong time can cause panic!
Generally speaking, backyard chickens are much less likely to be disturbed by changes to routine.
Anything that causes fear will cause stress.
Well-adjusted chickens that have been exposed to a range of environments and stimuli from hatch are far less fearful. Exposure also helps to reduce fear. This is one reason why spending time with your chickens is important, as it can reduce the fear associated with handling and other chicken keeping tasks.
Chickens often find loud noises frightening, particularly if they are unused to them or the noise goes on for a long time.
Chickens need to be able to express natural behaviours such as pecking, foraging and dust bathing. If they cannot, they will become bored and stressed. For example, studies have shown increased stress in chickens deprived of foraging materials.
For roosters, being able to mate with hens is a natural behaviour. While roosters are not stressed if there are no hens around, being kept apart from hens that they know are there, or keeping two roosters in a flock, causes stress.
Martin Yan’s China-Relaxing A Chicken
FAQ
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