Well, it’s been a month of yucky sicknesses here in the Chickenlandia household. I confess to being patient zero and infecting my children and husband with the dreaded cold and cough. When illness strikes, I almost always turn to my trusted homeopathic kits. I’ve been using homeopathy on myself for years, and now I use it on my family. Chickens are family right? That’s why this week, I’ve decided to share some homeopathic options for when chickens fall ill or experience trauma.
Disclaimer: The following is not meant to be a diagnosis or to replace veterinarian care. I fully support the idea of seeking professional help when needed. I also acknowledge that many people do not have that option. Please understand that I am not a veterinarian, doctor, scientist, or biologist. I’m just a chicken lady who has used homeopathics with success and wants to share that experience with you. Results may vary! Please do your own research.
Chicken keeping is such a joyous experience! That is, until you walk into the chicken coop and find the dreaded scenario: a chicken is sick or injured, huddled in a corner. They can’t talk to you or tell you what’s wrong. You feel helpless and guilty, though you’re not sure why. You’re a good chicken parent! How could this happen?
My first course of action in this situation is to remove the affected chicken from my flock. I bring them inside and put them in a quiet, warm spot with soft lighting (or no lighting if it’s nighttime). It’s likely that both myself and my chicken are pretty stressed out at this point, so I use a product called Rescue Remedy to calm everyone down. I put a drop under my tongue, then put a drop on my chicken’s back and rub it into their skin. Now that I’m a tad calmer, it’s time create an action plan.
For shock and/or trauma, two homeopathic remedies come to mind: Arnica (aka Arnica Montana) for bruising, injury, and shock; and Aconite (aka Aconitum Napellus) for fright and shock. These two remedies are very popular for human use and should be available at most health food stores. Homeopathics come in different potencies, but I suggest 30c. It’s best to start with one or the other depending on the situation. To dose, I will put one pellet or one drop of each remedy into their water or food. Without getting into how homeopathics work (that’s a conversation for a professional homeopath), each time my chickens drinks that water or eats that food, they get a dose. If they aren’t eating or drinking on their own, I put a drop into their feeding syringe and get the dose into them that way. If I’m not noticing a change, I will try the other remedy. If I notice an improvement, I stop dosing unless I observe a backslide in their recovery.
This year, I had a respiratory illness go through my flock. Each chicken had the same symptom: lots of cruddy congestion in their respiratory passages. For this illness, I dosed them with a homeopathic remedy called Antimonium Crudum. I also placed a pellet in the flock’s community water as a preventative. To my delight, all chickens recovered. I was so encouraged by this outcome, because most of the time respiratory illnesses require antibiotics for the chicken to survive. I did have antibiotics available just in case, but it wasn’t necessary. Success!
Homeopathy is a whole science on its own, and I certainly don’t claim to be an expert. My hope is that I can do a video with my professional homeopath at some point, so we can delve further into how to use it on chickens. For now, I hope you’ll take a moment and check out my latest video, which includes an easy tutorial on how to care for chickens in an emergency situation. Feel free to ask me questions here or in the comments on my YouTube channel. I’m happy to share my experience with you!
To read more about Homeopathy, click here.
Boiron USA: click here.
Bach Flower Remedies: click here.