As a chicken keeper, you are bound to encounter certain diseases or genetic disorders that affect the flock. The longer your experience of maintaining a flock is, the more likely it is that you've seen a wide variety of diseases and disorders affecting chickens. In this article, we will look specifically into diseases as opposed to disorders. Although diseases are part of the backyard chicken-keeping experience, it doesn't mean that you should not worry about diseases and wait for nature to take over. Chickens are quite resilient but they are by no means immune to various pathogens or illnesses. To help your flock, you should aim to ensure biosecurity and prevent the outbreak of diseases before they happen. If proper coop management practices are in place, it will be easier to deal with diseases and it could help you minimize the impact from spreading further or becoming more serious. We will provide a list of the most frequently observed diseases and some tips on how to prevent or treat them.

Eight most common diseases that affect chickens:

1) Coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease. The parasite damages the gut of the chicken and causes the chicken to lose appetite while at the same time limiting the absorption of food and nutrients with frequent diarrhea. This further leads to weight loss and a host of negative consequences for the chicken due to its immune system's compromised ability to fight off the parasite on its own. Help your bird by adding probiotic and prebiotic rich foods to its diet or if you notice the disease has progressed, you can get your bird on antibiotics or other medication to help get rid of the parasite.

2) Infectious bronchitis. Infectious bronchitis is a type of viral respiratory infection. It is very contagious and affects only chickens. A sharp decline in egg production is observed, as well as loss of appetite, frequent sneezing and rattling. Since it's viral in nature, antibiotics won't help to treat it but there are commercially available vaccines. As is the case with us humans, all that is needed sometimes is just time and plenty of rest for the virus to go away.

3) Infectious coryza. Infectious coryza is another type of respiratory infection, less frequently observed than infectious bronchitis, and also unlike bronchitis, it is bacterial instead of viral in nature. Nasal discharge as well as watery eyes and swelling of the face are observed. Certain antimicrobial and antibiotic medicine may help treat the disease although the bacteria is very stubborn so it is best to isolate the chickens as early as possible.

3) Marek's disease. Marek's disease is a viral disease which causes cancer. There is unfortunately no treatment for Marek's disease and the affected chicken will eventually die. Paralysis and ocular tumors are frequently observed. Being a viral disease, it is best to isolate the chicken affected by the virus as early as possible. Prevention is the best cure currently available and there are vaccines available that could be given to day-old chicks.

4) Avian influenza. Avian influenza is also known as the bird flu and is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease. There is no treatment or vaccines available to treat the bird flu. Inflamed heads, sudden death, nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing and swelling are all commonly observed. It is commonly spread by waterfowl, hence those keeping ducks, geese and chickens are at a higher risk of virus transmission. If influenza is observed within your flock, aside from isolating the birds, you should contact the vet since there is a risk of human infection and transmission as well.

5) Fowl pox. Fowl pox is a viral disease, albeit not as concerning as other viral diseases mentioned. In both its wet and dry form, is characterized by lesions and bumps on the skin and around the mouth. Complications can occur if it spreads deeper down the respiratory system. Similarly to the infectious bronchitis, time is the best cure and the best thing to do is to ensure bird is comfortable throughout the healing and resting process.

6) Fowl cholera. Fowl cholera is a bacterial disease affecting a wide variety of backyard flocks. Depending on the strain and amount, this bacterial disease can be spotted by observing swelling in the face, wattles, ear or joints. In more serious cases, sudden death among the flock may be the only sign as it can be hard to spot the disease before the chicken dies. Just like in other cases, ensuring biosecurity is vital to preventing the disease but if the disease is already present, various antibiotics can help to treat the disease.

7) Newcastle disease. Newcastle disease is a type of viral respiratory disease. The severity of the disease depends on the strain but all strains will spread very fast once introduced to the flock. The symptoms are similar to those of other respiratory diseases such as nasal discharge and breathing difficulties. Antibiotics won't help treat the disease directly since it's a viral disease but they can help prevent other diseases during the time when a bird's immune system is compromised. Vaccination along with biosafety management is the best prevention method for the disease.

There are other diseases and many disorders we didn't cover such as ascites, cannibalism, sour crop, prolapse vent, orthopedic disorders (spraddle leg, femoral head separation, slipped tendons, etc.), egg binding, a host of parasitic diseases, and more, some of which we will try to cover in our upcoming The Grubs Times articles.

The good news is that a large part of backyard chicken diseases can be prevented with fairly simple coop maintenance and management practices. Paying attention to biosecurity, size of the coop and ventilation within the coop, clean water supply, adequate nutrition, dry litter and dust baths are all crucial components of preventing the spread and gravity of diseases. You should be able to help your chickens get better and in the majority of cases won't need a vet to intervene. However, you may also encounter cases where the best thing to do is to take your bird to the vet and potentially isolate or cull a sick bird.

Perhaps 50 shades comes as a bit of an exaggeration, at least when it comes to dried black soldier flies, or any grubs. The range of colors that're likely to be observed when it comes to grubs ranges from golden to dark brown. So what does the difference in color between all these grubs mean? Is any one type better, more nutritious, or healthier than another? Why would there be any difference in the first place if we're talking about the same species of grubs - namely, black soldier fly larvae.

Without going too deep into the science and feed processing technology, and in order to avoid having you fall asleep while reading the article, a straightforward answer to all of these is that color doesn't give you sufficient info to know whether one type of grubs is better than another. A cheap and commercially available coloring can do the job and paint the grubs with whatever color is needed. This means that you shouldn't fall for marketing gimmicks such as "golden grubs are better" or "dark brown grubs are better". 

What does matter is that you check:

(1) Ingredients. What is in the box you're buying?

(2) Processing technology. How are the grubs made?

(3) Appearance. How do the grubs look like? (and do not limit this check to checking the color!)

Let's look into each one of these in greater detail:

(1) Ingredients.

In the case of our Supreme Grubs products, the sole ingredient in all of our products is 100% dried black soldier fly larvae. We do not add any colors, fillers, additives or preservatives to our larvae. The only downside of this is that the grubs won't last you for years, and you should try to use them up by the expiry date printed on the box, all the while ensuring they're stored in a dry and cool place.

(2) Processing technology.

Another crucial aspect is ensuring that the processing technology isn't an overkill - meaning, that it doesn't overly burn the larvae and all the macronutrients and minerals it contains. Our larvae is microwave dried and golden colored, and is processed within a few seconds in a large oven, ensuring the nutrients, natural goodness and bioavailability of a larvae are preserved. 

Airdried black soldier fly larvae tends to be a bit darker but even though the exposure to heat for airdried larvae is longer, the heat is of much lower temperature. This ensures that even in case of airdried black soldier fly larvae, nutrients are preserved and none of the natural goodness of a larvae is lost. 

Airdried larvae, although we currently are not selling it, is not an inferior or a superior product. It's just that the larvae is made using a different processing technology but the nutrients are all preserved.

(3) Appearance.

There are a couple of things to look at.

Firstly, a good larvae will not be crushed but whole. Of course, a few crushed pieces here and there are normal because of the handling and transportation, but the majority of larvae should be whole.

Secondly, while bigger is not always better, if larvae is both darker and smaller, it could be that it was collected during the pupae or pre-pupae stage which is means that it has grown out of the larvae stage, during which it is the most nutritious. Again, there could be a few darker and smaller grubs here and there but majority should still be big and plump, which would show that it was collected and processed in the larvae stage.

Conclusion

Next time you are buying grubs, as we mentioned, looking at the color won't tell you much about quality. You should try to understand how the grubs were processed, using which technology, and also give it a closer look to better understand if there could've been a risk of any nutrients being lost during processing, or if the grubs were collected and processed too late and after the larvae stage. While we didn't cover 50 shades of black soldier fly larvae colors, hope that the article made you better equipped with the knowledge needed to choose the best grubs for you!

We often get asked if black soldier fly larvae can be chicken's only source of food. To put it simply, the answer is that they probably can, but this kind of diet may not be ideal, neither for chickens nor for your wallet.

Chickens eating only dried larvae is akin to us humans eating a meat only diet. There are some people who are strong proponents of a meat only diet, but generally speaking there are just not enough studies looking at the long-term impacts of it. We do not really know what nutrients we are missing out on and may have to supplement with if we switch to a meat-only diet. Perhaps if you are getting your chickens ready for a bodybuilding competition, they may benefit from such a diet to get shredded but since such a discipline has not been established yet, you might want to hold off for now.

The other side effect of feeding chickens only black soldier fly larvae is the fact that such a diet would be much costlier than using a good layer feed. And you can think of this problem through the lens of humans consuming an all-meat diet. Ultimately, not all of the protein consumed can be used to pack muscle, or build tissue, or even produce eggs. Some of the protein will end up being used as a source of energy, something much cheaper carbohydrates could've been used for. So in that sense, the real reason why you shouldn't feed your chickens an all black soldier fly larvae diet isn't because it would be more expensive but because you just wouldn't be able to have any marginal improvement in chicken's health, egg production, or any other aspect of life, while at the same time you would be spending more money. tl;dr spend more and get the same result.

Truth be told, chickens (and we are talking free-range chickens here) are pretty much self sustaining as long as you are not raising them in Antarctica or Sahara desert, and this is not because of Antarctica or Saharan weather but the lack of vegetation and readily available sources of food. Chickens will finish off your food scraps, whatever they may be, since they are one of the least picky eaters you can find. Just like humans, chickens will also feel a mineral deficiency and may start finding interesting stuff in your garden to nibble on if they lack certain minerals, like Calcium.

But at the same time, survival is not the same as optimal living. Rarely anyone buys chickens with the idea of simply maintaining them alive. It would be both unethical and also it would be hard to reap any benefits from raising chickens. Sheer survival is sub-optimal living and this will affect the chickens in that they may not end up producing as many and high quality eggs, or may not reach the size they are genetically predisposed to get to - in case you are raising broilers. If you want your chickens to live a comfortable life and award you for taking care of them, you should get more involved when it comes to the type of feed to be used, treats and supplements. The same goes for other perks that go beyond nutrition, like heating, a nice chicken coop to keep them well protected against predators, etc.

You may have expected a slightly different answer from the makers of Supreme Grubs black soldier fly larvae but we believe your chicken's welfare is priority number one for us. To help your chickens stay happy and healthy, choose a good comprehensive feed to satisfy most of the basic nutritional and mineral requirements, but add some variety and supplement their base feed with treats to ensure your birds get all they need to reward you with plentiful and high quality eggs.