If the parents are not fit and healthy and nesting in clean boxes, then the chicks cannot be healthy. Sound incubator hygiene is necessary if healthy chickens are to be obtained. Incubators should be cleaned an fumigated. Brooding Cleanliness is most important in young birds because they have little resistance to disease. The pen should be cleaned before a new batch of chickens is put in.
Good managers are students of animal behaviour.
They can tell when the chickens are too cold or too hot by their distribution and the sounds they make. They can recognise early symptoms of disease by the way the chickens move. Introducing birds When introducing new stock there is a danger of bringing in diseases with carrier birds. Birds, preferably young, should be obtained from a reliable supplier of healthy stock. The older the birds, the more likely it is to be a carrier.