Stress is probably the number one cause of chicken ill-health and there are many opportunities for our chickens to experience stress. Whether they be internal stressors such as increased egg production, moulting or illness, or external factors such as heat stress, the introduction of new chickens or other environmental challenges. Nutritional support must be the mainstay to get them through these challenges.
When thinking of backyard chickens, often you think they must be living the high-life in comparison to their intensively farmed relatives. However, there are still lots of potentially stressful situations our pet chickens can find themselves in. Even the tamest of chickens can experience stress on handling if not done quickly and calmly. Plus, they may experience stress when new chickens are introduced or with the detection of a predator, whether that be an opportunistic fox or next door’s dog. Environmental stressors include heat stress and lack of food or water, which we can be in control of to some degree but still should not be forgotten. Internal stressors include illness and egg laying. A peaceful dark nest box can help the emotional toil of egg laying with optimal nutrition promoting egg quality. Egg laying is very metabolically demanding and inadequate nutrition can predispose to egg-binding.
Life-Guard contains vitamins, minerals and trace elements that could be lacking in the backyard poultry diet. Prebiotics promote the growth of healthy bacteria living in the gastro intestinal tract. Gut health relies on achieving the right balancing act between the chicken, its intestinal microbes and the diet, with diet being the most influential factor determining the microbe composition found in the chicken’s gut. When gut health is compromised, digestion and nutrient absorption are affected, leading to undesirable consequences in terms of overall health, welfare and performance.
Life-guard has been shown to maintain body weight and feathering, maximize egg quality, support the immune system and aid recovery from the stress of illness or moulting. It is a must for ex-battery hens trying to settle into their new homes and for chickens experiencing any of the stresses mentioned above.
