My Favorite Chicken First Aid Kit

By Dalia Monterroso aka The President of Chickenlandia

I have a saying: chicken keeping should be easy.

By easy, I mean anyone and everyone should be able to raise chickens and have it be a fun, stress-free experience. That being said, I must acknowledge that there are some situations, albeit fairly rare, that can be considerably stressful. Illness and/or injury are circumstances that are likely to happen in every flock at one point or another no matter how well we care for our birds. Preparation for these types of scenarios is essential, which is why I recommend every chicken keeper have access to a simple Chicken First Aid Kit that they can utilize in case of emergency.

R.E.S.T.

When you come upon a sick or injured chicken, the first thing I recommend doing is my R.E.S.T. method as outlined in this video and blog post. The R.E.S.T. method is just basic supportive care (and pretty much common sense), but it’s good to have simple instructions to follow at a time when it might be difficult to think clearly. Once you’ve brought your chicken inside and assessed the situation it might be time to offer some at-home first aid care.

First Aid Kit

My first recommendation will always be to seek proper treatment and/or diagnosis from a licensed veterinarian. But as with kids and other pets, sometimes there are bumps, bruises, or sniffles that might not require an immediate trip to the doctor. That’s when I reach for the My Favorite Chicken First Aid Kit, which has all the things I need for these types of situations.

First off, did I tell you how cute this thing is? All the items come in a water-proof, hanging box with a little picture of a chicken doctor on it. I honestly didn’t know how much I needed my Chicken First Aid Kit to be adorable until I saw this. I guess I just really appreciate a good aesthetic.

What’s Inside

Once opened, the first thing I found was the Sav-a-Chick® Combo Pack of Electrolytes and Probiotics. This is so valuable in just about any chicken emergency. If you are familiar with the R.E.S.T. method, then you know that the “E” stands for Electrolytes, Vitamins, and Probiotics. Very convenient indeed.

Another handy product in the kit is this Vetericyn Plus® antimicrobial wound & skin care. Vetericyn is a very popular wound treatment for domestic animals and for good reason. Unlike some other topical treatments, application isn’t painful for them. It’s soothing, has good coverage, and is easy to apply.

If you have ever had a chicken lose a toenail, or worse, injure their comb, then you probably know how horrifying the bleeding can be in these cases. Blood loss can be a concern, which is why I’m so glad this kit contains Kwik Stop® Styptic Powder. It can be dabbed onto wounds to stop bleeding fast, so you can take a moment and breathe into a paper bag (at least that’s what I have to do)!

Conclusion

There are so many more amazing products in this kit, too much to describe here. Here’s a picture of them all. Sometimes I like to just lay all the things out and look at it because I’m weird like that.

You can listen to me describing each item and what they are used for on my new podcast, Bawk Tawk! Click here and listen to Episode 12 or find it on all the major podcast apps.

One last thing I want to mention: I actually added up the prices of these items if purchased individually, and it was more expensive than buying the kit. My conclusion? This little kit is all that many chicken keepers will ever need for their peace of mind and for the health and safety of their flock.

The content of this blog post, the Welcome to Chickenlandia YouTube Channel, website, blog, podcast, and all social media is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional veterinarian advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Dependence on any information appearing on the Welcome to Chickenlandia YouTube Channel, website, blog, podcast, and social media sites is entirely at your own risk. Please do your own research and make your own informed decisions regarding the health of your chickens.