The CoopCheck symptom guide
These are the same quick-reference guides from the Beginner’s Chicken Health Handbook — what each sign usually means, what to watch for, and when it’s time to call a vet.
A chicken skipping a meal or two can be normal. Refusing food for a full day is worth attention.
Call a vet: If they refuse food and water for more than a day, or seem weak.
Chickens need water every day, especially in heat. Going without water is serious, fast.
Call a vet: If they will not drink for most of a day, or seem weak or wobbly.
A quiet chicken standing alone, fluffed up, is often the first sign something is off.
Call a vet: If they stay fluffed and still for most of the day, or get worse quickly.
Limping often comes from a small sprain, a bumblefoot infection, or a pecking injury.
Call a vet: If they cannot put weight on the leg, the foot is hot and swollen, or it does not improve in a few days.
A chicken that cannot stand needs help right away. This is not a wait-and-see sign.
Call a vet: Right away. A chicken that cannot stand needs a vet promptly.
An occasional sneeze can just be dust from feed or bedding. Frequent sneezing needs a closer look.
Call a vet: If sneezing is constant, comes with breathing sounds, or spreads through the flock.
Coughing in chickens usually points to airway irritation or a respiratory infection.
Call a vet: If coughing lasts more than a couple of days or comes with any breathing effort.
Noisy breathing means the airway is partly blocked or inflamed. Take it seriously.
Call a vet: Soon — noisy breathing that lasts more than a day or gets louder needs a vet.
Open-mouth breathing with neck stretching is an emergency sign in chickens.
Call a vet: Immediately. Struggling to breathe is always a vet-now situation.
Wet nostrils or foamy eyes often come with respiratory infections.
Call a vet: If discharge is thick, smelly, or the face swells.
Facial swelling usually signals a respiratory infection that needs treatment.
Call a vet: Promptly. Facial swelling with discharge usually needs medication.
Some runny droppings are normal, especially in hot weather when chickens drink more.
Call a vet: If droppings are always watery for several days, or come with low energy.
Blood or very dark droppings can point to coccidiosis or gut damage. Act quickly, especially with young birds.
Call a vet: Promptly. Blood in droppings, especially in chicks, needs same-day advice.
Seeing worms means a heavy load. A regular worming routine keeps this rare.
Call a vet: To choose the right wormer, or if birds are thin or weak.
A crop that feels like a water balloon in the morning, with a sour smell, is not emptying properly.
Call a vet: If the crop stays full in the morning for more than a day or two.
A crop that feels like a firm ball means food is stuck and not moving through.
Call a vet: If the crop stays hard for over a day — blockages can become serious.
Droppings caked around the vent are common in chicks and can block them up completely.
Call a vet: If the chick is weak, not eating, or the vent stays blocked after cleaning.
A swollen, tight, or sloshy belly can mean fluid build-up or a stuck egg.
Call a vet: Soon. A tight swollen belly, especially with breathing changes, needs a vet.
A hen straining, pumping her tail, or sitting low may have an egg stuck. This can become urgent within a day.
Call a vet: If she has been straining for several hours or seems weak — stuck eggs can be life-threatening.
An occasional soft egg happens, especially with new layers. Regular soft eggs usually point to calcium or age.
Call a vet: If soft eggs continue for weeks or the hen seems unwell.
Hens pause laying for molt, short days, stress, or broodiness. A sudden stop can also signal illness.
Call a vet: If the stop comes with a swollen belly, low energy, or weight loss.
A broody hen sits tight on the nest, fluffs up, and growls. It is natural, not illness.
Call a vet: Only if she stops eating or drinking entirely for days.
Frequent head shaking can mean ear irritation, respiratory trouble, or something stuck in the throat.
Call a vet: If the head twists or tilts constantly, or they lose balance.
Collapsing, paddling, or repeated loss of balance is always urgent.
Call a vet: Immediately. Seizures and repeated collapse need a vet now.
Bare patches from pecking usually mean boredom, crowding, or too little protein.
Call a vet: If skin is raw or bleeding, or pecking draws blood.
Losing feathers and growing new ones once a year is normal. Hens look scruffy and stop laying for a while.
Call a vet: If feather loss comes with weight loss, scabs, or behavior changes.
Tiny moving specks near the vent or under wings, or crusty legs, mean parasites.
Call a vet: If birds are pale, weak, or the infestation is heavy.
Lifted, rough leg scales are usually scaly leg mites burrowing underneath.
Call a vet: If legs bleed, swell, or the bird struggles to walk.
A dark scab with swelling on the foot pad is a bacterial infection, usually from a small cut.
Call a vet: If the foot is hot, swollen, or the bird is limping — bumblefoot often needs vet care.
Even small predator wounds can hide deeper damage and infection risk.
Call a vet: For any deep wound, puncture, or attack injury — internal damage is easy to miss.
Chickens are drawn to red — a bleeding bird will be pecked. Separate first, then treat.
Call a vet: If bleeding does not stop within minutes, or the wound is deep.
A healthy comb is bright red. Pale can mean anemia or poor circulation; purple can mean breathing or heart strain.
Call a vet: If the comb turns purple or blue, or paleness comes with weakness.
A sharp breastbone with little muscle either side means real weight loss, even if feathers hide it.
Call a vet: If weight keeps dropping over a week or two, whatever the cause.
Keep all of this close
The Beginner’s Chicken Health Handbook bundles every guide here plus care calendars, feed schedules, and a vet-call decision chart.
CoopCheck is general guidance, not a diagnosis. When in doubt, call a vet.