Chickens Pay High Price for Freedom

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Oct. 13, 2008) - Chickens could end up paying a high price for their freedom unless their keepers take a more active interest in healthcare according to animal health experts. Vet Nigel Underwood of Janssen Animal Health believes there is a growing number of poultry hobbyists who know little or nothing about preventative healthcare, "While it's great to see people getting interested in keeping livestock using natural systems and thinking about where their food comes from, we are worried that no one appears to be giving any thought to the measures that need to be taken to keep birds healthy outdoors. Parasitic worms are very common and a cycle of infection can quite quickly be set up, resulting in a drop in egg quality and quantity, ill birds and even death." Worms may not be a terribly... [read full story]