Backyard Chickens and Ectoparasites: Introduction and Management

Abstract

Keeping backyard chickens is an important socio-cultural activity for many households, especially in rural and fringe communities. There has been an increasing interest in this activity in urban areas in recent times (Fig. 1), resulting in a rise in sales of fertilized hatching eggs, young birds and backyard coops from local and online sellers. While keeping chickens may sound easy, it has also led to a surge in reports of ectoparasite and other pest issues related to keeping chickens that novice backyard chicken keepers have not anticipated.