The Poultry Doc

08/27/2026

We’ve had a lot of people asking about scaly leg mites on our Facebook group page recently so we made a video all about these nasty buggers. How they work, ways to treat and why you don’t want to let them get out of hand. 🐞 🚫

08/24/2026

Who is Dr. Blayne Mozisek?! Learn about his history with birds, the road to becoming a board-certified poultry vet and his years and years and years of school…

And be sure to check out ThePoultryDoc.com where you can find the full episodes of our video podcasts, educational articles, the VetYourFlock agent and Flock Dashboard, and lots of other great stuff for your feathered friends.

08/21/2026

In episode 47 of the Poultry Doc Podcast, Dr. Blayne Mozisek covers everything backyard chicken keepers need to know about coccidiosis. He explains why keeping baby chicks too clean can actually work against them, how low-level exposure to coccidia helps build natural immunity over time, and why introducing litter from a healthy existing flock is a great way to get a new chick's gut flora off to a good start. He also walks through how medicated feed works and what and when to use amprolium (Corid).

Dr. Blayne also breaks down the biology of Eimeria and how coccidia damages the lining of the GI tract, why runny droppings are not always a sign of coccidiosis, and how a f***l flotation exam is the gold standard for knowing what you are actually dealing with. He wraps up with a reminder that stress is the number one factor that opens birds up to disease, and that keeping flock density manageable and birds together with their flock mates goes a long way toward keeping them healthy.

Thank you for having us out. Rhizome Revival is an educational farm located in Central Texas. Learn more: rhizomerevival.org

Visit thepoultrydoc.com for f***l testing kits, telehealth consultations, and more resources for your flock.

Learn more about coccidiosis: https://thepoultrydoc.com/articles/the-big-three-eimeria-acervulina-e-maxima-e-tenella/

0:00 Welcome and intro
0:06 Why keeping chicks too clean can backfire
1:14 Building immunity through good gut flora
2:03 Corid and amprolium: what medicated feed actually does
2:59 F***l flotation: the gold standard for diagnosis
4:47 Eimeria explained: how coccidia damages the GI tract
5:52 Signs to watch for in baby chicks
6:31 Medicated feed, amprolium, and coccidiosis prevention
7:26 Stress and immunity: the overlooked factor

08/07/2026

In this episode of Purely Vetted, Nikki Husted of joins Dr. Blayne Mozisek to tackle one of the most common and confusing topics in backyard chicken keeping: respiratory disease. If your chickens are sneezing, showing bubbly eyes, drainage, gasping, or heavy breathing, this episode breaks down when to wait and see and when to take action. Dr. Blayne walks through how a chicken's air sacs and fixed lungs work, why labored breathing can point to heat panting, water belly, a reproductive issue, or true respiratory infection, and how iodine in water can support mucus clearance while helping sanitize drinking water. They also cover the most common respiratory diseases, including infectious bronchitis, Mycoplasma, ILT, and Coryza, along with biosecurity basics and how PCR testing through The Poultry Doc's Iowa State diagnostic lab partnership can finally get you answers.

The episode also discusses gapeworm, the tracheal worm that causes gasping and head shaking and is frequently mistaken for respiratory disease. You will learn why f***l flotation often misses it and what to look for instead. Additional topics include coop ventilation and ammonia management, bedding choices, vaccine options for pox, MG, ILT, IB, and Newcastle, HPAI warning signs, and responsible antibiotic use including egg withdrawal times.

Visit ThePoultryDoc.com to access testing kits, tele-health consultations, and the new Copper Feather membership that includes access to our flock dashboard and Vet Your Flock troubleshooting agent. https://thepoultrydoc.com/

00:00:00 Welcome and exciting news about The Poultry Doc
00:02:35 Biosecurity starts at the coop door
00:05:45 The big chicken respiratory diseases
00:10:50 Testing sick chickens and Iowa State PCR
00:12:07 Chicken sneezing: when to wait and when to worry
00:15:12 How chicken lungs and air sacs work
00:18:28 Heavy breathing, water belly, and other look-alikes
00:22:54 Treatment, iodine water, and better coop air
00:31:08 Vaccines for respiratory disease and pox
00:36:30 Avian Influenza
00:39:50 Gapeworm: gasping, diagnosis, and treatment
00:43:05 Antibiotics, egg withdrawal times, and final tips

08/01/2026

Free gift for our first 10 annual subscribers! 🎁
We are thrilled to share our Copper Feather membership is now live!
We have been working tirelessly over the past year to develop Vet Your Flock, a tool that provides expert poultry veterinary guidance to any keeper, anywhere.
We know how difficult it is to find reliable poultry care and with this tool, you’ll be able to input symptoms, ask questions and get next steps on what you can do at home, or when booking a consultation or finding an in-person vet is necessary.
To celebrate, we are giving our first 10 annual sign-ups samples of our three all-natural botanical oils: breathe, shield and thrive, along with our new organic gut-health supplement we will be rolling out soon.
We are so grateful for this community and cannot wait for you to Vet Your Flock.
Learn more:
https://tinyurl.com/CopperMembership

08/01/2026

🐔 We heard you. And we've been building.
Many of you do not have access to a poultry vet within an hour's drive or more. And even then, the cost can be substantial. So we built something to give everyone access to the care their birds deserve..
✨ The Copper Feather Membership is here — an accessible way to get board-certified poultry expertise the moment you need it- day or night.
🪶 Vet Your Flock triage tool
🪶 Personal flock dashboard
🪶 Members-only content & education
🪶 Our full poultry health library
All for $9.99 / month. No long-term commitment.
Whether you're troubleshooting at 6 AM or planning your flock's future, we're able to be there when it matters most.
Link to join in the comments 👇

The Founding Feather Tier is our most exclusive membership, designed for dedicated flock owners who want priority access to board-certified poultry veterinarians and a direct hand in shaping the future of accessible poultry medicine. With enrollment intentionally capped, members receive a white-glov...

07/31/2026

In episode 46, Dr. Blayne Mozisek makes a house call to Bertram, Texas, to visit Sharon and her backyard flock. Sharon had been thinking about vaccinating her chickens for fowl pox, and Dr. Blayne takes the opportunity to introduce a combination chicken vaccine now available through ThePoultryDoc.com that protects against three diseases at once: fowl pox, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, and avian encephalomyelitis. Yes! There is a vaccine for Mycoplasma in backyard chickens.

Dr. Blayne walks through the entire wing web vaccination process step by step, from reconstituting the lyophilized vaccine with the blue dye diluent, to finding the wing web, to what a successful take looks like seven days later. He explains how to hold your bird securely, avoid the muscle, and what that small fowl pox lesion at the injection site means and why it is a good sign. He also covers why avian encephalomyelitis matters most for hens whose eggs you plan to hatch, and how the Mycoplasma vaccine works as a leaky vaccine to reduce Mycoplasma symptoms in chickens rather than prevent infection entirely.

After the vaccinations, Sharon walks us through her favorite coop features, including her waterer and feeder system, h**p bedding and solar-powered cameras. Dr. Blayne adds his own suggestions for keeping your backyard chickens cool in the summer heat, covering shade cloth solutions, electrolyte water, fans, misters, and how humidity affects whether a mister will actually help or just make a mess.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Vectormune FP-MG+AE (Fowl Pox + Mycoplasma + AE Vaccine) check out the link below.

https://shop.thepoultrydoc.com/products/vectormune-fp-mg-ae-fowl-pox-mycoplasma-ae-vaccine-mg-pox-encephalomyelitis-protection-for-chickens

The PoultryDoc.com provides board-certified poultry veterinary care for backyard chickens, with expert guidance, health resources and membership options for ongoing support. https://thepoultrydoc.com/join-the-flock/

0:00 Introduction
0:11 Introducing the New Combination Vaccine
0:28 Protecting against Pox, MG & AE
0:44 How Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Affects Your Flock
1:10 Avian Encephalomyelitis & Hatching Eggs
1:43 How to Mix the Vaccine
3:08 How to Hold Your Bird for Wing Web Vaccination
3:46 Step-by-Step Wing Web Vaccination
5:03 Full Protection Timeline — Pox, MG & AE
6:01 Coop Tour - Sharon’s Favorite Features
7:22 Electrolyte Water in Summer Heat
7:44 Fans, Misters & Humidity — What Works and What Doesn't
9:21 Broody Hens and Summer Heat Management
9:29 Wrap-Up