Dying hens

[misty and me]

I am losing a HEN week it seems. All of a sudden. We live in Illinois NW Suburb/country near the wet lands our hens vary from older to 7months we had 11 and now I’m quickly losing 1 every 2 weeks it seems. Symptoms start off sleepy,don’t want to hang with others stop eating, but some eat but go down hill from there. 1 hen just died suddenly, one is progressing as days go, another just started to go . Took one to vet ;has no idea Gave antibiotics but not working... there is NO sinus sneezing running nose or discharge, no wheezing in any just dying. I am sick about this. Again there is no flu like symptoms PLEASE ANYONE HELP

 

[DobieLover]

I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this.
Can you post some pictures of the sick hens and their coop/run?
Have you introduced any new birds to the flock recently?
What are you feeding them?
Where are you located in the world? You can put that information in you profile so it posts below your stats. You don't need to provide a street address or anything, just generalities so we know what might be available to you.

 

[lilmillefleur]

@casportpony @Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

It is time for a professional necropsy by your state vet. Sometimes they will do more than one bird for the same cost. Since you live near wetlands, you could be dealing with something carried by migrating birds. I have not read about any breakouts of avian flu this year, but that is a possibility. Mareks disease or coccidiosis could be possible. More info about where you got the chickens and some history may help. Sorry for your loss.

You might be just dealing with something like coccidiosis or worms, so you could either get a fecal test by your vet on a combined freshed specimen. If your birds are lethargic, not eating, are standing around hunched or puffed up, and have runny poops, I would get some Corid and start treatment for possible coccidiosis. Dosage is 10 ml of liquid Corid or 1 1/2 tsp of powder Corid per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Valbazen or Safeguard liquid goat wormer are good wormers to use.

Here is some contact info on getting a necropsy, and I would recommmend just calling and asking how to go about it:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am losing a HEN week it seems. All of a sudden. We live in Illinois NW Suburb/country near the wet lands our hens vary from older to 7months we had 11 and now I’m quickly losing 1 every 2 weeks it seems. Symptoms start off sleepy,don’t want to hang with others stop eating, but some eat but go down hill from there. 1 hen just died suddenly, one is progressing as days go, another just started to go . Took one to vet ;has no idea Gave antibiotics but not working... there is NO sinus sneezing running nose or discharge, no wheezing in any just dying. I am sick about this. Again there is no flu like symptoms PLEASE ANYONE HELP

I'm sorry for your losses
I agree, it's time to have some testing/necropsy performed to find out what you are dealing with.
Since you have one that is doing down hill, this would be a good candidate to send in.
Here's a link to your Illinois lab https://vetmed.illinois.edu/vet-resources/veterinary-diagnostic-laboratory/

 

[misty and me]

I'm sorry for your losses
I agree, it's time to have some testing/necropsy performed to find out what you are dealing with.
Since you have one that is doing down hill, this would be a good candidate to send in.
Here's a link to your Illinois lab https://vetmed.illinois.edu/vet-resources/veterinary-diagnostic-laboratory/

Thank you yes I'd love to look into this. I have 2 dead hens in the garage because its too cold to bury frozen ground. Im down to 7 hens and 1 has been laid up in a kennel in my house with a pulled muscle in knee and now 5 weeks later she cant stand. everything is normal, but this is getting crazy

 

[Eggcessive]

With the lame one, that could be Mareks. I would refrigerate the body of the next one who die, and take or ship (overnight FedEx or UPS) the body on ice packs to your state vet. If you call their office and tell them you are a backyard chicken owner, they may give you a better price.