Lethargic then sudden death - Lice? Virus? Help

[aimz127]

I had a pullet (4+ month) orpington pass today and I don't know why. This is my first round of chickens and she was one of my favorites.

She was lethargic yesterday but seemed to be eating/drinking. Today she was also lethargic and breathing heavy. I tried to give her nutridrench, but she wouldn't let me open her beak and was very weak.

That's when I noticed what would be lice eggs under her chin. I had no idea, the flock tuck their neck and cover that area most of the time. After trying to urge her to drink, she started dripping liquid from her beak and passed.

This is my first loss, and I'm at a loss as to why. Did the lice make her weak and anemic? Was it worms or a virus? (no one's poo looks suspicious, a little watery on occasion, but they got watermelon/grape treats so I didn't give it a second thought. Her crop didn't look inflamed when inspecting her)

I sprayed the coop with some permethrin spray that's on hand and will get some sevin/poultry dust tonight to dust the birds. The remaining flock got a batch of electrolytes and nutridrench to help give them a perk given the suddenness of the loss, but am I missing anything?

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you still have the body? Can you get it cold in a cooler or refrigerate it in a fresh garbage bag? Call your state vet early in the morning to see if they can do a necropsy to look for a cause of death. That is the best way to find out why she died. Lice do not make them anemic, but are more of a bother. Mites can cause anemia, though. Permethrin spray and the garden dust, not Sevin dust, is what you need for lice or mites. Sevin is no longer approved for chickens, and when I used it last, it did not work. Here is a list of most state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Here is a good article about lice and mites:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[aimz127]

Update: Treated the chickens with Poultry dust tonight before putting them up.

One of my other pullets pooped this. I treated for coccidiosis once as I've seen some blood in stool over the summer and my roo was pooping mostly water for a while. Did I not treat with Corid for long enough and it festered in my pullet that passed.

I followed the recommendation from BYC forum where they added 1 tsp per gallon to water for 3-5 days.

 

[aimz127]

Do you still have the body? Can you get it cold in a cooler or refrigerate it in a fresh garbage bag? Call your state vet early in the morning to see if they can do a necropsy to look for a cause of death. That is the best way to find out why she died. Lice do not make them anemic, but are more of a bother. Mites can cause anemia, though. Permethrin spray and the garden dust, not Sevin dust, is what you need for lice or mites. Sevin is no longer approved for chickens, and when I used it last, it did not work. Here is a list of most state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Yes, I still have the body. I'll try to call the local vets first and see if they do testing. If not I'll try the state vet.

 

[Eggcessive]

That dropping is not normal. What do feed your chickens? Can you take some fresh droppings into a vet for a fecal float? At 4 months, most chickens have built up some resistance to coccidiosis in the soil. Do you have an pictures of how they look with their necks held down? The dosage of Corid is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water for 5-7 days.

 

[Eggcessive]

The state vet would be the best. They do necropsies and testing every day. Make sure that you can take or send the body in directly to them. Some may want your vet to send it in, but that will make it much more expensive.

 

[aimz127]

They are on Purina Flock Raiser and have been for a while now. I store their feed in a sealed tote so no mice/bugs can get to it.

I can for sure get a fecal to take in and will get some pictures of them tomorrow. No one seems to be drooping their head or tail (other than the one I questioned today and she was laying down), but I guess at this point I don't really know.

 

[Sydney65]

They are on Purina Flock Raiser and have been for a while now. I store their feed in a sealed tote so no mice/bugs can get to it.

I can for sure get a fecal to take in and will get some pictures of them tomorrow. No one seems to be drooping their head or tail (other than the one I questioned today and she was laying down), but I guess at this point I don't really know.

Watching for results.

 

[aimz127]

I didn't have a chance to do a necro on the first pullet that passed, but now another is starting to look droopy. Fecal is at the vet today, so hopefully I have some kind of direction tomorrow.

The flock has been wormed with Safeguard, given a round of Corid and lice dusted/coop cleaned the week I originally posted. Not sure what else I'm missing, but something seems to be lingering. It's been unseasonably warm and wet for the last few weeks which probably isn't helping (though the ducklings love it)

Everyone is getting nutridrench and electrolytes in the water to give an immune boost after treatment and I've got oregano and thyme oil on order too.

there's an answer from the vet tomorrow.

 

[Sydney65]

I didn't have a chance to do a necro on the first pullet that passed, but now another is starting to look droopy. Fecal is at the vet today, so hopefully I have some kind of direction tomorrow.

The flock has been wormed with Safeguard, given a round of Corid and lice dusted/coop cleaned the week I originally posted. Not sure what else I'm missing, but something seems to be lingering. It's been unseasonably warm and wet for the last few weeks which probably isn't helping (though the ducklings love it)

Everyone is getting nutridrench and electrolytes in the water to give an immune boost after treatment and I've got oregano and thyme oil on order too.

there's an answer from the vet tomorrow.

Is today's droopy one having the liquid/unformed stool as well?