Mother hen dead, Chicks still surviving. What precautions to take? Please Help!

[Avalongirl83]

Well, I've heard great things about India but you are right, not the issue at hand. Its hard not to love these sweet little fuzzies and BYC has helped me recently heal one of my little chickies from what I thought was sure death.

Are you able to get your hands on any type of poultry vitamins? If not, can you get hold of some type of children's liquid vitamins? It may not help if it is an illness but sometimes these little guys just need a little boost to help keep them from teetering over the edge.

Have you researched Marek's Disease? I know this can cause problems with eyesight, depression, and the droopy comb which your girl seems to have. You may also see a distinctly smaller pupil in your hen's eye if this was the cause. See if any of this seems to match up with what you've experienced. http://birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/mareks_disease.html

 

[zom23gangte]

Oh dear, I am so sorry. If she was brooding the chicks, and she had a disease, the chances are high that she already spread it to them-- so, no- I don't think you did the chicks any harm by bringing them to her at the end!
Do you have any resources that will test poultry for you? I do not know what you have available in India. If you do, it might be worth having momma hen tested just to see if you are dealing with something infectious.

Yes, please do share as many symptoms as you can think of that your hen had. Even minor things might be a clue, including any problems you've had with any other birds in your flock.

I'm very sorry for your loss. She was a lovely hen!

Thank you very much Nambroth. I've shared everything I know about the incident, will keep you posted if anything comes up. And yes, she was a lovely hen! Fierce and protective of her chicks (I call all of them buttons, cause they looked like button mushrooms when they hatched) like a lioness and elegant in her stride like a queen. She was the queen of our compound, I hope her chicks grow up to be like her and continue the bloodline. It doesn't matter whether she was a purebred, mix or a mutt, She had class!

 

[katbriar]

Is that her normal comb color on those pictures? Looks much darker than what used to seeing.

 

[zom23gangte]

Oh dear, I am so sorry. If she was brooding the chicks, and she had a disease, the chances are high that she already spread it to them-- so, no- I don't think you did the chicks any harm by bringing them to her at the end!
Do you have any resources that will test poultry for you? I do not know what you have available in India. If you do, it might be worth having momma hen tested just to see if you are dealing with something infectious.

Yes, please do share as many symptoms as you can think of that your hen had. Even minor things might be a clue, including any problems you've had with any other birds in your flock.

I'm very sorry for your loss. She was a lovely hen!

Edit: Oops! I see you have already answered my concerns. You have lost cockerels with similar symptoms, then? It sounds like maybe you have something in your flock. For now, check the things that you have control over... such as feed, water. Make sure that the feed is fresh and free of any molds, and that the chickens cannot get into anything unusual. Rotting vegetation, carcasses, and very wet areas can be problematic. Make sure that they can't get into anything that might have lead-- small metallic objects, old paint chips, etc.

If it is a disease, it is hard to diagnose and understand what might be happening without testing (I know you can't get this done where you live). But you can at least take away any problems that might exist in the environment.

Do you think you would feel comfortable examining your hen? If you can stomach it, it might give you some clues, if you find obvious problems such as tumors, etc.

Thanks for the edited version too Nambroth.

I've kept them in 24/7 free roam since the time I acquired them. Initially, I kept them in a shed for three days to get accustomed to the idea of home. After that I let them loose and they never left the compound since. However they prefer to roost on the treetops rather than the shed and I've had no problem since there are no predators that can take them out. When they go broody, they lay on a nest inside the shed and stay there till the hatching begins. I don't think that the problem is with something they ate cause, if it was that, I think the chicks would be the first to go as I presume their immune system would be more vulnerable. I've not introduced anything foreign in our compound since a long time, other than five muscovy ducks that I bought shortly after the chicks hatched (the ducks are fine btw). I'm suspecting Marek's disease too, cause, out here, people usually don't take vaccination seriously and the previous owners may have skipped the process. However, I'm not going to make the same mistake. Is it too late to give them vaccinations and can I vaccinate the other cockerels or are they too old? In short, Is effective vaccination limited by age? Over here, we blame everything on bird flu.

Well, I've heard great things about India but you are right, not the issue at hand. Its hard not to love these sweet little fuzzies and BYC has helped me recently heal one of my little chickies from what I thought was sure death.

Are you able to get your hands on any type of poultry vitamins? If not, can you get hold of some type of children's liquid vitamins? It may not help if it is an illness but sometimes these little guys just need a little boost to help keep them from teetering over the edge.

Have you researched Marek's Disease? I know this can cause problems with eyesight, depression, and the droopy comb which your girl seems to have. You may also see a distinctly smaller pupil in your hen's eye if this was the cause. See if any of this seems to match up with what you've experienced. http://birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/mareks_disease.html

I'm glad you did, it would otherwise have been awkward if you have had a bad experience with India or Indians. I'm Indian but our part of India is different from the India that you may have seen or heard. You'd associate us more with Chinese as we are Mongoloids.

Yes i have poultry specific vitamin B14 (Don't know if that's useful), calcium, and mixed vitamins for better growth. I could also go to the pharmacy and buy other poultry specific vitamins if you can tell me the composition. I believe it's more of the illness that I should be worried about, but hey, It doesn't hurt to be prepared.

Yes, I also think it might be Marek's as I've no information on whether the mother hen was vaccinated or not. Is there even slightly possible for chickens to contract Marek's even after you have administered vaccination or is it one-stop solution for Marek's? I'll read around and keep you posted. Thanks for all the help. I'm trying to be prompt in answering the posts but at the same time, I don't want others to look at my post and go, "R.I.P English Grammar"

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[zom23gangte]

Is that her normal comb color on those pictures? Looks much darker than what used to seeing.

Yes Katbriar, that's her normal comb, It was pretty dark before too so there's no difference there or atleast that's what I tell myself! By the way, the hen can be a mix between any mixed breed and therefore needs to be looked at as far from breed standard specifications as possible. You should see her hubby and the dump he takes, It's out of this world!

 

[Nambroth]

I am using a phone so my response will be short... I will respond more in-depth tomorrow if I am able.
Marek's vaccination only gives chickens a chance to build resistance to the disease. Any chicken that is exposed to Marek's virus will become infected even if it was vaccinated. The vaccine just helps prevent the often lethal symptoms, but is not a guarantee. It is around 90% effective unless dealing with a mutated virus strain.
Sadly the vaccine is dependent on age... Chicks must be vaccinated at hatch, within 36 hours of life and kept in complete isolation from exposure for at least 3 weeks. Vaccination later than 36 hours is not "proper" vaccination and might not help at all. If you think your birds had Marek's disease, your entire flock is exposed already and vaccination now would probably be a waste of money.

 

[Nambroth]

If you want to read more about Marek's, there is a link in my signature that might answer some questions you have. I wish for all the best for your birds! I hope it is something less serious.

 

[zom23gangte]

I am using a phone so my response will be short... I will respond more in-depth tomorrow if I am able.
Marek's vaccination only gives chickens a chance to build resistance to the disease. Any chicken that is exposed to Marek's virus will become infected even if it was vaccinated. The vaccine just helps prevent the often lethal symptoms, but is not a guarantee. It is around 90% effective unless dealing with a mutated virus strain.
Sadly the vaccine is dependent on age... Chicks must be vaccinated at hatch, within 36 hours of life and kept in complete isolation from exposure for at least 3 weeks. Vaccination later than 36 hours is not "proper" vaccination and might not help at all. If you think your birds had Marek's disease, your entire flock is exposed already and vaccination now would probably be a waste of money.

If you want to read more about Marek's, there is a link in my signature that might answer some questions you have. I wish for all the best for your birds! I hope it is something less serious.

I hope it's something less serious too.Thanks for the link and the information. Very well said.

 

[Sarevan]

Yes i have poultry specific vitamin B14 (Don't know if that's useful), calcium, and mixed vitamins for better growth. I could also go to the pharmacy and buy other poultry specific vitamins if you can tell me the composition. I believe it's more of the illness that I should be worried about, but hey, It doesn't hurt to be prepared.

Yes, I also think it might be Marek's as I've no information on whether the mother hen was vaccinated or not. Is there even slightly possible for chickens to contract Marek's even after you have administered vaccination or is it one-stop solution for Marek's? I'll read around and keep you posted. Thanks for all the help. I'm trying to be prompt in answering the posts but at the same time, I don't want others to look at my post and go, "R.I.P English Grammar"   .

Sorry that you lost the Momma hen she was a pretty hen. For the chicks I would get some probiotics to help with the immune system, maybe some apple cider vinegar or vinegar with " the mother" in it to add to the water source for all birds. Tumeric and curcumin (spelling?) are supposed to be good to sprinkle on the feed to help internally too. I give my laying hens some tumeric in a mash once a week and they go nuts for it.

The hen does sound like Mareks but also could be some type of poisoning, botulism? One type of poisoning does make them go blind as it attacks the nervous system. I am sorry I can not remember the name of it. However here is a link that you may find helpful. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/Diseases_Of_Poultry

I wouldn't worry about grammar, I speak bad english and even worse I am fluent in typonese.

 

[zom23gangte]

Thanks for all the suggestions Sarevan, but, I'm sorry to tell you that our whole flock has been wiped out with this disease/virus(?). Only the ducks are still alive. If I bring a new set of chicks to start over, will they be susceptible to whatever happened here, and what can i do to prevent any contamination in the future? I had to burn my flock because they said it was the best method. So, I was busy burning my flock.