Please help! I believe a bacterial infection is killing my girls!

[Ribh]

Firstly I'm so sorry. I lost 2 hens in 2 weeks out of a flock of 12 & it was devastating. No reason. Secondly, chickens up & die for no discernable reason. That is the harsh reality of chicken keeping.
Thirdly I am assuming you have totally cleaned out your coop & disinfected; checked there is no fungus or mold in their feed; checked for lice & mites on your remaining girl & wormed. Having done that I would personally consider adding another chook despite the risks. Chooks are social birds. Your girl will pine without a flock. It will also help you recover too.

 

[kraftykrow]

Firstly I'm so sorry. I lost 2 hens in 2 weeks out of a flock of 12 & it was devastating. No reason. Secondly, chickens up & die for no discernable reason. That is the harsh reality of chicken keeping.
Thirdly I am assuming you have totally cleaned out your coop & disinfected; checked there is no fungus or mold in their feed; checked for lice & mites on your remaining girl & wormed. Having done that I would personally consider adding another chook despite the risks. Chooks are social birds. Your girl will pine without a flock. It will also help you recover too.

We completely cleaned it all out when the first one died. Used a mite spray but can you suggest a good disinfectant? We are going to do the same but it didnt seem to change anything. Thought it was 15 days between deaths. Idk how much longer I should wait for the 3rd. My chicken raising friend said to give her .5 ccs of penicillin for 5 days but he said he isnt a vet so I could be doing it for nothing.

My biggest fear is just repeating the cycle of getting 2 new chickens, two die from catching whatever it is killing them, have to get more so the remaining one isnt lonely and meanwhile getting attached to each one to see them die.

 

[kraftykrow]

Sorry I have no advice but yes, don't beat yourself up over it. You obviously tried your best and sometimes bad things just happen. They had a great life while it lasted, certainly better than they would have had in a huge production facility!

Thank you for the support. It feels nice to have ppl who understand to talk to and seek advice from. I really hope their short lives were blissful up to the end. Now I just worry about this one being sad until she passes, which could be any day from what it seems

 

[Sequel]

Thank you for the support. It feels nice to have ppl who understand to talk to and seek advice from. I really hope their short lives were blissful up to the end. Now I just worry about this one being sad until she passes, which could be any day from what it seems

I’ve read on here that sometimes people give an isolated chicken a stuffed animal for comfort. Do you have any Beanie babies or something?

 

[kraftykrow]

I’ve read on here that sometimes people give an isolated chicken a stuffed animal for comfort. Do you have any Beanie babies or something?

I could maybe come up with something. I've thought about playing a radio or getting a mirror or some other trick used for pet birds.

 

[kraftykrow]

So this is what the last girl's poop looked like yesterday. But she also has normal stool too. Can anyone tell anything from this?

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens can have cecal poops which appear like runny smelly and shiny pudding or syrup—that looks like one, although a little more runny.

I would not treat with penicillin if she is not showing any signs of illness. I would try to find a couple of more hens to put her with. Waiting for her to suddenly show illness or die without any symptoms is not necessary. Look her over for any crop problem early in the morning before she eats when the crop should feel empty and flat. I vote to get more hens asap, or soon. There is always a risk when bringing in chickens from another place, but just check them and ask about any illness in the flock.

 

[kraftykrow]

Chickens can have cecal poops which appear like runny smelly and shiny pudding or syrup—that looks like one, although a little more runny.

I would not treat with penicillin if she is not showing any signs of illness. I would try to find a couple of more hens to put her with. Waiting for her to suddenly show illness or die without any symptoms is not necessary. Look her over for any crop problem early in the morning before she eats when the crop should feel empty and flat. I vote to get more hens asap, or soon. There is always a risk when bringing in chickens from another place, but just check them and ask about any illness in the flock.

It took 15 days before the second one died and there wasn't any signs of it until she was weak. I'm just worried if I get two more, then they'll all get it and I'll get down to one chicken and have to repeat the process. I have nowhere I can quarantine separate. Maybe if I wait a week and she's still ok then get new hens?

Would also have the issue that getting any full grown hens around where I am would come from local farms where they most likely would not be vaccinated for anything. The three I had were purchased online at 16 weeks old.

 

[Eggcessive]

That would work to wait another week. We never know when a chicken will get sick and die. Sometimes they show signs that we may not recognize right away until too late. They are very stoic, and may be in pain, but not show it. I lost two 7-8 year old hens in the last month very suddenly. One was very poofy with a ton of healthy feathers, but when I found her, she was skin and bones. The other had not been eating very well for a time, but was active. Hopefully, your hen is fine, and she will enjoy some company. This time apof year, many breeders are looking to thin out their flocks for winter, so I would check around your area, and maybe post on your state thread.

 

[kraftykrow]

That would work to wait another week. We never know when a chicken will get sick and die. Sometimes they show signs that we may not recognize right away until too late. They are very stoic, and may be in pain, but not show it. I lost two 7-8 year old hens in the last month very suddenly. One was very poofy with a ton of healthy feathers, but when I found her, she was skin and bones. The other had not been eating very well for a time, but was active. Hopefully, your hen is fine, and she will enjoy some company. This time apof year, many breeders are looking to thin out their flocks for winter, so I would check around your area, and maybe post on your state thread.

I've found someone who is willing to sell me some 6 month old Barred Rocks, but I'm still afraid I'll spend the time and money and then a few days or weeks later my girl dies and now the new ones have it and they die too. Waste of time, money, and heart. Not sure how to even prevent this in the future. Seems like no matter what I do I'm gambling. Even if it isn't doing anything, I have 3 needles left and will go ahead and give Henocide .5 ccs over the next few days. That's just what my friend advice anyway. Looking at Henocide she looks and acts great, but then so did the others. Doesn't look like I can get any vet help unless I want to drive an hour to the nearest city and give them $300 ><