Just want to thank you for your help last month, around the 8th of Dec. I had a hen that died and was wondering if it was cocci.
You recommended not treating and doing a necropsy. We had it done and it was really helpful- turns out our hen died of eating insulation. She got on top of the nest boxes- normally blocked off with a slanted roof (my husband had removed it for repair) and pecked at the insulation that sticks out at the top of the double wall. (blocked off and fixed now.)
We just lost another hen this week. This time we think to disease. I popped on to read your advice to other owners. I think another necropsy is in order. She seemed to die a slower death. Cocci might be a possibility--but I looked at the poop chart from
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=17568
and all the poop we see in the house looks good, nothing looks like the cocci poop.
She was a Plymouth Barred Rock who was 1.5 years old. She might have been the one who twice I repaired a prolapse on last Feb. We went to look for her when she didn't go in Monday night- we found her huddled under the house. We brought her into the kitchen and cared for her for two days before she died. She wouldn't eat or drink. We feed and watered her with an eye dropper. Right before she died she couldn't stand. Her legs just gave out. She popped very little. We had to clean the little off of her as it was sticking to her feathers. Basically we just prolonged her death. She was probably a short time from death when we found her. My oldest was giving her water and holding her when she threw herself to the ground and died. She had very anemic looking waddles. The color of her skin on her face didn't look right. She was very puffy even in our house so we could tell she was chilled, even with the cage on our radiant heated floor with a deep hay bed in the cage.
The last necropsy was done by the science teacher where my husband teaches. I need to call her and as if she would teach me how to do it. Right now the temps are well below 15 degrees all the time so the dead hen is well frozen.
Right now we are praying to not lose anymore as we are now up to 13 losses from our original 26. (8 fox, 1 weasel/ermine, 1 hawk, 1 at 3 days, 1 eating insulation and now the most recent death.)
You recommended not treating and doing a necropsy. We had it done and it was really helpful- turns out our hen died of eating insulation. She got on top of the nest boxes- normally blocked off with a slanted roof (my husband had removed it for repair) and pecked at the insulation that sticks out at the top of the double wall. (blocked off and fixed now.)
We just lost another hen this week. This time we think to disease. I popped on to read your advice to other owners. I think another necropsy is in order. She seemed to die a slower death. Cocci might be a possibility--but I looked at the poop chart from
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=17568
and all the poop we see in the house looks good, nothing looks like the cocci poop.
She was a Plymouth Barred Rock who was 1.5 years old. She might have been the one who twice I repaired a prolapse on last Feb. We went to look for her when she didn't go in Monday night- we found her huddled under the house. We brought her into the kitchen and cared for her for two days before she died. She wouldn't eat or drink. We feed and watered her with an eye dropper. Right before she died she couldn't stand. Her legs just gave out. She popped very little. We had to clean the little off of her as it was sticking to her feathers. Basically we just prolonged her death. She was probably a short time from death when we found her. My oldest was giving her water and holding her when she threw herself to the ground and died. She had very anemic looking waddles. The color of her skin on her face didn't look right. She was very puffy even in our house so we could tell she was chilled, even with the cage on our radiant heated floor with a deep hay bed in the cage.
The last necropsy was done by the science teacher where my husband teaches. I need to call her and as if she would teach me how to do it. Right now the temps are well below 15 degrees all the time so the dead hen is well frozen.
Right now we are praying to not lose anymore as we are now up to 13 losses from our original 26. (8 fox, 1 weasel/ermine, 1 hawk, 1 at 3 days, 1 eating insulation and now the most recent death.)
