Hello,
Please let me know if you're able to help diagnose my bird who we just put down this AM. I'm new to having laying hens as of this summer so am still learning a lot.
1) Isa Brown sexlink- I got her from someone else & I think they said she was born spring 2010. So, 20? mos old. got her along w/12 of her flock-mates from a friend who was moving. She appeared normal size compared to her 'siblings,' ?4#?
2) Found her standing under coop 1 night at roosting time after not coming into the roost. It had rained that day & I don't know how long she'd been under the coop. I put her in the coop on a bed of hay that night. The next night set up 100watt 'heat' lamp ~8-12" above her & she didn't move much at all for the next several days. She didn't seem to want to stand anymore & tried to use her feathers to balance her but they also appeared weak. She would eat treats & some of her normal pellets when I would put them near her but she was clearly losing weight & only in a matter of. She had green poop but I didn't look real close to see if there were worms in it. She had a urine-type odor to her. I did not feel an egg when I palpated her belly.
Had breathing difficulty- almost gurgling. Gave her tetracycline in H20 daily; had to give by syringe til I discovered she'd eat it on a piece of warm bread. Eyes would close when she was laying there & she was just very weak. Would sometimes sit there as if she was in the nesting box but today when I moved her she laid on her side & closed her eyes like she was going to die at any time.
3) Symptoms lasted just a few days, a few of those she seemed the same- didn't seem to respond to antibiotics.
4) Had another bird (same type of bird) die a couple of wks ago. No warning so unable to determine if symptoms are related.
5) No obvious signs of trauma: did range of motion for her legs & they seemed OK. No bleeding or other trauma I could tell.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Could she have gotten a chill from being in the rain? She wasn't wet but her feet were standing on the cold ground. Could have been there a couple of hours as I didn't notice it til I did the nightly roll-call. Could it be their feed? I seem to have 1 bird die every month or 2. I acquired all of my (max 24) birds from 4 different flocks & they all seem OK except for the occasional one that dies. Wondering if this is normal ratio.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She seemed very hungry when I would hold food up to her, and that was the only time she'd eat. She would take only a few bites & ate yogurt, bread, normal scratch/pellets
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Green, runny, odd, not formed like it should be.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
heat lamp, Tetracycline once daily for 4 days. Yogurt with extra probiotics several hours after she had the antibiotic so they didn't cancel each other out.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
housing prior to use includes 2 roosting areas that she could choose which to sleep on (each area 8x4). 6 nesting boxes, 19 other layers. bedding is a mix of pine shavings & sawdust. Outside run 8x36' which includes 1/2 of that under the shed for running area. Free range 2-3x/week for 3-4 hours each time.
Add'l info:
I put organic ACV in their water (1T) most of the time & sometimes probiotics. All of my birds but a few have a nice fluffy vent area- the ones that aren't fluffy still lay regularly.
Please let me know if you're able to help diagnose my bird who we just put down this AM. I'm new to having laying hens as of this summer so am still learning a lot.
1) Isa Brown sexlink- I got her from someone else & I think they said she was born spring 2010. So, 20? mos old. got her along w/12 of her flock-mates from a friend who was moving. She appeared normal size compared to her 'siblings,' ?4#?
2) Found her standing under coop 1 night at roosting time after not coming into the roost. It had rained that day & I don't know how long she'd been under the coop. I put her in the coop on a bed of hay that night. The next night set up 100watt 'heat' lamp ~8-12" above her & she didn't move much at all for the next several days. She didn't seem to want to stand anymore & tried to use her feathers to balance her but they also appeared weak. She would eat treats & some of her normal pellets when I would put them near her but she was clearly losing weight & only in a matter of. She had green poop but I didn't look real close to see if there were worms in it. She had a urine-type odor to her. I did not feel an egg when I palpated her belly.
Had breathing difficulty- almost gurgling. Gave her tetracycline in H20 daily; had to give by syringe til I discovered she'd eat it on a piece of warm bread. Eyes would close when she was laying there & she was just very weak. Would sometimes sit there as if she was in the nesting box but today when I moved her she laid on her side & closed her eyes like she was going to die at any time.
3) Symptoms lasted just a few days, a few of those she seemed the same- didn't seem to respond to antibiotics.
4) Had another bird (same type of bird) die a couple of wks ago. No warning so unable to determine if symptoms are related.
5) No obvious signs of trauma: did range of motion for her legs & they seemed OK. No bleeding or other trauma I could tell.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Could she have gotten a chill from being in the rain? She wasn't wet but her feet were standing on the cold ground. Could have been there a couple of hours as I didn't notice it til I did the nightly roll-call. Could it be their feed? I seem to have 1 bird die every month or 2. I acquired all of my (max 24) birds from 4 different flocks & they all seem OK except for the occasional one that dies. Wondering if this is normal ratio.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She seemed very hungry when I would hold food up to her, and that was the only time she'd eat. She would take only a few bites & ate yogurt, bread, normal scratch/pellets
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Green, runny, odd, not formed like it should be.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
heat lamp, Tetracycline once daily for 4 days. Yogurt with extra probiotics several hours after she had the antibiotic so they didn't cancel each other out.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
housing prior to use includes 2 roosting areas that she could choose which to sleep on (each area 8x4). 6 nesting boxes, 19 other layers. bedding is a mix of pine shavings & sawdust. Outside run 8x36' which includes 1/2 of that under the shed for running area. Free range 2-3x/week for 3-4 hours each time.
Add'l info:
I put organic ACV in their water (1T) most of the time & sometimes probiotics. All of my birds but a few have a nice fluffy vent area- the ones that aren't fluffy still lay regularly.
