1 of my chickens have died and the next is looking ill. Please Help

[harun_tekin1]

Thank you for reading,
Unfortunately one of our hens died almost a month ago, she was a hybrid about 3 and a half years old. Her comb was very pale and she would just stand with her eyes closed not joining in with the other chickens and not eating or drinking.

Another one of our hens of the same age is starting to look ill and i'm starting to get very worried as i really love our flock. When she sits down she is breathing heavily and also seems to stand with her eyes closing and opening slowly. She is eating and drinking normally but seems to just stay around her coop not joining in with other hens when they run around. Perhaps more worryingly she's laying 1 or 2 lash eggs per week.

We're starting to get very worried about her and would love any help.
Thank You

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

I would definitely get her away from the other girls. Are you able to do that?

 

[harun_tekin1]

We should be able to. How long for and what do you think is wrong?

 

[rebrascora]

What do you mean by "lash eggs"? It is unusual to get multiple lash eggs from a hen over the course of a week.
If you really mean Lash eggs (flesh coloured irregular shaped rubbery material with layers like an onion when you cut them in half), these usually indicate an infection of the oviduct (salpingitis) which requires early treatment with antibiotics, but often by the time you become aware of the problem it is too far progressed.
Can you examine her and particularly check her abdomen by cupping your hand and feeling between her legs and below her vent for any swelling? Compare with a healthy chicken..... easiest done by checking one after the other whilst they are roosting at night. Is she soiling her feathers below her vent? What does her poop look like? It might be helpful to separate her so that you can assess her food and water intake and perhaps get a photo of her poop but I would not isolate her from her flock mates so a cage in the run is an ideal compromise as long as she is protected from the elements.... ie doesn't get baked in the sun or soaked in the rain. If you can come back to us with more info regarding the above queries we can take it from there.

 

[harun_tekin1]

Thanks for getting back to me it's a real help.
The area around her vent is extremely swollen and there are no feathers in that area. That may be why she isn't running, it maybe hard to do so or painful. It may be hard to keep her with the flock while separating her as they are fully free range and there's only 4 of them but as far as I can tell when watching her she seems to be eating and drinking absolutely fine. Also her comb is fine and her head and tail are up, not much like the previous ill chicken. The feathers below her vent are dirty with some faeces. She is dust-bathing in the hot weather a lot as well so there's soil there.

 

[rebrascora]

Oh dear, that is not good. Try not to tip her on her side or back as that will put a big strain on her lungs. You would be well advised to give her a sitz bath in warm Epsom Salts solution and clean that caked poop off and trim the feathers and apply a fly repellent salve (horse wound salve is good) to the skin to sooth it and prevent more poop from sticking. If flies lay their eggs into that poop as often happens at this time of year, the maggots that hatch out will eat into her body cavity and you will have an horrendous flystrike situation to deal with. Sadly, even without fly strike, sooner or later that abdominal swelling will be the death of her. If you have the funds for a veterinary visit, a hormonal implant every 3-6 months might prevent it getting worse and it may improve slightly but they run at $100-150 a time which is beyond most people's finances for a chicken and it will not cure her, just buy her time and she is unlikely to ever lay eggs again. I know I certainly couldn't afford it. Keeping her in the dark until lunchtime each day might help to trigger her to moult and stop ovulating and that might buy her a little time too or even get her through the winter if you are really lucky, but once she starts ovulating after her moult, the swelling will almost certainly start to increase again until either she ruptures or it blocks her gut and she can no longer poop and she will die of toxic shock or heart failure or possibly respiratory failure. That swelling will already be putting pressure on her air sacs and making breathing more difficult. She may have a matter of weeks or possibly a few months if she is lucky but these reproductive ailments almost always prove fatal in the end. It is the price these high production birds pay for being such prolific layers.... there system gets worn out and malfunctions or infections set in.

I'm sorry to paint such a bleak prospect for her but if you do some research on salpingitis, you will understand the gravity of the situation.

 

[harun_tekin1]

Thank You for helping and sorry you had to know about it.