ihatedarkroast
Songster
I've never had any of my chickens get sick like this before. But, I lost a hen named Marie last week. She was a very sweet girl, my only girl who laid a nice dark brown egg, and my mama chicken who hatched and raised generations of chicks and ducklings for me. We had her for 4.5 years. I'm so sad!
Her symptoms were green diarrhea, straining, and lethargy. I tried a warm epsom bath soak, and massaging her in case she was egg bound. She died right after her bath. I think she was too weak to handle the stress of soaking all that poop off her. (And my super loud kids who were trying to help mommy and the chicken.)
A couple days later, one of my roosters started acting lethargic and panting. I've isolated him in a crate with food and water. I noticed his poop is chalky white, runny with a hint of green. I'm going to get some Corid from the farm store tomorrow, and see if it helps, in case the flock has coccidiosis.
The problem is, the chicken coop is built at the base of a hill, so a heavy rain will flood the coop from time to time. I put shavings in it. It didn't used to be so bad, but we cleared some trees and brush on the hillside. Apparently they were keeping the coop from flooding when it rained. Plus, the ducks have turned the yard into a mudpit where their baby pools are. The coop's yard also has been pretty soggy lately, as it's been an unusually cold an wet winter.
So I'm racking my brains trying to think what to do. Do I try a sandy floor? Do I tarp the run? Do we try to build a new coop in a drier location? Do I need to separate the chickens from the ducks and give each their own space? (they typically free-range)
Her symptoms were green diarrhea, straining, and lethargy. I tried a warm epsom bath soak, and massaging her in case she was egg bound. She died right after her bath. I think she was too weak to handle the stress of soaking all that poop off her. (And my super loud kids who were trying to help mommy and the chicken.)
A couple days later, one of my roosters started acting lethargic and panting. I've isolated him in a crate with food and water. I noticed his poop is chalky white, runny with a hint of green. I'm going to get some Corid from the farm store tomorrow, and see if it helps, in case the flock has coccidiosis.
The problem is, the chicken coop is built at the base of a hill, so a heavy rain will flood the coop from time to time. I put shavings in it. It didn't used to be so bad, but we cleared some trees and brush on the hillside. Apparently they were keeping the coop from flooding when it rained. Plus, the ducks have turned the yard into a mudpit where their baby pools are. The coop's yard also has been pretty soggy lately, as it's been an unusually cold an wet winter.
So I'm racking my brains trying to think what to do. Do I try a sandy floor? Do I tarp the run? Do we try to build a new coop in a drier location? Do I need to separate the chickens from the ducks and give each their own space? (they typically free-range)
