3 out of 4 hens dead...what do I do with the last one?

[frogz]

Recently, two of my 8 week old pullets died over night. I had no idea what was wrong since they hadn't been sick. Then last night another one died. So now I have one lonely hen. I have chicks in my brooder but they are too small to be outside with the lone hen. I would get a few new pullets her age but I understand its important to quarantine the new ones before introducing them. BUT at this point would it matter? My hen is definitely lonely and I don't want her to suffer. However, I'm also a little concerned that whatever killed the other three is still there and will kill any new hens. Any advice?

 

[countrygoddess]

Definitely quarantine. Yes, she's lonely, but biosecurity is VERY important. What if you were to put a mirror in with her so she thinks she has a roommate?

 

[frogz]

Ok bleach and a mirror are on my shopping list. Maybe ill put a stuffed animal in with her too. I remember when my older dog was a puppy we put a stuffed animal, a hot water bottle, and a old watch with her to make her believe there was another dog sleeping with her at night. >> she came from a very large litter and was very upset the first night away from her first home.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your losses... If you lose more, you should get a necropsy done.

http://vetmed.illinois.edu/vdl/
http://www.agr.state.il.us/AnimalHW/labs/

-Kathy

 

[realsis]

so sorry for your losses! did they display ANY symptoms before they died? is there anything outside that they could have ate to make them sick? hope your last bird does well keep us posted.

 

[frogz]

I have three theories: 1) we have a patch a lilies of the valleys close to my coop 2) gnats 3) it's possibly too cold at night for the little 8 week olds. I'm going to move my coop, put out some vanilla to deter gnats, put In some more bedding, and before moving the lonely girl in I'm going to clean out the entire coop with a bleach solution

 

[sn0wwhite]

Hi Frogz,

I'm sorry for your loss. My chickens haven't arrived yet, but I read your concern about gnats. I do get gnats in my yard, so can you tell me more about what you do with vanilla? Do you just put some in a dish or spray it around? Does it matter if it's natural or imitation?

 

[frogz]

Vanilla, and other aromatics, deter gnats and other bugs. I read about putting some on the chicken's head during the day and spritzing the coop with it. You can use skin so soft, tiki torches, a lot of different herb derivatives, and I've once heard of using marigolds. Basically, you can use whatever you've heard other people use on themselves. Maybe ill buy some bug netting to put around my coop

 

[sn0wwhite]

Thank you. Spritzing sounds easiest, but I guess I'll see. Thanks for the tip!

 

[frogz]

We are now almost certain the cause of death was due to gnats. One of our dogs has developed bites all over her legs that look like gnat bites. We stapled some bug screening on the coop and run and spritzed some vanilla around and on the chicken. I hope it works. Our poor little pup is just going to have to be on the porch or house except for potty breaks until the gnats go away. I hope this storm coming in kills all the gnats. Thanks for all the concerns