All my chickens are dying! Help?!

Date sort Score sort
mickyc said:
Symptoms: limp, motionless
Feed daily one scoop of either crumb feed or corn feed
Grit from the soil, no oyster shell
No supplements
I don't know about immunisations?
Click to expand...

It sounds like it was probably Marek's. Another thing they can get is known as "Limberneck", which is really botulism that is often caused by eating carrion fly larvae.

Double bag the last biddy and put her in the refrigerator in a disposable aluminum tray so her fluids cannot possibly contact any food. Wear rubber gloves when handling her in case she died of something that can infect people and either dispose of the gloves or soak them in bleach afterwards. Contact extension as early Monday morning as you can and find out where your state agricultural laboratory that does chicken necropsies is, and send her there - the lab will tell you how to package her so she is preserved in transit. In most states the necropsy is free or less than $25 for small flock holders because small flocks are seen as "sentinels" that warn of diseases that may be loose in an area.

If these were layers, they need laying chow and oyster shell available to them at all times, this is also known as "free choice" feeding. There are a number of deficiencies - and heavy metal and other toxins - that can also cause similar symptoms. Did they appear to do the splits before dying? If they did, it's pretty clearly Marek's.

In most parts of the country it is a really good idea to only obtain chicks that have been immunized for Marek's. Some people have good luck putting in a sacrificial turkey poult with the chicks as soon as they are hatched and raising them together (turkeys carry a virus closely related to Marek's that confers some degree of immunity to Marek's in chickens infected with the turkey virus; the turkey poult is likely to contract blackhead or another disease from the chicks, though.)
 
I guess in Ireland it would be your provincial or national agricultural laboratory. I don't know what you have instead of extension, but whatever agency handles farming questions should be able to help.
 
Welcome to BYC!
frow.gif
Happy you joined us! And Merry Christmas!
 
Welcome to BYC!

So sorry about your chickens :(

I agree with The Yakima Kid, sounds like mereks or nutritional. Too much or too little of certain nutrients can be very hard to tell until its too late.

So sorry again about your flock </3
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom