Avian Flu Near Me

[pinewoodacres]

URGENT UPDATE:
One of my Australorp hens (3-4 years) suddenly died today, no known cause of dead he comb was purple and she was still warm when I found her, she seemed to have a liquidy stomach and was oozing some out of her rear. Just half an hour ago I noticed one of my bantams not doing good, her comb is turning purple. I’ve had a few soft shelled eggs recently but I though that may have been a nutrient deficiency. I am isolating my bantam. I want to call my state AG department to get them tested but I’m concerned they will kill off my flock if tested positive. This morning did have a sudden change to around 40 degrees but it warmed up later on. What should I do? Is there anything I can do to help prevent the extermination of my flock?

The comb will go darker/purplish when they die and it isn’t necessarily related to cause of death.

I will personally never get mine tested and will do my best to narrow things down on my own at least. The state WILL come back to investigate more (at least here in FL) and they CAN destroy your entire flock if they think it’s necessary. I’m not letting that happen. Deadly contagions burn themselves out pretty quickly and the ones that last are ones many can fight off. Illness and disease are endemic in backyard flocks at this point.

____

All in all, things happen and just like with humans, we can only do so much to prevent illness. All the overly cautious “preventive” measures are making for birds that are not robust. Give them good feed (balanced nutrients/vitamins), keep clean water available, let them exercise, let them get sun and fresh air, clean the enclosed areas so they’re not sitting in and breathing their own excrement. That’s really all you can do. You’re giving their bodies what they need and decreasing stress levels.

I’ve had my own losses but I see it as part of raising chickens. I worry as much as is necessary to investigate and spur any action I need to take. But I’m not putting my birds in an enclosed area to prevent them from being exposed to wild birds. That’s just as bad for them, maybe worse!

I do have “chicken shoes” that I do not wear off my property for bio security reasons and those are the only shoes I wear in their run/coop, but I’m not disinfecting my entire life to try to prevent things. It’s not practical and it sounds really stressful.

 

[Daveed Grier]

The comb will go darker/purplish when they die and it isn’t necessarily related to cause of death.

I will personally never get mine tested and will do my best to narrow things down on my own at least. The state WILL come back to investigate more (at least here in FL) and they CAN destroy your entire flock if they think it’s necessary. I’m not letting that happen. Deadly contagions burn themselves out pretty quickly and the ones that last are ones many can fight off. Illness and disease are endemic in backyard flocks at this point.

____

All in all, things happen and just like with humans, we can only do so much to prevent illness. All the overly cautious “preventive” measures are making for birds that are not robust. Give them good feed (balanced nutrients/vitamins), keep clean water available, let them exercise, let them get sun and fresh air, clean the enclosed areas so they’re not sitting in and breathing their own excrement. That’s really all you can do. You’re giving their bodies what they need and decreasing stress levels.

I’ve had my own losses but I see it as part of raising chickens. I worry as much as is necessary to investigate and spur any action I need to take. But I’m not putting my birds in an enclosed area to prevent them from being exposed to wild birds. That’s just as bad for them, maybe worse!

I do have “chicken shoes” that I do not wear off my property for bio security reasons and those are the only shoes I wear in their run/coop, but I’m not disinfecting my entire life to try to prevent things. It’s not practical and it sounds really stressful.

I haven’t really taken any preventative measures other than isolating those sick and not feeding my wild birds. I have 5 ducks who often range with my chickens. Should I keep them in their separate area or should they still be allowed to range together? I also have a baby pool the ducks use but I don’t think my chickens drink out if it. At this point I’m trying tk do all I can to prevent the virus or my state AG department from claiming my whole flock. I have around 20 babies (3-7 weeks old) the oldest bunch of 11 are in a nursery wind right next ti my main coop and the other 9 I keep in a separate cage and I put them out on the grass each day. I have a handful of chickens (including my two roosters) who will come into the backyard and some on my deck. Is there anything I should do to hem the spread of the virus?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

URGENT UPDATE:
One of my Australorp hens (3-4 years) suddenly died today, no known cause of dead he comb was purple and she was still warm when I found her, she seemed to have a liquidy stomach and was oozing some out of her rear. Just half an hour ago I noticed one of my bantams not doing good, her comb is turning purple. I’ve had a few soft shelled eggs recently but I though that may have been a nutrient deficiency. I am isolating my bantam. I want to call my state AG department to get them tested but I’m concerned they will kill off my flock if tested positive. This morning did have a sudden change to around 40 degrees but it warmed up later on. What should I do? Is there anything I can do to help prevent the extermination of my flock?

Where are you located @Daveed Grier it'd be a good idea to start your own thread in the emergencies section of BYC. In your thread please share more details. What do you feed (treats included)? Have they been laying normally? Have you checked crop function, in the morning before they've had anything to eat or drink? Have you administered a dewormer? Have you checked for lice and/or mites (well after dark go out and using a headlamp, check under their feathers around their vents, under wings, and necks for anything teeny tiny crawling around). Are these hens lightweight whenever you pick them up, like they've lost weight recently? There are so many possibilities, other than the bird flu. You will have many more deceased birds if you have h5n1 in your flock. Let's hope that's not the case because so many other things can cause what you're describing.

 

[Daveed Grier]

Where are you located @Daveed Grier it'd be a good idea to start your own thread in the emergencies section of BYC. In your thread please share more details. What do you feed (treats included)? Have they been laying normally? Have you checked crop function, in the morning before they've had anything to eat or drink? Have you administered a dewormer? Have you checked for lice and/or mites (well after dark go out and using a headlamp, check under their feathers around their vents, under wings, and necks for anything teeny tiny crawling around). Are these hens lightweight whenever you pick them up, like they've lost weight recently? There are so many possibilities

I am located mid Virginia. This is in fact my own thread in emergencies, I give them an organic chicken feed (I do not have the name at the moment) and for my friendliest chickens I will give them mealworms. My dead australorp had mites crawling on her face and only on her face, my other hens are clear. I do not give them a dewormer my dead hen did not seem to have lost weight, she was behind my compost which is about 6-7 ft tall and they often fly down I had initially thought that she may have tumbled down and broken something, either that or Avian flu. I don’t often check their crops no. My sick hen has diarrhea with a slight yellowish color.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I am located mid Virginia. This is in fact my own thread in emergencies, I give them an organic chicken feed (I do not have the name at the moment) and for my friendliest chickens I will give them mealworms. My dead australorp had mites crawling on her face and only on her face, my other hens are clear. I do not give them a dewormer my dead hen did not seem to have lost weight, she was behind my compost which is about 6-7 ft tall and they often fly down I had initially thought that she may have tumbled down and broken something, either that or Avian flu. I don’t often check their crops no. My sick hen has diarrhea with a slight yellowish color.

There are a few threads with similar titles, so please accept my apologies in the mixup.
I'm so sorry about your hen that died. I really hope you don't lose your other hen that's not feeling well. I'm currently treating one of my hens that's been unwell for a couple of weeks, so I can certainly sympathize with you Without a necropsy, it will be a guess for the most part when it comes to the reason your Australorp died. If you start losing a lot of birds quickly (like in the next couple of days), all with similar signs, you could narrow down the possibilities. Do you feed layer feed or do you have a calcium option available at all times? Has the Australorp been laying? What about the hen that's unwell. Any chance you know if the unwell hen has anything in her crop?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

It looks like @Wyorp Rock is active. Hopefully she can chime in to offer her very knowledgeable thoughts

 

[Daveed Grier]

There are a few threads with similar titles, so please accept my apologies in the mixup.
I'm so sorry about your hen that died. I really hope you don't lose your other hen that's not feeling well. I'm currently treating one of my hens that's been unwell for a couple of weeks, so I can certainly sympathize with you Without a necropsy, it will be a guess for the most part when it comes to the reason your Australorp died. If you start losing a lot of birds quickly (like in the next couple of days), all with similar signs, you could narrow down the possibilities. Do you feed layer feed or do you have a calcium option available at all times? Has the Australorp been laying? What about the hen that's unwell. Any chance you know if the unwell hen has anything in her crop?

I give them layer feed but seeing as I am almost out and will be buying more soon I may get a bag of the calcium option. I’m getting so many eggs on a daily basis it would be hard to tell whether or not she was laying, I may have seen her laying but she has a near identical twin (still alive) who may have also been laying at the time. I will check my unwell chickens crop in the morning assuming she is still alive. I’m praying this is some other cause than the flu as my neighbor just hatched new ducklings and three other neighbors close by have chickens and if my flock has it then there is a good chance that my neighbors have it (all of our properties are in a very close proximity of each other.) I have also been caring for said ducklings while my neighbor was out of town and I have not been cleaning my boots and I hope I didn’t transfer the disease.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I give them layer feed but seeing as I am almost out and will be buying more soon I may get a bag of the calcium option. I’m getting so many eggs on a daily basis it would be hard to tell whether or not she was laying, I may have seen her laying but she has a near identical twin (still alive) who may have also been laying at the time. I will check my unwell chickens crop in the morning assuming she is still alive. I’m praying this is some other cause than the flu as my neighbor just hatched new ducklings and three other neighbors close by have chickens and if my flock has it then there is a good chance that my neighbors have it (all of our properties are in a very close proximity of each other.) I have also been caring for said ducklings while my neighbor was out of town and I have not been cleaning my boots and I hope I didn’t transfer the disease.

That makes sense. It's easy to get who laid what mixed up when you have multiple hens that lay similar eggs, many of us understand. You said your Australorp hen wasn't acting any different before you found her body? I hope your other hen makes it through the night and survives whatever is going on. You're welcome to call you local Ag office if you want your flock to be tested, but if I was in your shoes, I would hold off on calling them right now. If you go out in the morning and have several other birds that have died with no obvious injuries from a predator, and many others that seem to be on the brink of death, then I'd consider calling. Here's hoping you won't need to call. Please keep us updated. Your flock, you and your family will be in my thoughts


Another side note: there's nothing in or around the compost that could make them sick, right? Just grasping at straws trying to help you figure out what's going on

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One of my Australorp hens (3-4 years) suddenly died today, no known cause of dead he comb was purple and she was still warm when I found her, she seemed to have a liquidy stomach and was oozing some out of her rear. Just half an hour ago I noticed one of my bantams not doing good, her comb is turning purple and she has yellowish diarrhea.

My dead australorp had mites crawling on her face and only on her face, my other hens are clear. I do not give them a dewormer my dead hen did not seem to have lost weight, she was behind my compost

I'm sorry about your hen.

What's in the compost?

The only way to know why she died would be to have a necropsy. Refrigerate the body and call your state lab and make arrangements to have some testing. You can find it in this link https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Finding mites on her, I would definitely investigate their housing once it's dark. Go out there with a flashlight and inspect your birds, look around the vent and under the wings. Take a white paper towel and rub along the roosting bars too. See if you get any bugs or red smears on the paper.

I understand there's cause for concern about serious disease, but there's so many illnesses and conditions that can affect poultry, there is no need to get into a panic until you find out more.

Get a fecal float to see if worms are part of the problem. Look for lice/mites. Inspect that compost...many a chicken have become ill digging through compost. You may want to investigate that further to see if the compost is moldy, if there's a lot or rotten material and it needs to be blocked off.

 

[chicknmania]

URGENT UPDATE:
One of my Australorp hens (3-4 years) suddenly died today, no known cause of dead he comb was purple and she was still warm when I found her, she seemed to have a liquidy stomach and was oozing some out of her rear. Just half an hour ago I noticed one of my bantams not doing good, her comb is turning purple and she has yellowish diarrhea. I’ve had a few soft shelled eggs recently but I though that may have been a nutrient deficiency. I am isolating my bantam. I want to call my state AG department to get them tested but I’m concerned they will kill off my flock if tested positive. This morning did have a sudden change to around 40 degrees but it warmed up later on. What should I do? Is there anything I can do to help prevent the extermination of my flock?

What State are you in? Please let us know how this turns out! I hope it
is something cureable. Prayers.