Barred Rock suddenly died

[MrsBeatrice]

Ellie Mae was only 22 weeks old and had just started laying last week. Perfect eggs, I've got to say. She was the most outgoing and interesting, and had even started coming when called. She roosted with 2 buff orpingtons, a red sexed and a silky- all of which were 2 weeks younger. Until today she was acting normal and spunky.
This morning she was herself. I left at 10am for work, and by the time I got home at 5 she was a wreck. She didn't greet me at the gate, so I was worried. I found her in a dirt bed she'd made on the shaded side of the house. The other chickens were wandering without her. I picked her up and she was floppy and lethargic. Droopy head, and very hot. I brought her inside for some A/C and after a minute she drank some blueberry water off of my finger.

A search of the yard yielded no eggs, making me think she was egg bound. I donned the requisite glove and Vaseline, but to no avail. I saw yellow (yolk, maybe?) around her vent, and hoping it had broken I gave her a warm bath for her tush. That didn't help and she hates being wet. With my wet hen, I sat on the sofa to rest.

She started drooling profusely when I was holding her. I thought it was vomit, but apparently chickens can't do that. (good to know).

The drooling freaked me out and I took her to the vet. She was immediately put on an ice bed and oxygen. Her temperature was 108.5 and she had labored breathing. Doc said there was no evidence of egg either bound or broken, so we decided to try anti inflammatories and antibiotics. She stayed at the vet's for two more hours in the oxygen tank before finally giving up.

I'm not sure if the warm bath hurt her, but based on symptoms she was exhibiting I thought it was an egg. As a caution to others, I say just go straight to the vet. Dr still isn't sure if it was heatstroke, egg problems, food poisoning, or injury, but he said it wasn't contageous. I'll be keeping a close eye on the others.

I wish I hadn't wasted that hour, but I'm glad I had time to hold her and snuggle.

 

[downsm75]

Could she have been bitten by a snake?

 

[downsm75]

I'm sorry for your loss, and welcome to BYC

 

[MrsBeatrice]

Thank you, we brought her ashes home and are moving on.
I do have an update about the rest of the chickens, and a question.

The others started losing color in their combs, and I noticed they are all losing weight. Off to the vet we go with poop! The lab was only able to say coccidiosis and a roundworm of some kind. We don't know if it's hookworm or what, but my understanding is treatment is the same for all of them. My rooster, a buff Orpington, has a few black spots on his comb, but not his face or legs, and the ladies don't have it at all, but that's another set of questions.

So, for the coccidiosis and worms we are first doing a Sulmet treatment for a few days. Wait a week or 10 days, and then Wazine. No one was laying besides Ellie Mae so I'm not worried about having to throw out any eggs. It's worth it to make them healthy, either way. I have been using DE since day 1 with these chickens, so the worms came as a surprise. I asked how this could happen and my vet said that DE is only effective (sharp to worms and bugs) until it gets damp. So in the bedding, yes, it controls mites and other critters, but once the chicken eats it, DE it is wet and no longer as effective. He told me not to stop, though, since it does have minerals and helps keep bugs out of the feed. Okay, not a problem.


So that's what I'm doing here. I wonder what kind of regular wormer to use after this, though. I hear Wazine is a the hard-core stuff, and another would work well twice a year as a cleaning for everyone as opposed to something so toxic. Any advice?