Best course of action

[Kellyandrob119]

Hi,

We have a 4 chicken flock. (We'll 3 now). All about 7 months of age. We lost a chicken last week. Tuesday night I found her in her nesting box which was strange. She's had laid an egg that day. She was sitting a little sideways, not looking right. The next morning she looked dead. Never moved her body after that. Brought her inside , opened her eyes and clucked a few times and died during the night. Prior to that, her and the current hen in question both had diarrhea for some time and some congested sounding clucks. No runny eyes or nostrils to speak of.

Now our 2nd hen is standing in nesting box....opening and closing her mouth. Didnot want to come out of the coop for some outdoor time. Of course the opening and closing of the mouth brings about a gape worm result on google. We had our dead hen from last week refrigerated contemplating a necropsy. I did a mini necropsy myself just now and trachea looked clear. (Happy Valentine's Day!)

I know it's not possible for a diagnosis but really hoping to not lose another one tonight. Was going to run to tractor supply And get Tylan 50 or 200 and give it a shot.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Rob
Morris county, NJ

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. It is always hard to know what a chicken dies from unless you get a necropsy by the state vet. The body should be refrigerated and examined as soon as possible. But in such a young pullet, I would wonder about a heart problem or Mareks disease. Diarrhea can be one sign of coccidiosis, an intestinal disease that older pullets usually have built up some resistance to by 7 months. Here is a link to contact your state vet for a necropsy:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC. Check for mold in your chicken feed, inside the coop and bedding.
I agree with Eggcessive, a necropsy would be best.

 

[Eggcessive]

As Dawg53 said, look for any moldy spots where water may have spilled into bedding. Keeping the bedding dry and stirred, adding new bedding as needed, and cleaning out twice a year is a good practice. Check to see if your coop has good end to end overhead air circulation. What is your weather like—are you having cold winter weather?

Do a thorough exam of the chicken who is sounding congested. Feel her crop early in morning before she eats, to make sure that her crop is emptying overnight. Look her over for lice and mites around and under vent and eslewhere. Fell of her lower belly for any swelling.

 

[Kellyandrob119]

Thanks for the replies everyone. The good news is that Maisy has responded very well to the Tylan 50 . I am injecting 1/2 cc twice a day. Started thursday night. By Friday night she was up and around and roosting on the top of the temporary wire mesh enclosure in our laundry room. I have a friend who is a paramedic who brought me some syringes for the injections...He listened with his stethoscope on Friday and said her right side sounded "chunky" still. He came back over saturday and said both sides sounded clear. She still has a gurgly cluck/sneeze at times usually right before I give her next dose 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, but sounds clear and normal during the day. I've been putting her outside in the coop in the daytime as the sun has been out bright and in the mid 40's. and I dont want her to get too used to the warm weather. She hangs out in the coop some but comes out if we let them out and comes down to drink and eat.
Also dosing her and the other two hens' water with vitamins and electrolytes.

To answer some questions, we are in NJ. The weather has been average winter weather. We did have one cold blast about 2 weeks ago with weather near 0 at night and low teens during the day for 2 days. I checked the food and coop for any mold and such. Didnt see anything noticable. Gave it a good cleaning. We use sand in the bottom of the run which is kind of easy to clean and are currently using chopped hay in the coop.

I think I missed the window of opportunity on a necropsy of our dead hen. She has been refrigerated but has been dead for a week and half now.. I think its time to bury her. Should I lose another one I think I will go for the Necropsy. On a side note there was some information online that NJ state vet does no charge necropsies. I contacted them and there is a fee schedule for tests and necropsies. I guess it might have been no charge at one time but all good things must come to an end I guess.

I guess my last decision is should I treat my other two hens with the Tylan 50. The do sound a little congested at times but are very active and appear otherwise unaffected. On one hand if this is some bacterial thing I don't want Maisy to get reinfected but It is still a little anxiety invoking for me and probably them injecting them twice a day. I either might buy the soluble tylan 50 for those 2 or just keep an eye on them and go with the injections if I see them take a turn for the worse.

Last but not least we gave her a soaking and blow dry last night to clean up her vent area....wow, does a chicken love that!

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylan 50 injectable can be given orally. The dosage whichever way given, is 0.25 ml ((1/4 ml) per pound 3 times a day for up to 5 days. If you can get the Tylan Soluble Powder prescription from a vet it would be good to have on hand. It is hard to know whether you are treating MG, which responds to Tylan, or if it is a virus, without testing. They can have a virus, that gets complicated by MG or other diseases. It is common when people get necropsies, to find more than one organism. Here is a good link that has symptoms of IB, ILT, MG, infectious coryza, and aspergillosis from mold, and they can be seen in combinations:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[dawg53]

It sounds like MG to me. Chickens with MG normally respond very well to tylan injectable.
They will be carriers for life and stress can bring out symptoms again. I recommend that you maintain a closed flock. No new birds in, none out.