We actually JUST lost her, she was alive when I started posting but didn't make it to the end of the post. I want to make sure that it isn't something that is contagious, we have 400 chickens on our farm and we can't afford to lose them. Monday one of our chickens was acting wrong. She was around 2 years old. She was laying on one side (she did it on both sides so she wasn't favoring a side) and she would be falling forward while walking, and she seemed confused. We gave her water and food and had kept an eye on her. (I was off duty the majority of the week so I was just going off of check ins which I wish I hadn't but hindsight 20/20 right?) She seemed to slowly decline to where she couldn't stand and would just flop to one side when she tried and then kick both feet at the same time, like she was hopping on her side. Her neck would wrap forward, and she would shake her head vigorously every time she was picked up. Her stomach wasn't swollen but she was constantly flexing her vent until she passed. I didn't get a chance to check if she was eggbound or not by the time she passed. She was super fluffed out too. Water seemed to help her the most but not enough. One bird was leaving monster sized leavings in the coop, could it have been her being constipated to the point she didn't make it? The amount of dead birds has been increasing in the past two months. Is this a disease? Was she eggbound? If they are eggbound how long do they usually last? She was sick for almost a week before she passed.
