chickens dying one by one

[sykochik]

Thanks for pointing me to the index rules, rimshoes. Here's the info:

1) various types of birds have been involved (mix breeds), older birds (exact ages not known), varying weights but all are standard-sized chickens

2) Behavior as previously described

3) no signs of trauma

4) possible causative factor: new birds previously described

5) chickens have been mostly fed 7-way scratch, but we haven't been able to find that lately so have been trying 5-way and 11-way scratch (I'll have to check brand). An outdoor waterer is available, and I don't know the last time these were cleaned. Sick chickens appeared to continue eating and drinking. CHickens also get various kitchen scraps. In fact, I saw the newly sick hen make her way over to the scrap pile and then sit down by it, apparently exhausted by the journey.

6) I don't know what the poop looks like, and, honestly, I'm not sure what is normal either.

7) no treatment thus far

8) This question about treatment intentions is a good one. A minimalist approach has been the norm, but now that my fiance and I are involved, we need to have a house discussion about how we want to continue to care for the animals. I am probably more inclined to pursue more extensive treatment than my housemates, but finances are definitely an important consideration too.

9) I don't have any pics - yet

10) Housing: approx 12 x 12 (I think), bedding: a thick layer of straw on wood floor. The straw was replaced a couple of months ago, but we removed the layer of poop under the roosts and turned the remaining straw last week.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

skyochik, I just noticed where you are. You are right down the road from me. I live in Buchanan off of Hwy 27. There is no avian vet here, I can go ahead and tell you that from my recent episode with a broken wing! A necropsy scheduled with the county extension office would most likely be your best bet. Unfortunatly not all of us have access to a vet who will even look at a chicken.

 

[sykochik]

Howdy, neighbor! No avain vet around these parts, huh. Darn. Well, I guess that helps narrow down my choices, though.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Have I understood correctly that you are only feeding the birds scratch? If this is correct may I strongly urge you to use a commercial full pelleted feed which will provide correctly blanced nutrients.

clean out the coop completely ... remove all feed and water and straw... wash down with a detergent and thereafter with a bleach solution (wait one half hour before rinsing) ...ensure the birds are nowhere near the coop and allow thorough ventilation .

I personally would not use straw... use a deep layer of coarse sand which you can rake daily ... provide shavings in the nesting boxes.

A necropsy is the only way you will be able to determine the cause of death.

 

[chickenpiedpiper]

Clean the coop! As soon as possible, as the previous post details! Get rid of the straw! Deep sand is good, but can get smelly after a while. We got lucky, and had access to old linoleum being ripped out of a restaurant, we used it to line the floor and lower sections of the wall, now we use readily available shavings, and a couple times a year I bleach wash the floor shelves and walls, if you have lots of exposed wood, use bleach water or some other disinfectant and let it soak right into the wood and dry. Shavings are relatively inexpensive, (cheaper than straw here) and much safer than straw which can harbor moisture and molds, bacteria, mites etc! YUCK.

Dont give up on the vet idea. The average vet doesnt see poultry thats true, but if you call around, I assure you that they will be able to give you the name of a vet that will. Your feed store may also have info. A Vet that will see parakeets or cokatiels, will often be willing to see a chicken. And remember, New vets are often coming into an area and starting at an older practice. Make lots of calls, they are cheap! A lot of times large animal vets are set up to travel from farm to farm, so you dont have to go to them, they will arrange to meet you on a day when they are in your area seeing other people and animals. Since you have other animals, Goats etc, you should find out who would be your large animal vet anyways, BEFORE an emergency comes up and you are flailing about trying in a panic to find help.

Lots to think about! Good Luck!

 

[Bellecreek]

The frustrating thing about owning chickens is NOT having the ability to consult a vet when things go wrong.

Believe me, I run to a vet FAST at the first sign of problems with my dogs/cats/sheep/goats/horse. However, I did have to BEG my vet to neuter my llama!

I live very close to Houston, so I have access to probably thousands of vets. When my chickens have a problem, I've contacted my large and small animal vets, who cannot help, call my friends who are vets (don't have the knowledge, etc.) In fact, my livestock vet won't even run a fecal on a bird!

There IS a bird specialist in my area. However, his experience is with parrots and other high value birds. I contacted him when one of my young hens had an impacted crop. I wanted him to operate to remove the material, and would take my chances as to whether she'd just have it happen again.

He said he couldn't do that.

What he proposed was.....$80 for the consult.
Then he'd do blood tests $100-$150.
X-rays to try and identify what was in her crop - $75?
Then he'd run a barium swallow test - $200

This was ALL diagnosic and he didn't even want to perform surgery!
He also said she probably wouldn't make it anyway.

Therefore, I decided NOT to spend hundreds of dollars on a $10 chicken, and had a friend end her life.

My preliminary investigations on how to send a bird off for necropsy failed. I emailed the state vet, and asked how I would avail myself of his/her services, but never received a reply.

I guess I need to try harder.

Anyway, this is a LONG way of saying that contacting a vet just isn't easy!

 

[chickenpiedpiper]

Nope, contacting a vet for chickens is not easy. But they are out there, and it is easier to try and find on on your day off, then when you have a wounded sick or dying bird sitting in your lap looking at you. You are lucky, thousands of vets? I only found one, who is over an hour away, and he primarily does the exotics too, but he at least is willing to try.

Keep looking, try networking thru other chicken owners or breeders in your area, your extension office? Do you have, or go to a local fair? Exhibitors of chickens sometimes have to have health certificates up here in the fridgid north east, they have to get them from someone!

All I am saying is call call call. Vets are pet lovers as well as business people, if there is a demand for the knowledge, they will respond, as long as we continue to write off our 10.00 friends as not worth it, so will they.

In all fairness tho, I also understand that chickens hide thier illness so well that in most cases by the time we notice they are sick, and manage to get a vet too them, it is usually to late already.

Just dont give up.

 

[sykochik]

Um, yep, just scratch, dlhunicorn. I hadn't realized that the scratch wasn't "real" feed. (How embarrassing!) I'll have to check with my housemate, who has been raising chickens here for 20 years, but my guess is that he has been relying on the large size of the barnyard and the foraging abilities of the chickens to balance their diet. They also get kitchen scraps regularly, and I've seen him put out some oyster shell for them occasionally.

As for the bedding, can I use shavings on the wood floor or would I need to put down some linoleum first? I've been doing some reading on the deep litter method recently and am interested in using it. I just bought a bag of pine shavings for my brooder, which is housing 13 6-week old chicks. The shavings cost $5, while the bales of straw were $3.50 each. However, maybe the shavings will go farther, be easier to deal with, and possibly be safer to use than the straw...?

I just made calls to the local large animal vet, who has seen one of my goats, and to the local poultry lab vet, but they won't be in the office until tomorrow.

I really appreciate all of the responses! The last 6 months have been quite an adventure for this former city girl.

 

[sykochik]

Update: I just returned from the nearby state poultry lab site, where necropsy is done free of charge. The diagnosis was Marek's Disease or leukosis, as the vet called it. The disease was found in the organ leading into the crop and in the intestines. The vet also thought that the hen's diet was inadequate. Consequently, I think that a number of changes need to be made in the care of our chickens. Well, now I'm off to read up on Marek's dz, even though the vet said that there wasn't anything that we could do for our current birds- the only intervention being vaccination of eggs/new chicks.

 

[77horses]

Of note, almost 3 months ago, we bought 7 young birds from a local breeder: 4 chicks aged 3-5 weeks old, 2 pullets, and a young roo. These birds were "isolated" in old rabbit cages inside the chicken yard. The older ones were integrated after a few weeks and the younger ones a few weeks after that. There had been health issues in the chicks. One died 2 days after we got it. It quickly developed balance problems and then stopped moving.

seems like what happened to our little week-old cochin chick, Poppy. She had bad balance when we got her and she stopped eating, then died.