Chicken's head turned yellow and died the next day

[FowlWitch]

Yellow skin and eyes occurs in humans when there is liver failure. Perhaps something to look into. Sorry for your loss.

Apparently chickens can get Jaundice

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjACegQIEBAJ&usg=AOvVaw3CLR18wSYs7yF42X0gN1XW

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh I do hope all turns out well!

 

[chadwhite]

I don't think 5 hens at the same time would experience primary liver failure from a deficiency. Something has to be causing it. Some type of toxin. I think they are not roosting because they are too weak to get up to the beam they roost on. Tonight, they could not even make it up the ramp to the egg boxes. I had to pick them off the ground and set them in there. Something is making them not eat or drink. I don't expect them to last much longer as the temperatures here in AZ are very hot now and they are not drinking. I have used some roundup weed killer recently, but have never seen them eat the weeds I was spraying. And its been very few weeds. But I feel they have been poisoned by something. Im at a loss.

 

[AmyJane725]

I don't think 5 hens at the same time would experience primary liver failure from a deficiency. Something has to be causing it. Some type of toxin. I think they are not roosting because they are too weak to get up to the beam they roost on. Tonight, they could not even make it up the ramp to the egg boxes. I had to pick them off the ground and set them in there. Something is making them not eat or drink. I don't expect them to last much longer as the temperatures here in AZ are very hot now and they are not drinking. I have used some roundup weed killer recently, but have never seen them eat the weeds I was spraying. And its been very few weeds. But I feel they have been poisoned by something. Im at a loss.

Would you be open to tube feeding them? Because you're right, with the heat the way it is they won't make it long without water.

 

[FowlWitch]

I don't think 5 hens at the same time would experience primary liver failure from a deficiency. Something has to be causing it. Some type of toxin. I think they are not roosting because they are too weak to get up to the beam they roost on. Tonight, they could not even make it up the ramp to the egg boxes. I had to pick them off the ground and set them in there. Something is making them not eat or drink. I don't expect them to last much longer as the temperatures here in AZ are very hot now and they are not drinking. I have used some roundup weed killer recently, but have never seen them eat the weeds I was spraying. And its been very few weeds. But I feel they have been poisoned by something. Im at a loss.

If you want to give them fluids, one method is to inject saline water under the skin. I don't know if you have access to a needle, but it's relatively easy to do.

 

[Eggcessive]

Look at and smell your feed and any scratch you might feed for treats, for an off odor or blue-green mold. I have had it happen overnight from moisture getting into my container. Offer electrolyte water up to their beaks, and also put it into their feed or on some cooked egg. If you lose another, promptly refrigerate but don’t freeze the body, and place it into a double garbage bag. It can be shipped overnight or taken on ice packs to the nearest poultry lab for a necropsy by the state poultry lab. That is the best way to know what was happening. The heat in AZ can be hard on some chickens. Pans of shaded water so they can stand in them to cool their legs can be helpful. I hope you can figure out what is killing your chickens.

 

[chadwhite]

Update : Well I have lost 4 of my 5 hens. The last one seems to be fine and feeding and roosting normally. I believe this was heat related. I don't think it was coincidence that when this began was right when our weather turned to triple digits. They, I believe, got heat stressed which made them stop eating. I have been hand feeding them cantaloup, watermelon, kale, and other fresh greens which they would eat. But eventually, each chicken began avoiding all food. So despite putting them down in cold water and keeping cool water for them to drink, 4 of the 5 died. They were a little on the old side so that didn't help. Anyway, thank you to those who gave advice. I sure appreciate it. Don't really know what to do with 1 hen. Since I want to start again and get a fresh young group after the summer is over.

 

[FowlWitch]

Update : Well I have lost 4 of my 5 hens. The last one seems to be fine and feeding and roosting normally. I believe this was heat related. I don't think it was coincidence that when this began was right when our weather turned to triple digits. They, I believe, got heat stressed which made them stop eating. I have been hand feeding them cantaloup, watermelon, kale, and other fresh greens which they would eat. But eventually, each chicken began avoiding all food. So despite putting them down in cold water and keeping cool water for them to drink, 4 of the 5 died. They were a little on the old side so that didn't help. Anyway, thank you to those who gave advice. I sure appreciate it. Don't really know what to do with 1 hen. Since I want to start again and get a fresh young group after the summer is over.

Sorry for your loss I hope your hen makes a full recovery, and any new chickens you get will be with you for a long time