dead hen

[dac63]

today when i left my cochin hens out of their pen to free range, I noticed that one was missing I had 4 blues and 3 buffs. I checked in the chicken coupe thinking she was maybe laying an egg. Well I found her on the floor dead. These hens are about 3 years old. I have not noticed any of them being off feed. I am at a loss, but when I looked the others over this evening when they went to roost, I thought some of them had a little paler combs. Their poop is a dark almost black color with the white mixed in. I have never wormed them , is the black a sign of blood from parasites? Also they all tend to want to roost in the same 2 nesting boxes sometimes on top of each other would this be a possible problem. Your help would be appreciated. These gals are real pets and they follow me around the yard and meet me when i get out of the car. this really upsets me, I do notice that some have pooped on their feathers but they are so fluffy back there that it might be the reason for that . help please

 

[worldwidechick]

Sorry for your loss, could it be heat stroke? It sounds super hot in the far south right now.

 

[sandiegochick]

So sorry about your loss. Hope the rest of your flock is okay...

 

[dac63]

it was hot during the day but it has been in around 63 the past couple nights donna

 

[threehorses]

Black stools don't necessarily mean blood in the droppings. Usually chickens, unlike humans, get more of the red or dark red blood in their droppigns. Could they have eaten anything (berries that fermented, anything else dark) that could be changing their dropping color?

Because they've never been wormed, it would be a good idea to worm them once we make sure this black stool thing isn't an illness. If you do, worm first with a more narrow spectrum wormer like Wazine. Then in 2-4 weeks go back and worm with a more broad spectrum wormer like ivermectin, fenbendazole, levamisole, etc. (First State Veterinary Supply has all of those.)

In the mean time you will want to do a thorough exam of these girls and let you know what you do - or don't - find. Part of that exam should take place at night for mites as they don't come out onto the birds necessarily during the day. So you check for them at night over a few nights as they're tricky to catch. Pay careful attention in the warm/moist areas of the bird like under the wings, around the vent, and at the back of the neck. Rule out lice as well and their nits (eggs) which to me look like minature snow.

I'm going to post my Poultry Exam Checklist at the end of this post for you to consider and, possibly if you'd like more help, answer here. It helps us to help you figure out all that we can about your flock. Answer what you want of it- just remember that the more information we have, the more information we can give in return.

I'm very sorry about the loss of your bird and I do hope we can help you figure out if it was just a one-time-thing or at least help prevent it happening again.

---------------
Nathalie's Flock History/Troubleshooting Checklist:

The Examination:
Examine her body for weight: is she thin, heavy, skinny, lumpy, fat? Can you feel her keel like a spatula, or just slightly, or within a crease of fatty flesh?
Examine her eyes: are they clear and bright? No discoloration on the eye’s surface? Any drainage? Pupils both round and reactive to light?
Examine her beak/throat: are her nares (nostrils) clear? Is the inside of her mouth healthy and pink? Does she have excess mucus? Is her beak pale in color? Does she have bad breath or a sour smell?
Examine her crop: Is she holding feed after a night of not eating? Are her crop contents appropriate to what she’s been eating? Does she get granite type grit?
Examine her skin: check carefully for lice/mites (see below**). Look for any broken skin, redness of vent, scratches, anything abnormal.
Examine her abdomen: Feel delicately between her legs and back up to her vent - do you feel any lumpiness, or is she firm, or is she hard-bodied?
Listen to her respiratory system: With your ear against her throat and chest, listen to her breathing. Do you hear hiccups, wheezes, rales, or rattles? Do you hear any strange noises or whistles near her nostrils?
Examine her vent: Other than the clinging droppings, do you see white or black waxy stuff near her vent? Any sores from the droppings? Is her actual vent opening tight and dry, or is it dilated (open) and moist. (This can indicate if she's trying to lay.)

Flock history:
Tell us more about diet: do your hens have access to both granite type grit as well as oyster shell? Is she on diet appropriate for her age and type? (Grower,starter-grower, layer, layer-breeder)? Does she have more grains than complete (crumble/pellet) feed? What does her entire diet consist of? Do you use any products in your waterers? If so, what kind?
Tell us more about the environment: Is your ill bird kept with others of different ages? Were any new birds added recently? Are you birds kept in a coop/coop with run/free range, or other arrangement? If injury, is it possible that it was caused by the other chickens,, or a predator? What type of bedding do you use? (shavings, straw, sand, etc) Has the environment been wet lately because of weather or spilled waterers? Do the chickens have 4 square feet of room each? Do they have plenty of ventilation and fresh air, or is the room in which they are kept rather air tight? Do you smell any smells in their housing?
Worming: do you worm? If so, when did you last worm, and with what products?
Misc Environment: does she have access to any compost, kitchen scraps, manure piles, ponds?
New additions: Were any birds, including this one, vaccinated for anything of which you’re aware? Were they or her purchased from a feedstore/flea market/private breeder/hatchery?
**Mites and lice: they're nearly microscopic, and mites only go onto the birds at night often enough and then occassionally they just remain off the bird while they lay their eggs in the wood of the coops, etc. Check them at night, with a flashlight (and the coop light on), and a light colored pillowcase to help you find mites. Ruffle through all of their feathers. Pay careful attention to the warm/moist areas under the wing feathers, near the vent, along all the feather shafts, etc. If you find them, you must treat the bird and the premises and the birds must be retreated at least once in 7 days - preferably twice. Recheck a few times this week and next to try to find mites. Let us know if you find anything like this and we'll advise on treatment.

 

[dac63]

The remaining hens are bright eyed and have a substantial weight, no injuries that are noticeable. they have a waterer, but I have a small fish pond with goldfish and some frogs and they often go there to drink instead of the waterer.I have a nice size chicken house with a fenced in run that is large, I usually turn them out in our yard in the morning as they love the grassed area. I do notice they are dusting themselves sometimes in a spot that they have picked and killed the grass. I have six cochins and a white hen not sure what she is one grown silkie, also two young silkies kept in a large pen off the ground till they are grown. They get fed egg layer pellets because they are large chickens and really dont seem to like the crumbles. I do think the one that died felt a little thin when i picked her up. the keel was kind of sharp. But maybe that just felt that way because she was laying on her side. I picked her up by her feet and some liquid came out of her beak which i thought was probably normal. But you mentioned the craw should be empty overnight and hers was rather full but she may have died soon after going to roost that night. We have had a skunk come around and a possum at night i dont know if they carry any disease that would affect chickens. Have never wormed them. I did check for mites and have not found any. The one hen that had a lot of poop hanging on the feathers i ended up cutting them off and hosing her back end as the flies were after her. I was afraid of fly strikes did not know if maggots would get on her like they will rabbits. Hope I have answered the right questions. I am in Pa. and the weather has been a little crazy this summer, not as hot as usual this time of year. Is there a safe spray for flies around chickens? I have one for my grandaughters pony that is supposed to be all natural just a water based repellant. I hate to use chemicals of any kind. Thanks for your help. donna

 

[Fergie]

Was the hen that died laying eggs as usual?

 

[muell112]

If I were you I'd get a necropsy of the dead hen in addition to answering the troubleshooting checklist to find out if it's anything preventable - try contacting an extension agent or local university if possible.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

How much do necropsy's usually run?

 

[threehorses]

Flies will blow droppings like they do with rabbits, yes. Best thing to do with that is just wash those droppings off, try to correct the issue causing them, and keep their vents dry. I will even use some baby powder on their vents if the droppings had been sitting on them to dry up the skin so that sores don't develop. Flies will find sores you'd never know about otherwise and - well owning rabbits you know how that goes.

As for the worming, I'd consider it. I'm a believer in worming (or getting a fecal egg count) on chickens twice a year and then using more natural prevention-type materials inbetween (DE, cayenne, etc). If it's been over 6 months, and it were my flock, I'd worm with wazine to get the bulk of adult roundworms, and then follow up with ivermectin, fenbendazole, or levamisole in 2-4 weeks to get the remaining larvae and other types of worms. That way if there's an unknown heavy parasite load (and checking feces for worms isn't a reliable method) then you don't stress them too heavily with the worms leaving, etc. Wazine 17 is in the water for one day (piperazine 17%). You don't eat the eggs for 2 weeks (but the birds can have them). Then it's designed to be repeated, but then I recommend the other wormer so you don't get in a cycle of having to keep worming.

I'm not saying for sure I think it's worms, but a thin hen with few other symptoms - it can't be ruled out without a necropsy or a fecal egg count on a couple of random (maybe the thinnest) other hens and babies.

In the mean time the pasty vent... I'd give them all some form of probiotics. That would be live-bacteria that colonize the gut. You can use something like Probios powder or Fastrack (from the feed store - my favorite), acidophilis capsules from the vitamin section of the pharmacy or grocery/health food store, or (if you'r enot medicating with a -mycin or -cycline) plain yogurt. Plain yogurt has live bacteria in it where other milk products do not, so it's nice as the lactose isn't an issue. All your healthy birds can get it to enhance their nutrition absorbtion any time.

Also, I don't know how young your youngest girls are, but I'd try somethnig else to get them eating their grower unless they're very close to 5-6 months. I'm not sure within which age group the deceased hen fit.

As for the necropsy, the bird has to be cooled immediately after dying and then taken in pretty quickly otherwise decay sets in. But you could call a local college ag college or avian vet and ask their prices. Our ag college charges 25 dollars. If you can't get her in, call anyway and get the info in case you have another ill bird so you have the info ahead of time just in case.

If you ever want to take a bird in for necropsy, then you cool the birds' with cool water making sure not to wash off anything like clinging droppings, etc. You just want to cool their body temp more quickly to halt decay. Then you pat them dry but they don't have to be completely dry - a littl emoisture keeps them from drying out too much. Then you put them in one or two appropriately sized plastic bags and refrigerate, never freeze, as freezing distorts cells as they expand upon freezing.

If you ever have to take it a step further and have ahistopathology done (slides), have your vet take TWO sets of samples. It's not an extra charge and that way if organ tissue samples are lost in transit, you have a back-up set.

Additionally just fyi, poultry are less likely to become quite as infected with worms if kept on sand versus soil. It dessicates and helps the worm shed not be as long or as likely. It also reduces the likelihood of things like coccidiosis, E. coli, etc. Hope this helps.

Oh and on the fly spray - it's not really necessary nor is it effective. Just keep those tushes dry.