egg drop disease

[limsan]

Hi I need help! I have figured out that half my flock has eggdrop disease.From formerly healthy hens that all laid an egg a day I get 2 eggs from 8 hens. Although they generally appear healthy(bright combs,good weight,eating and drinking)there are a few that have missing or broken feathers. One appears to be going bald?! Also,some have diarrehea and or dirty vents. Unwittingly I encouraged a duck couple to hang out and eat the chickens leftovers. I did not know about this disease then. My question is how does one go about getting rid of this disease? Also, half of my flock (I keep them separate with their own rooster) has grown and needs more space. I want to take the fence down and let the two currently separated flocks,mingle. Next question: will the now healthy flock get this disease. Should I continue to keep them separated. I would appreciate any help or ideas with this. Thanks

 

[purpletree23]

I am unfamiliar with egg drop disease and googled it. According to the article I read it said that the disease has never been found in the United States or Canada.

I'm not trying to be be mean or dismissive but what makes you think they have that particular disease? can you answer the 'sticky' questions on the top of the emergency and disease page please. The symptoms you reported can mean a number of things. The more information we have to go on the closer we can get to helping you.

I just thought of something. Are you in another country? That was very narrow and short minded of me to assume you were in this country. I apologize if I offended anyone.

 

[hinkjc]

I am pretty certain they don't have egg drop syndrome. That is more related to highly productive commercial facility hens which are forced to lay nonstop.

I believe your girls sound like they are going into the natural moult cycle. They will slow down on laying..many will stop completely, if not all. They will lose their feathers and grow new ones. This is all very normal this time of year when the days get shorter.

If you notice any other symptoms that are concerning, please share them.

 

[limsan]

Hi again everyone who responded. Thankyou. I get all my info. re poultry from this and other poultry sites. In the last year I have spent countless dollars and subjected my poor chickens to varying courses of treatments ranging from Amprol for coccidiosis, Piperazine for worms, tetracycline for intestinal problems. My vet sold me a huge container @120 bucks for Sulfa solution 25% for something which did absolutely nothing (the hen died)and then I read online that sulfa is terribly poisenous to use on chickens!I have been desperately researching and reading and although my chickens could have something else(i am by no means an expert)all the articles seem to point towards EDD. My hens generally look well other than diarehhea and a rather messy look to their feathers. One hen died a few months ago. Now another hen seems unable to get up to her customary roost and is sleeping in a nest box.The chicken that died did the same before she passed.These are all fairly young hens. None are over 2 years.They have all been good reliable layers. There is no obvious signs of trauma or illness. They all eat and drink well. There is adequate food and clean water and oyster shell available at all times. I feed them twice a day. I clean up their feces in the yard and in their coop. They free range on grass on about half an acre. There is only 8 hens and 1 rooster.They are not in molt.There is no sneezing or wheezing that I have observed. Although one has developed a 'squeak' that she uses at times to communicate????The weather is moderate-neither to hot or to cold. The reasons I think it may be EDD are:Lack of signs in birds,rough, thin soft shelled and occasionally no-shelled eggs. And a huge drop in egg production.From 8 to 2. Upon reading some more articles perhaps they have this infectious bronchitis or infectious laryngeotracheitis or lack Vit. D. Frankly, I am at my wits end and wish I had never seen a chicken. I read the very funny story from the person with the $700 egg. Believe me I can relate as it seems can most everyone else on this site! Don't get me wrong-I really love my birds. It's truly amazing how one can get attached to an animal so dumb it poos in its food but,attached I have become and I dislike intensely to see any animal suffer. I have had diarreahea and I know I felt terrible. I can only imagine the hens thus afflicted must also feel terrible. Thanks once again and I really rely on this and other forums for help.

 

[caralouise1974]

I would say infectious bronchitis is the most likely culprit, although it is rare for birds to die from it. It is usually accessory illnesses which complicate the IB and bring them down, such as e-coli, but even so, mortality is low. Morbidity from IB, on the other hand, is 100%, as it is in fact the most contagious disease known to be found in poultry - once it is in your flock it will go through the whole flock and EVERY bird will catch it, no question. As I said though, deaths are uncommon.

The lack of signs would perhaps indicate that they have a strain of IB which only affects the reproductive tract (ie a strain which causes no respiratory symptoms) and the gastrointestinal symptoms are down to e-coli.

You cannot treat IB, as it is a virus and must run its course. Outbreaks normally last eight weeks or so, and even after that time your birds may have sustained damage to their reproductive tracts and never lay as well as previously. They should otherwise recover well.

E-coli is a bit of a toughy to sort out, as it's commonly chronic and has a habit of returning, but a good start is with a quality pro- and pre-biotic added to the feed. That should give their good bacteria a chance to fight off the nasty ones. Perhaps someone else out there, more knowledgeable than me on e-coli, can tell you more...

(Oh, and Egg Drop is not found in the States, but we have had some issues with it in the UK. It's still fairly rare though.)

Good luck with your flock x

 

[kait1012]

Hi,
I am new to chickens and had a similar situation this past summer, I had a sick chicken and could not figure out what was wrong with it!
After a couple weeks of experimenting with home remedies and online suggestions, searching high- low for chicken medicines i could not find--- I finally went to the family vet and spent the money to have her checked out. Turns out she had dislocated her tendon and this caused a various amount of other problems for her, fever, dirty vent, ecoli infection etc. what helped was mixing vitamins and electrolytes into her water and giving her plain greek yogurt mixed with real cooked unsweetened- unflavored- oatmeal to keep her strong.
I had to get a strong antibiotic that only the vet could give me, Tylan which helped her right away! I'd say take one in if it will save your flock. They say a few drops of vetRX in the water can prevent respitory infections, but idk about curing them if theyre already there. Maybe examine their feet and legs for black spots or they could have round worm from being free range. Also too much scratch can cause irritated digestion or hard crops... (Opening to their stomach chest area should be soft before any feeding). A drop of olive oil can help any food lodged in their crops. If its worms i've read that unfiltered apple cider vinegar in their water, tblspn to a gallon would help make their digestive system more acidic so the worms cant grow.
Anyways I highly suggest giving the yogurt mix and vitamins at least until you can figure out whats wrong with them its the only thing that kept my hen- (now named peg-leg due to her loss of leg because the tendon not healing as her leg was still growing) it should help with diarrhea and extra calcium too.

Good luck!

 

[kait1012]

Oh and if any of their vents get really yucky warm water and epsom salt baths! Peg was so ill at first she had mags on her poo. i had to stick her in a plastic wash tub everyday up to her chicken belly and wash her bum with rubber gloves on of course so it wouldnt get blocked, it was gross, not gonna lie sometimes shed be blocked up and everything would come out, but it was an ABSOLUTE MUST to keep her vent clean.

 

[Angie16hearts]

Help ! All my hens laid today then I came across this fresh. Yuk I am trying to figure out who it was and what u can do