I have four 2 year old hens. Well, actually one of the Delawares died 2 weeks ago when we were out of town, so now there are 3. So, we have another Delaware, a Golden Buff, and a Golden Laced Wyandotte. The golden buff has been acting kind of lethargic, with feathers ruffled up and eyes closed some of the time. The other delaware hasn't quite been her usual self, either. This was scarey, so we took those two to the vet. She said they both had a bunch of fluid in their abdomens and she drew the fluid out, and she suspects they have egg yolk peridontitis and said to get some antibiotics. Since these two happen to be sick, and the other one died a few weeks ago, the vet wondered if the food was nutritionally insufficient, causing health problems in these chickens. So, we got the antibiotics to add to the water, and I switching feed brands. I am also wondering if this diagnosis is correct....? The golden buff has been a great layer, so I don't understand how she can up and have this egg problem all of a sudden. The delaware hen that died when we were gone was acting fine when we left. The only thing we noticed with her was her comb has been a lighter pink color than the others. The vet didn't see any signs of mites or lice on the chickens. And there is no egg binding problem. The delawares have both laid soft shelled eggs off and on, which the vet said could be a nutritional deficiency, too. I give them layer feed and they have access to oyster shells.
Has anybody every heard of anything like this?
Has anybody every heard of anything like this?
