Emaciated chickens

[shbouton]

Do you have grit available to them? If you are feeding scratch, they will need grit to grind it up.
I keep a baby pig feeder of grit and a feeder of oyster shell hanging on the side of the nest boxes so they can help themselves. And they will pick through the grit for 15 minutes to find that one piece of grit that is "just right", lol.

Also, if you are scattering the extra feed in the run every evening, you are inviting raccoons and skunks to come around and start causing problems. If youare scattering it in the closed up coop, you are probably OK.

Yes, they have both grit and oyster shells available to them and the area is protected by an electric fence so no issues there plus I don't throw more on the ground than they can eat. Thank you for your feedback! . I'm going to send her to the state lab for a necropsy.

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad that you can get the necropsy. You can update your thread right here when you get results. We all learn something from reading necropsy results.,

 

[PaulsArt]

You might want to try worming your chickens. Chickens get worms naturally from the food they eat out of the ground. So they almost always have them at some point. I worm mine a couple times a year.

I mix the liquid wormer in a quart of water and put ground corn in it. Leave the corn over night to soak up the wormer and water. Then feed it next day mixed with whatever feed they normally get.

 

[shbouton]

Glad that you can get the necropsy. You can update your thread right here when you get results. We all learn something from reading necropsy results.,

Amazingly I already got the results back and she did have a few worms but it looks like it was Marek's. ☹ I will be treating the rest for worms. Is there anything I can do for the Marek's? My banties were vaccinated against it but Tractor Supply does not purchase from a place that gives vaccinations that's why the big hens were not inoculated. Thank you so much again for this invaluable resource, it now explains previous chicken deaths I've had where the vet said he thought it was cancer! Chicken keeping is so hard . They're all my babies...

 

[shbouton]

You might want to try worming your chickens. Chickens get worms naturally from the food they eat out of the ground. So they almost always have them at some point. I worm mine a couple times a year.

I mix the liquid wormer in a quart of water and put ground corn in it. Leave the corn over night to soak up the wormer and water. Then feed it next day mixed with whatever feed they normally get.

Great idea, thank you!

 

[shbouton]

Oh, good! I hope you share your results here!

I just posted them. Thanks again for you help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Was the state vet going to send a final necropsy report at some point with more details? If you get a report, please post it here. We learn so much from reading those.

Sorry that they feel it is Mareks, but now you have an answer for why you have been losing chickens. Consider all of your chickens carriers of Mareks, and it can remain in your flock until all chickens are gone and possibly for years afterward. The vaccinated chicks may be protected from symptoms, but they still have it as well. If you hatch or get new chickens, they should be vaccinated and kept separate from any dander or dust of your flock for 2-3 weeks.

You might want to get a small order of Virkon S tablets from Amazon, and use them in water to disinfect your coop and facilities. Clean and disinfect all feeders and waterers as well. Empty bedding from coop and nests before disinfecting. You cannot totally sterilize your environment, but Virkon S is used by many to help control the spread of many diseases.

 

[shbouton]

Was the state vet going to send a final necropsy report at some point with more details? If you get a report, please post it here. We learn so much from reading those.

Sorry that they feel it is Mareks, but now you have an answer for why you have been losing chickens. Consider all of your chickens carriers of Mareks, and it can remain in your flock until all chickens are gone and possibly for years afterward. The vaccinated chicks may be protected from symptoms, but they still have it as well. If you hatch or get new chickens, they should be vaccinated and kept separate from any dander or dust of your flock for 2-3 weeks.

You might want to get a small order of Virkon S tablets from Amazon, and use them in water to disinfect your coop and facilities. Clean and disinfect all feeders and waterers as well. Empty bedding from coop and nests before disinfecting. You cannot totally sterilize your environment, but Virkon S is used by many to help control the spread of many diseases.

Was the state vet going to send a final necropsy report at some point with more details? If you get a report, please post it here. We learn so much from reading those.

Sorry that they feel it is Mareks, but now you have an answer for why you have been losing chickens. Consider all of your chickens carriers of Mareks, and it can remain in your flock until all chickens are gone and possibly for years afterward. The vaccinated chicks may be protected from symptoms, but they still have it as well. If you hatch or get new chickens, they should be vaccinated and kept separate from any dander or dust of your flock for 2-3 weeks.

You might want to get a small order of Virkon S tablets from Amazon, and use them in water to disinfect your coop and facilities. Clean and disinfect all feeders and waterers as well. Empty bedding from coop and nests before disinfecting. You cannot totally sterilize your environment, but Virkon S is used by many to help control the spread of many diseases.

 

[shbouton]

Also, this may sound like a dumb question, but is there any point in disinfecting when I only have 11 chickens left and they're all in the same area as the ones that died? I would think they now all have it.

 

[Kiki]

Also, this may sound like a dumb question, but is there any point in disinfecting when I only have 11 chickens left and they're all in the same area as the ones that died? I would think they now all have it.

No, they all are already carriers.
Keep a closer flock don't rehome or sell any birds.