Njs1999
Hatching
Hello. Wondering if anyone can help out with this. We've lost a few hens in the last 6 weeks or so. Symptoms have included:
All had green diarrhoea
Some were gaping and sneezing
Some had bubbly eyes
Some had yellow lesions in throat
Vet diagnosed microplasma initially and later suspected canker. Hens were treated with antibiotics, anti canker medication and wormers.
The last 2 deteriorated very quickly, one of which was gaping and the other couldn't hold her head up. Both had blocked full crops.
We had a post mortem done on the first one and vet highlighted an abnormally shaped heart and an enlarged spleen and liver. He also said the crop was full but there were no droppings or food in the rest of her system, or any signs of parasites. However, he didn't offer any explanation for her death.
We have consulted defra, who suggested it wasn't avian flu due to the symptoms. The hens have also been kept under cover and shut in their run.
We are at such a loss as to what it could be, but have read about something called Newcastle disease, although this has not been in the UK since 2006.
We'd like to get to the bottom of it so we can obviously provide the best care for our other hens.
Thank you for reading.
All had green diarrhoea
Some were gaping and sneezing
Some had bubbly eyes
Some had yellow lesions in throat
Vet diagnosed microplasma initially and later suspected canker. Hens were treated with antibiotics, anti canker medication and wormers.
The last 2 deteriorated very quickly, one of which was gaping and the other couldn't hold her head up. Both had blocked full crops.
We had a post mortem done on the first one and vet highlighted an abnormally shaped heart and an enlarged spleen and liver. He also said the crop was full but there were no droppings or food in the rest of her system, or any signs of parasites. However, he didn't offer any explanation for her death.
We have consulted defra, who suggested it wasn't avian flu due to the symptoms. The hens have also been kept under cover and shut in their run.
We are at such a loss as to what it could be, but have read about something called Newcastle disease, although this has not been in the UK since 2006.
We'd like to get to the bottom of it so we can obviously provide the best care for our other hens.
Thank you for reading.