Force feeding chickens ?

[Firsttimehens1234]

No idea I detailed the whole stage in the other thread , had 4 chickens die over the month and been a while now but now she showed illness /egg bound and crap poops yellow etc but now she is like starving herself so now I can’t even get an id from her poop to say what’s up
They was wormed and de lice , but I literally can’t see any reaso for her to be Ill ?

The 2 baby’s was weak that died and the other 2 I think they got illnesses from being lice attacked as was the ones with tatty feathers that died
But we are totally lice free and I guess worm free ,
This is puzzling I can’t explain it all the rest are healthy as hell just this one bird
It seems to get em 1 at a time

Killed a rat other day I wondered if that could have effected them

Im sorry for your Loss
Rats can carry some diseases but the hens will only get them if they eat let’s say their poop or something from them, is their food on the floor in the coop or somewhere the rat can get it easily?

I had a hen once who first was eggbound and after she got the egg out she didn’t really seem to recover, she was ill, she wouldn’t eat or drink and she made weird green poops kinda like your hen.
For 10 days she was alone with me as her only company and I thought that I would take her out to the flock to say goodbye bc I figured it wasn’t something contagious she had.
After I took her out to the flock she started eating and drinking immediately.
I don’t know what she had but it helped to have her flock around her. Mabye you could consider trying and putting her with her flock, I put mine in a pen next to the coop so they could hear and see each other
You could also try and give her a bath to get rid of all the dead lice

 

[Chicona]

Are you in the US? You can get a necropsy done at a state lab. When I see multiple deaths I try to rule out flock-wide diseases like mareks or avian leucosis. A necropsy can tell more about what is going on.

No in uk but I don’t have any bodies they request 3 minimum here and there all weeks apart when happened

 

[Chicona]

Im sorry for your Loss
Rats can carry some diseases but the hens will only get them if they eat let’s say their poop or something from them, is their food on the floor in the coop or somewhere the rat can get it easily?

I had a hen once who first was eggbound and after she got the egg out she didn’t really seem to recover, she was ill, she wouldn’t eat or drink and she made weird green poops kinda like your hen.
For 10 days she was alone with me as her only company and I thought that I would take her out to the flock to say goodbye bc I figured it wasn’t something contagious she had.
After I took her out to the flock she started eating and drinking immediately.
I don’t know what she had but it helped to have her flock around her. Mabye you could consider trying and putting her with her flock, I put mine in a pen next to the coop so they could hear and see each other

They free roam in the yard so scratch in the ground all day the rat will pass areas they root in defo the feeder doesn’t matter really lol they scratch and peck somuch at the ground lol

I do see what you say I thought it too but like don’t want to spread to the others too if it’s isolated to her

I did suspect mareks at 1 point but I’m unsure the young ones I suspected on was weak from hatch was being too kind trying to save them to be fair one died by a few week randomly sulked n died other 2 grew up never the same as their leader had gone they was kinda useless as chickens lol they always was born with dodgey hips so I didn’t expect much off em they got sniffles n sneezes and the other 2 that died seemd to wheeze and sneeze this one doesn’t sound anything like them

The other ginger didn’t do much when she died she went broody in the heat and then we found the lice she was already off food with broodyness so didn’t take much for her to get deficient
She green yellow pooped and died
That’s why we did worming med incase

Then halfway through this one got poorly yellow poops n sulking

But now I feel like she could have got better n just sulking but I am unsure

How would I know if it’s merreks

 

[Chicona]

I’d say the first 2 would have been like merreks but this one defo not

She isn’t paralyzed and holds her wings her only problem is weakness

She holds head high and looks about n talks then goes back to rest rest rest

I would think she was poorly in the beginning but now I feel her only symptom is depression and energy levels
Will see how she poops soon
Digestive processes of the fowl are rapid. The greatest rapidity is shown in the laying and in the growing fowl, food passing on an average of 3 hours and 52 minutes in the case of growing fowls and 3 hours and 46 minutes in the cases of the laying hens.
So 4pm I will reply

 

[Firsttimehens1234]

They free roam in the yard so scratch in the ground all day the rat will pass areas they root in defo the feeder doesn’t matter really lol they scratch and peck somuch at the ground lol

I do see what you say I thought it too but like don’t want to spread to the others too if it’s isolated to her

I did suspect mareks at 1 point but I’m unsure the young ones I suspected on was weak from hatch was being too kind trying to save them to be fair one died by a few week randomly sulked n died other 2 grew up never the same as their leader had gone they was kinda useless as chickens lol they always was born with dodgey hips so I didn’t expect much off em they got sniffles n sneezes and the other 2 that died seemd to wheeze and sneeze this one doesn’t sound anything like them

The other ginger didn’t do much when she died she went broody in the heat and then we found the lice she was already off food with broodyness so didn’t take much for her to get deficient
She green yellow pooped and died
That’s why we did worming med incase

Then halfway through this one got poorly yellow poops n sulking

But now I feel like she could have got better n just sulking but I am unsure

How would I know if it’s merreks

Mareks usually starts with a wing that’s dropping and then the other wing might start doing the same thing,then the legs may start to act weird so the hen is gradually becoming lame before dying. I don’t think your hen has Merek’s
I do think a bath wouldn’t hurt, and I would suggest you give her one so all the dead lice will fall off and you could see if there are more because those lice are some feisty things.
The most important thing to do is to make sure she eats, I would start to force feed her because unlike humans they can’t see that eating could make them feel better

Loneliness can cause depression, reduced energy and loss of appetite

 

[Saveria]

How would I know if it’s merreks

A necropsy run by a lab, or doing it by yourself is the only way to know for sure.

Mareks presents with an array of symptoms, so it can be tricky to diagnose. It all depends where the tumors end up growing.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/


It may just be random when you see a bunch of deaths, but I always do some due diligence when a number of them go down close together.


It sounds like the chicks got a respiratory disease. What type of lice did you have? Not likely for a hen to die easily from most species of lice. The most common one eats dead skin mainly. Was it blood sucking mites that you had?

You have to be really careful giving chickens a bath, they can get chilled easily and then go further downhill. I use a spray for lice that has permethrin, and it works for mites, too.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

How would I know if it’s merreks

Most definite way would be to have her examined for tumors at a lab after passing.

You can also look for tumors yourself after passing, but some types aren't visible to a naked eye due to size or location.

It's a gradual paralysis in most cases. Mine usually progress from a foot or leg acting odd, to then loss of balance, followed by the second leg and then neck. Some lose mobility in their wings before their neck, and they tend to have muscle spasms too. When mine lose balance after the first leg is when I cull since at that point its likely not going to change if they can't keep their balance

 

[Chicona]

Most definite way would be to have her examined for tumors at a lab after passing.

You can also look for tumors yourself after passing, but some types aren't visible to a naked eye due to size or location.

It's a gradual paralysis in most cases. Mine usually progress from a foot or leg acting odd, to then loss of balance, followed by the second leg and then neck. Some lose mobility in their wings before their neck, and they tend to have muscle spasms too. When mine lose balance after the first leg is when I cull since at that point its likely not going to change if they can't keep their balance

She died this morning
She seemd fine but wings dropped ,I fed her and she was holding the ball no attempt to swallow and then I think she inhaled it as she had a fit and before I could clear the room of kids to help her pass so I believe she inhaled it or had a heart attack

Can’t find a lab or afford price of one I did find wanted £250

So I will do it myself tonight and post pics as an attempt to save the rest

 

[Saveria]

I'm so sorry. That shaking is what their bodies do when they are passing, so yes, it may have just been the moment, not what you were doing.

Let me know if you need info or support on doing a necropsy. I'm pretty sure there is info on here. Or you can just start a new thread saying "Need Help with Necropsy", and hopefully the right folks will see it.

I'm so sorry you are going through this. Hopefully it will all be a memory soon.

 

[Firsttimehens1234]

She died this morning
She seemd fine but wings dropped ,I fed her and she was holding the ball no attempt to swallow and then I think she inhaled it as she had a fit and before I could clear the room of kids to help her pass so I believe she inhaled it or had a heart attack

Can’t find a lab or afford price of one I did find wanted £250

So I will do it myself tonight and post pics as an attempt to save the rest

Im sorry for your loss