Found Dead hen this am!

[tschica]

I didn't see any odd poops.. ironically enough I was watching her walk around, and did see her poop... because I was concerned she was blocked up. Although it would be hard to tell because we have a big yard, and they are all free-roaming, plus I have dogs that love to eat the chicken poo :-/ I wish I we hadn't bagged her up already, otherwise I would try looking to see if it was a stuck egg, because yes, she was already laying... but she'd already passed some massive eggs... I mean the size of a small kiwi.

 

[casportpony]

Yea... everyone else in the flock looks good... Everyone is pretty healthy looking. I have one chicken that has always been small... maybe I should worm her?? I didn't see any mites or anything on her... and yes, she did roost last night, but away from everyone else. It was really weird, especially because she was walking around so slow... but she left the coop, and appeared to be free ranging... but she wouldn't eat any of the veggies scraps I had put out for everyone else.. So sad :-(

You should dust all with poultry dust even if you can't see any mites or lice. You should also worm everyone... Dawg53 seems to have very good ideas about worming. Read his posts or send a PM.

Do you still have her body? If so, you could try doing a necropsy yourself. I've done a few and learned sooooooooo much from them. I don't mean to sound insensitive, just wanted to let you know your options.

 

[tschica]

We still have her body... but it's in the trash... I'd hate to dig it out... but how do you even know what you're looking for it you open them up? I'll look for some posts about worming... Thanks!

 

[casportpony]

We still have her body... but it's in the trash... I'd hate to dig it out... but how do you even know what you're looking for it you open them up? I'll look for some posts about worming... Thanks!

You very carefully open them, if fluid comes out, that's bad. Once inside, you will see lots of parts that you should recognize... Check out the links here: https://www.google.com/search?sourc...665cff640510db&bpcl=35466521&biw=1429&bih=973

This one I watched... I had a hen that looked just like this:

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Please don't worm w/o looking at poops to see if they even HAVE worms (they always do but like deadly / sickly amount). All you'd be doing is creating a super worm if you worm w/o even knowing if they need wormed. I highly doubt its worms if theres no unusual poops and if everyone is not too thin.

Take a knife and act like your gutting an animal (ever hunt?), and dig around. Yes, its gross, yes I'm being insensitive (sorry!) but dig around and look at things. You would find a egg stuck in one of the 'tubes' I'd imagine inside there, but not sure.

 

[casportpony]

Please don't worm w/o looking at poops to see if they even HAVE worms (they always do but like deadly / sickly amount). All you'd be doing is creating a super worm if you worm w/o even knowing if they need wormed. I highly doubt its worms if theres no unusual poops and if everyone is not too thin.

Take a knife and act like your gutting an animal (ever hunt?), and dig around. Yes, its gross, yes I'm being insensitive (sorry!) but dig around and look at things. You would find a egg stuck in one of the 'tubes' I'd imagine inside there, but not sure.

What about worms that you can't see in the poop?

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
x2
You dont have to see worms in poop in order for a chicken to have worms. Only dying worms detach themselves from the intestinal lining and are excreted. OR, there's an infestation and there's no other place to go but out the rear end.
Super worms? Valbazen will take care of them too.

 

[casportpony]

And even if they did die, some are so small that you can't see them, right dawg?

 

[dawg53]

And even if they did die, some are so small that you can't see them, right dawg?

Capillary and gizzard worms come to mind, some small species of tapeworms as well.