Good afternoon,
We lost one of our hens on Thurs morning. She was a Black Australorp named Bella. She had looked a little different in the face to me and I had noticed a little white dribble on her bottom feathers for a few days beforehand. However, she was eating, drinking, pooping, and following me around as usual. The last egg she laid was on Sun. On Wednesday I noticed yellow bumps/spots on her ears but again eating and drinking fine. I was concerned but it was 5pm and her energy was normal. (This is my first time owning chickens so I feel like the hindsight clues were there and I missed them).
When I went out Wed morning, I knew something was wrong. She wasn't at the door with the rest of our girls ready to come out. She slowly ambled out of the run and went to sit under the bushes without eating anything. She also had her beak open and breathing seemed labored. We brought her inside immediately and I called UF's emergency clinic to make an appt. She laid in my arms and fell asleep while I was on the call. About 15 min later she had three little jerks/gasps and then a large jump/jerk and she was dead. Our chickens are definitely pets so it was very sad and sudden. I'll attach a video of her not long before she died (in case it is helpful).
I am now very concerned about my other three birds. They seemed fine until Friday night. Late Fri afternoon it seemed as though one of our Easter Eggers was laying down a little more than normal. We have a camera in their coop and I noticed that evening that she was panting and holding her wings out (it was 58 degrees outside so not hot). The other two seemed perfectly normal. We brought her in for the evening. She panted like that all night in the little coop we had inside. She also seemed to swallow afterwards. She ate and drank like normal yesterday though, laid an egg as usual, and didn't lay down like the day before.
Last night, both our Easter Eggers were now panting and holding their wings out. They also both seem to be swallowing. I have also noticed a tiny bit of drippings on both of their bottoms today. No diarrhea in the coop though. I would take them to a vet but I don't know of anyone that is open around here on a Sunday. Any ideas? I have been feeding them everything I can to boost immune system (Egg with fresh oregano, basil, mint, rosemary, garlic, etc). We have black soldier fly larva and I added a tiny vit e to a few for each of them.
I'll attach a video of the first easter egger and the panting. She was doing this in the coop before we brought her in (she is clearly confused about being inside). I have noticed that both our Easter Eggers are panting here and there while outside free ranging in our back yard. It also seems as though our fourth hen, another black australorp has something white on her ears as of this afternoon.
Any thoughts on who to contact or what to do would be great.
Thanks so much,
Tracy
We lost one of our hens on Thurs morning. She was a Black Australorp named Bella. She had looked a little different in the face to me and I had noticed a little white dribble on her bottom feathers for a few days beforehand. However, she was eating, drinking, pooping, and following me around as usual. The last egg she laid was on Sun. On Wednesday I noticed yellow bumps/spots on her ears but again eating and drinking fine. I was concerned but it was 5pm and her energy was normal. (This is my first time owning chickens so I feel like the hindsight clues were there and I missed them).
When I went out Wed morning, I knew something was wrong. She wasn't at the door with the rest of our girls ready to come out. She slowly ambled out of the run and went to sit under the bushes without eating anything. She also had her beak open and breathing seemed labored. We brought her inside immediately and I called UF's emergency clinic to make an appt. She laid in my arms and fell asleep while I was on the call. About 15 min later she had three little jerks/gasps and then a large jump/jerk and she was dead. Our chickens are definitely pets so it was very sad and sudden. I'll attach a video of her not long before she died (in case it is helpful).
I am now very concerned about my other three birds. They seemed fine until Friday night. Late Fri afternoon it seemed as though one of our Easter Eggers was laying down a little more than normal. We have a camera in their coop and I noticed that evening that she was panting and holding her wings out (it was 58 degrees outside so not hot). The other two seemed perfectly normal. We brought her in for the evening. She panted like that all night in the little coop we had inside. She also seemed to swallow afterwards. She ate and drank like normal yesterday though, laid an egg as usual, and didn't lay down like the day before.
Last night, both our Easter Eggers were now panting and holding their wings out. They also both seem to be swallowing. I have also noticed a tiny bit of drippings on both of their bottoms today. No diarrhea in the coop though. I would take them to a vet but I don't know of anyone that is open around here on a Sunday. Any ideas? I have been feeding them everything I can to boost immune system (Egg with fresh oregano, basil, mint, rosemary, garlic, etc). We have black soldier fly larva and I added a tiny vit e to a few for each of them.
I'll attach a video of the first easter egger and the panting. She was doing this in the coop before we brought her in (she is clearly confused about being inside). I have noticed that both our Easter Eggers are panting here and there while outside free ranging in our back yard. It also seems as though our fourth hen, another black australorp has something white on her ears as of this afternoon.
Any thoughts on who to contact or what to do would be great.
Thanks so much,
Tracy
