Health question

[nettech864]

I have recently lost three hens. I have been trying to determine the cause. first, there is no evidence of predator damage on any of them. Back in August we noticed that they started molting and next egg production dropped of (as expected). We went from 7-9 eggs a day to 3-4. Then about 3 weeks ago we lost the first hen. We went out to let them out in the morning and clean out under the roost and found her laying under the roost. She was 3 years old (White Leghorn). Then we noticed that on of the other hens wasn't moving well so we isolated her and started trying to figure out what is going on. I figure that it was maybe worms and I got this stuff that several local flock owner recommended and gave it a try. And we also put them on a higher protein feed. That hen died 3 days later. She was eating and drinking, just lethargic and underweight. I figured that she was already too far gone by the time we intervened. She was an almost 2 year old Rhode Island Red. All has been good except egg production has not recovered and we lost another hen. This time a 3 year old Sapphire Blue Plymouth Rock. I have been looking at their poop and don't see any worms, never have. I don't see anything wrong with their poop. I all looks normal.

Could the still be worms or could it be something else?
Would it hurt to deworm them anyway? I have Safe-guard (fenbendazole).
Total flock now consists of 9 hens and a bantam rooster.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What did you deworm with - product name, dose and duration?

What do you feed, including treats?

Did you perform a necropsy on any of the hens or send a body to your state lab?

Hard to know what's going on. Hens can suffer from numerous conditions. Reproductive disorders and/or fatty liver disease top the list, but other conditions like worms, infection, etc. can play a role in decline as well.


If you lose another, then make arrangement to send to your lab to get more info, or if you are up to it, open the hen up and take a look at her internals, you may find a clue.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[nettech864]

What was recommended was Zyfend A. I do not believe it works.....
We normally feed them standard layer pellets with a 7way chicken scratch as a treat or other veggies like cabbage, cucumber and the occasional watermelon leftovers.

As far as a necropsy, no. just a visual external exam looking for possible predator evidence.

I have a local vet that works with poultry. I will ask them about a necropsy if I loose another.

We have had a group of hawks move in to our area. our flock is protected with netting but my wife thinks they might still be stressing over it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry to say, but you would be correct about the Zyfend A. I've ran across this several times over the years, folks thinking it's a dewormer. I have yet to find anything on the labeling of the product that makes that claim. I've always wondered about where the misunderstanding is. It does claim to support digestive health during feed changes, stressful times, environmental changes or other events - which I couldn't say if it does that or not, I've never used it. But I do know that it's not a dewormer.

If you wish to deworm your flock and have Safeguard (Fenbendazole), then I suggest using that.
Dose for Fenbendazole is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.

 

[nettech864]

Has anyone heard of dosing safeguard like this - "Fenbendazole is used off-label in poultry. Add to the flock's drinking water source at a rate of 3 mL per gallon of water."
See more at: http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/capillaria-worms