Heat stroke, broody hen, blood spots

[1sfarmdoc]

So much going on I'm not sure where to post and/or search for strategies! In southern Wisconsin we've just experienced an extended severe heat wave. Despite our best efforts (and great advice we found here, including fans-ice in water, frozen fruits/veg, hose down run several times a day, extra shade, etc.) we lost our biggest Barred Rock on Monday.

Additionally, one of the Rhode Island Reds has gone broody in this heat and hardly leaving nest box except when we push her out. We've tried frozen packs under her butt, take boxes out at night but almost 6 days of this and I'm worried she'll die as well. Today I noticed a lot of blood spots on the roost shavings. Have noticed some before but there are a lot. She was sitting at the top of the coop ramp not letting any other hens in to lay.

Not sure what to do next, but we're pretty shaken by the loss of Serena (our first) and now worried for the others as well. Please help!

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[coach723]

There is no way to know for sure why your one bird died without a necropsy. She may have had an underlying condition that was not obvious, maybe the heat made it worse, maybe the heat had nothing to do with it. Depending on her age, internal issues like internal laying and reproductive cancers are not uncommon. I'm sorry for your loss.
For the broody, I would recommend using a wire crate to break her. When all the other things you've tried don't work, the crate usually does. I have one for which the crate method is the only one that works. Raise the crate up on blocks or boards or sawhorses, so air circulates all around it. I put mine in the covered run, she can still see and be seen. I turn the crate upside down, the wire on top is closer together than the wire on the bottom, easier on the feed and legs, I remove the tray. No bedding of any kind, just food and water, and she stays there until she changes her mind. Can take a day or two, or can take a week, they can be very stubborn. If you think she's done, let her out, but check in 30 minutes or so, if she's gone back to the nest box, she goes back in the crate for another bit. If she's still fluffing and growling or shrieking when you approach, she's not done. If she lays an egg while in the crate, that usually signals she's done being broody. I've got one that goes broody several times a summer, if you aren't going to let them hatch eggs it's best to break them since it can be hard on them.
For the blood, first look everyone over for injuries, comb, feet, around the vents in particular. Comb injuries from pecking in particular can be very small and bleed a lot. After the fact it can just be a small dark spot on the comb. If this happened after the loss of the first hen it could be a bit of a pecking order reset, and some spats over roosting spots. Hopefully that's all the blood is. Do they seem to be behaving normally otherwise? If you see blood in droppings that would be a different concern and I'd be looking for anyone seeming lethargic, off their food and water, and laying around or fluffed up, which could be a sign of coccidiosis. That is usually seen in chicks and young birds, but older birds can get it if their immune systems are weakened.
Hope that helps.

 

[1sfarmdoc]

Thanks much for the reply and condolences, coach723. For broody Ginger, we have a small mobile pen (used for broiler chicks to put on a grass while still in the brooder) that might work if we set it on a pallet? Would appreciate your insight on that idea.

You're probably right re: blood... they peck at each other frequently anyway, so the order reset may be spot on. They've even started pecking/almost attacking the hen being mounted by our rooster (we have 10, now 9, one-year old layers). Also just integrated 15 additional layers, 5 weeks, into a new large run. Seems to be going well, flocks mostly keep to themselves but hang together sometimes. Maybe just an awful lot of change plus the severe weather conditions has them out of sorts. We're still quite new at this.

Thank you again for your thorough response.

 

[coach723]

You are very welcome.
As for the pallet, the idea behind the wire crate is air circulation to cool their body (they get pretty warm while broody) and so that they have no where to try to nest. If there is any area large enough for her to try to rest or nest, she will, which will reinforce the broodiness. Broodies will try to sit and nest just about anywhere they can. If you can use tie wraps/cable ties or wire to attach a wire bottom maybe out of hardware cloth temporarily so you can raise it up (making sure her feet can't get caught up) , that would probably work, it just needs to be high enough for air to circulate all around. A couple or three 4x4's laid under it would be high enough. Then when finished you can remove the wire bottom, and use it as before. If you can pick up a wire crate somewhere, garage sale, on sale, give away, etc. it's incredibly useful to have around if you are going to keep chickens. Broody crate, hospital crate, isolation/observation, temporary housing for chicks, etc. I find myself using them a LOT. I now have 3, two were given to me by people who didn't need them anymore.

 

[aart]

I give a dose of Sav-A-Chik electrolytes every few days during these heat waves after using it to save a heat stoked hen. It really seems to help the whole flock deal with the heat...along with the ice cubes fans etc.

Here's how I break a broody, dunking her belly in cool(not cold) water might help speed the process.
My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/

 

[coach723]

Great picture, @aart, exactly what I was trying to describe!

 

[aart]

Great picture, @aart, exactly what I was trying to describe!

A picture's worth a thousand words.
There's a similar pic in the article I linked, feel free to use it any time.

 

[1sfarmdoc]

Oh my goodness, this advice is so incredibly helpful! One more question... these hens have laid like clockwork all year, even winter, 7-9 eggs per day. Now 2-3. Is it losing a flockmate, the broody sister, the heat or maybe all of the above? AND, do I have to worry about egg impaction when I know several have gone nearly 3 days without laying?

 

[aart]

Heat for sure can slow production.
Do you free range?
Hidden nests is another possibility.

 

[1sfarmdoc]

They're out all day in a very large run, but it is enclosed. Haven't found any eggs in the grass or compost bins. I did, however, discover these two interesting eggs under Ginger (miss broody) upon shooing her out of nesting box. What the heck?! The larger egg is from one of our easter eggers, still small-ish, as you know. The other... a robins egg, maybe? Or an extra small egg from the other easter egger? We do have robins around, of course, but there are no nests anywhere near the run or coop. And how would it have gotten into not only the coop but the nesting box? I'm soooo confused!