Help! Chickens living with a dead chicken? 😭

[PurpleConverse]

Hey everyone. Long story short...I ended up with some poor hens who have been living in a coop with a dead hen. It had two small windows for ventilation. It's very cold here so the heat lamp has been on. There were 6 of them total so 5 now. I was told it had been likely for a month or two. From what I saw the chickens had been pooping on the dead chicken to the point it was piled on top of it.

I ended up taking them to try to help them. I have other chickens that I have not put them with or near.

I was told the hens are likely around a year or two old. Mine are about two years old and these look like they could be older. But I'm not an expert on guessing chickens ages by any means.I just got them an hour ago and they all seem fine so far. I am wanting to bathe them and was told to only use water. I was also told to give them apple cider vinegar in their water and add oregano, tumeric, and garlic powder to their feed. They are apparently laying eggs. Obviously we don't know for sure what's wrong, if anything, but if you were in this situation would you just discard the eggs or would you still use them? Also, what are some sicknesses to look out for?

I've never dealt with this particular issue and Googling "poor hens living with a dead hen for two months, what can I give them?" wouldn't bring back the results I needed. So I'm reaching out here.

I will also be going to some farm and feed places locally tomorrow to ask what to do. Hopefully the vet will get back to me too. They are always super busy so they can take a bit.

Thank you all so much.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Plain water is all they need.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I would check for mites and lice for sure, for bumblefoot and for scaley leg mites. I would provide good feed, oyster shell in a separate container and also grit in a separate container. I'd provide something for them to dust bathe in and keep them quarantined for at least a month. Wear separate shoes and clothing between the two batches of chickens and wash hands or wear gloves between handling them. And good luck! Bless you for doing this! Not sure about the eggs.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@ChickenCanoe do you have any advice here? Or @Ridgerunner ?

 

[PurpleConverse]

I would check for mites and lice for sure, for bumblefoot and for scaley leg mites. I would provide good feed, oyster shell in a separate container and also grit in a separate container. I'd provide something for them to dust bathe in and keep them quarantined for at least a month. Wear separate shoes and clothing between the two batches of chickens and wash hands or wear gloves between handling them. And good luck! Bless you for doing this! Not sure about the eggs.

Thank you so very much. I will check them now for those things! Thank you again this is super helpful.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You're very welcome. I hope they all turn out to be healthy and integrate with your existing flock with no problems. Enjoy!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I don't think you need to worry about the eggs as long as the nesting boxes are kept clean. Salmonella is very common but transmitted through feces on the egg. It doesn't sound like they were eating the dead hen so that's good. I do wonder if they could have eaten some bugs that might have been eating the dead hen. Maybe look into that. Last time I visited my mom we found a dead hen in her run that had been there long enough it was almost skeletonized and they had no idea so had been eating the eggs the whole time. Granted that was outside so a bit of a different situation. Either way thats awfully sad they ended up in that condition and good on you for rescuing them.

 

[nuthatched]

There's nothing special they need because one was dead, highly quality feed , fresh water and sunshine is all they need. Save the spices for dinner

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

There's nothing special they need because one was dead, highly quality feed , fresh water and sunshine is all they need. Save the spices for dinner

I love this save the spices for dinner. I like to put a fresh sprig of oregano in the chickens' water when its growing in the summer but I think these kinds of things are ok for prevention not as a cure. I'm not sure they work even in that sense and I was under the impression garlic would make the eggs taste garlicky so have always avoided that.

 

[nuthatched]

I love this save the spices for dinner. I like to put a fresh sprig of oregano in the chickens' water when its growing in the summer but I think these kinds of things are ok for prevention not as a cure. I'm not sure they work even in that sense and I was under the impression garlic would make the eggs taste garlicky so have always avoided that.

I like thyme and garlic when cooking chicken, or smoked salt mixed with butter, rubbed under the skin.