Help! dying hens

[Heartwood]

Hi Everyone,
I'm a novice here in Colorado. I have a hen who has runny white and green exudae coming from her behind. Two others have died in the last few days with the same symptoms. She is listless, off of her feed and water.

 

[eenie114]

I would get her to a vet.

 

[teach1rusl]

So sorry...I have no experience with illnesses. If I had to guess, I'd go with coccidiosis, and you could try amprolium. If you've already lost two, I don't think it could hurt. Hopefully someone with experience in illnesses will respond. Do a search on coccidiosis, and see if the symptoms match. I know Tractor Supply Company keeps some medications/anitbiotics for animals.

 

[Heartwood]

Thank you both for your kind replies. We had two more dead today. Anyone else have any ideas?
We're in a panic here. No chicken vet around anywhere close.

 

[jjthink]

Hi, and I'm really sorry about this terrible situation. Maybe folks here can help you find someone if you ID more specifically your locale. You can in any case call vets, and you might also try Peter Brown at First State Vet Supply (google). Very serious and so sad - I hope you can sort it out before losing anybody else.
JJ

 

[eggchel]

Start by reading through these sites and seeing if any of the disease descriptions fit your birds.

Save the next bird that dies (or the most recent). Wrap it in two plastic bags and put it in the refrigerator or in an ice chest to keep it cool.
Use the last link to find your state vet, tell them that your flock is dying, and ask where you can get a free necropsy to determine the cause of death. Usually it is through a state university or agricultural extension office.


Bacterial diseases:
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/diseases.html

Viral diseases:
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disviral.htm

Parasites:
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disparas.htm#mite

State Vets:
http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalHealth/StateVets.aspx

 

[JFoxx]

We had some of the same sorts of problems, we lost three birds in a matter of weeks. The symptoms were dirty hind quarters, followed by them looking very tired and not acting themselves. We looked into it by bringing them into a local vet and brainstormed that it might be some sort of upper respiratory problem, not totally sure though. We looked to isolate the afflicted bird and cleaned there housing area; for us it was an oversized dog coop. We recently constructed a much larger coop to get the birds out of the somewhat cramped sleeping space, what I believed to be the cause of the illness. It may be some sort of bacterial infection; isolate the sick birds, clean the coop to try to eliminate any bacteria, and try to get a hold of some antibiotics. My best wishes go out to you and your birds, losing birds is a bleak affair