- Feb 21, 2012
- 5
- 0
- 7
My flock of chickens has taken a turn for the worse and there does not appear to be a great deal of information about what could be the cause of it.
They all stopped laying a few months ago (about midway through Summer in the southern hemisphere).
Then on Saturday when I noticed my Gold Wayndotte wasn't getting up for breakfast and looked like she was gasping for air and struggling to breathe. Knowing she wasn't in a good way I picked her up to put in a box to take her to the vet and she convulsed and died in my arms. She choked up mucus as she died.
Not wanting the same fate for the other two hens (a Plymouth Barred Rock, and Lavender Araucana) we asked the vet to run an autopsy on her. The vet advised us that she had an egg outside her uterus, but that the mucus might have been a sign of heavy metal poisoning.
With this in mind we have taken the remaining 2 to get tested for metal poisoning (if that is the case then we will have to re-home them as we sort that out) but the vet said that the Barred Rock other might have an egg stuck in her anyway. She had a hernia about 6 months ago (and had an egg stuck in her which was removed) but that appears to be under control now.
On top of all of this, the Araucana has developed a mean limp a few months ago as well but no sign of breakages etc (she doesn't appear to be too phased by it) - could this be a result of an egg stuck in her too?
Not wanting an endless stream of vet bills does anybody know what could be causing this endless stream of injuries and illnesses?
The girls are more like pets than egg producers so are willing to spend a bit of money to get them healthy, but can't really justify it if this is going to be a regular issue for them.
They all stopped laying a few months ago (about midway through Summer in the southern hemisphere).
Then on Saturday when I noticed my Gold Wayndotte wasn't getting up for breakfast and looked like she was gasping for air and struggling to breathe. Knowing she wasn't in a good way I picked her up to put in a box to take her to the vet and she convulsed and died in my arms. She choked up mucus as she died.
Not wanting the same fate for the other two hens (a Plymouth Barred Rock, and Lavender Araucana) we asked the vet to run an autopsy on her. The vet advised us that she had an egg outside her uterus, but that the mucus might have been a sign of heavy metal poisoning.
With this in mind we have taken the remaining 2 to get tested for metal poisoning (if that is the case then we will have to re-home them as we sort that out) but the vet said that the Barred Rock other might have an egg stuck in her anyway. She had a hernia about 6 months ago (and had an egg stuck in her which was removed) but that appears to be under control now.
On top of all of this, the Araucana has developed a mean limp a few months ago as well but no sign of breakages etc (she doesn't appear to be too phased by it) - could this be a result of an egg stuck in her too?
Not wanting an endless stream of vet bills does anybody know what could be causing this endless stream of injuries and illnesses?
The girls are more like pets than egg producers so are willing to spend a bit of money to get them healthy, but can't really justify it if this is going to be a regular issue for them.
