Help!! my barred rock is super sick!!!

[chicksurreal]

Hi All -- Thank you for checking in on us. Its been a horrifying start to the New Year for sure. Bells passed late last night.. At about 8pm, she took a tiny bit of water and we did a warm bath with her. We got her all warm and cozy and then kept on trying to give her liquids. She was refusing at that point, and barely awake/alive. We brought her into our room and I tried once more at 11pm. When my baby woke up to nurse at 12:15am or so, my husband went in to try to feed her and she had passed. I was up the rest of the night crying.

Today, we dug an extremely deep hole outside, and buried her. We live on a 2 acre piece of land, and she overlooks the run/coop and her favorite hillside to free range. I'm just such a mess and hope that you all understand. These were our pets, and its heartbreaking to us to loose her. We feel so, so horrible that this went unnoticed. From now on, we are picking up every bird every day or so and checking them out. In the summer months, we spend so much more time out with them and would have never NOT caught this. But with it being cold, and dark so early, we don't get outside much to hang with them during the day. I think she snuck by my husbands radar in that she was coming out in the mornings until yesterday, and probably was just going back in and not eating. At night when he went to collect eggs they would all be in the coop, and she has recently been hanging out/sleeping in the nesting boxes. Sometimes they all do that, but Bells never had. I wish my husband looked into this more, but he didn't, and feels so bad about it. She weighed hardly anything when we got to her yesterday. I'm just greiving so, thinking about her and hoping she didn't suffer. She was just such a sweet girl and we won't ever forget her.

Thank you all so much for the helpful advice. Who knows what happened.. I didn't have the courage to dig into finding out. All of our other chickens are super healthy and fine. So, I'm assuming it was an egg issue, a blockage of some sort or an infection.

This was our first chicken loss. I'm proud that we have been able to give them all a safe and loving home here in the Colorado foothills.

It really is very hard to lose one of them. We lost a cockerel to a bobcat not long ago and I'm still feeling very bad about it. We changed how we let them free range and watch them much more closely now and have our dogs patrolling the yard all the time now. Really sorry to hear that she didn't make it.

 

[ten chicks]

My condolences,it is always heartbreaking when one of our beloved pet dies. Bells and Betsy may have had a medical issue that even if caught earlier,would have had the same result,their untimely passing.

Do not blame yourselves as chickens are very good at hiding any and all illness/injuries,in the bird world any injury/illness means sudden death,so they are very adept at hiding them. I too know the pain of sitting up all night sobbing(and for weeks) after the death of a pet. I find comfort in burying my pets on my property also,i know they are near and eternally safe. Both girls knew they were loved and this is the greatest gift we can give.

Never forgotten and always remembered,are such sad but true words. Remember your ladies with smiles and not pain,for this is what they would have wanted.

My heartfelt condolences

~Mia

 

[chicksurreal]

My condolences,it is always heartbreaking when one of our beloved pet dies. Bells and Betsy may have had a medical issue that even if caught earlier,would have had the same result,their untimely passing.

Do not blame yourselves as chickens are very good at hiding any and all illness/injuries,in the bird world any injury/illness means sudden death,so they are very adept at hiding them. I too know the pain of sitting up all night sobbing(and for weeks) after the death of a pet. I find comfort in burying my pets on my property also,i know they are near and eternally safe. Both girls knew they were loved and this is the greatest gift we can give.

Never forgotten and always remembered,are such sad but true words. Remember your ladies with smiles and not pain,for this is what they would have wanted.

My heartfelt condolences

~Mia

That is a lovely sentiment. We bury our pets on our land too.

 

[sunshineyarns]

Thank you... its heartbreaking, and I feel horrible. Hmm, that article on crop and gizzard impaction is interesting. It really need to study up more on my chicken anatomy. I understand how the crop works, but should probably arm myself with more info just incase problems arise in the future. So, last night, Bells did leak a bunch of fluid from her mouth during her bath, and then again before she passed. It didn't smell good, but it wasn't really sour or super stinky. It was kind of a sandy brown/clear fluid. Not sure if that helps with anything. And, like I said, I have no info on her poops, because she didn't poop in the last 12 hours she was alive.

Does anyone know about these items for chickens: . "A Water Cleanser in the drinking water forms a very important part of a prevention programme as it cleans food stuff of any contamination. This health programme is comprised of Turbobooster, Energy supplement, Fvite, Ioford, Dufoplus and Water Cleanser, and provides your pet bird with all the minerals and nutrients it requires for ongoing health and vitality." The lady at the store said to give them probiotics and electolytes on occassion, and to deworm them. I'm kind of a minimalist with things, and dont' want to overdue it. What would be the most important/useful things to do regularly?? They did just come off of a 2 month break of laying during their molt.

We give our birds all an organic layer and organic no corn/no soy mix, as well as organic scratch. They have access to water obviously and get lots of veggie and fruit scraps. I usually give them yogurt once a week or so. We mix oyster shell into their feed and get some grit outside on occassion as well. Though, our backyard has a ton of natural grit already. Thoughts on adding anything else to the mix?

On another note, Our one bird Ruby, that turned out to be mega-broody last year ended up at the vet (before we knew she was broody). We had Xrays done, and turns out she has a small screw in her crop. We had our roof replaced about 2 years ago, and they were good at making sure things got picked up, but obviously missed some. We were afraid we were going to loose her soon after that, but she has been happy and healthy since. Any thoughts on this, or suggestions on how to deal with her in the future? Our vet said that its SO common for chickens to carry things like this around in their crops forever, but toxins can eventually take their toll.

 

[sunshineyarns]

Thank you, thank you for the kind words Mia. I know.. I love that Bells is watching over the rest of the girls and our beautiful field. It was the perfect spot to bury her.

 

[suzMEchicks]

I was just reading about your recent troubles. So sorry. I am new to chickens, less than a year. But I love them too. It must be a hard loss. Thank you for sharing so we can learn. This is the part of chicken "farming" i worry about.

 

[pwand]

Hi All -- Thank you for checking in on us. Its been a horrifying start to the New Year for sure. Bells passed late last night.. At about 8pm, she took a tiny bit of water and we did a warm bath with her. We got her all warm and cozy and then kept on trying to give her liquids. She was refusing at that point, and barely awake/alive. We brought her into our room and I tried once more at 11pm. When my baby woke up to nurse at 12:15am or so, my husband went in to try to feed her and she had passed. I was up the rest of the night crying. 

Today, we dug an extremely deep hole outside, and buried her. We live on a 2 acre piece of land, and she overlooks the run/coop and her favorite hillside to free range. I'm just such a mess and hope that you all understand. These were our pets, and its heartbreaking to us to loose her. We feel so, so horrible that this went unnoticed. From now on, we are picking up every bird every day or so and checking them out. In the summer months, we spend so much more time out with them and would have never NOT caught this. But with it being cold, and dark so early, we don't get outside much to hang with them during the day. I think she snuck by my husbands radar in that she was coming out in the mornings until yesterday, and probably was just going back in and not eating. At night when he went to collect eggs they would all be in the coop, and she has recently been hanging out/sleeping in the nesting boxes. Sometimes they all do that, but Bells never had. I wish my husband looked into this more, but he didn't, and feels so bad about it. She weighed hardly anything when we got to her yesterday. I'm just greiving so, thinking about her and hoping she didn't suffer. She was just such a sweet girl and we won't ever forget her. 

Thank you all so much for the helpful advice. Who knows what happened.. I didn't have the courage to dig into finding out. All of our other chickens are super healthy and fine. So, I'm assuming it was an egg issue, a blockage of some sort or an infection. 

This was our first chicken loss. I'm proud that we have been able to give them all a safe and loving home here in the Colorado foothills. 

I am so sorry for your loss. It hard when we love them this much. Hugs.

Chickens will hide sickness from us until its to a point they cant anymore, then its often to late to help. You guys did the best you could, she is no longer suffering. When she was open mouth breathing, her eyes being closed her body was already in the process of shutting down. Unfortunately we can't help them turn around. I would say she went fast. An unexpected death like this is the hardest to deal with. It takes time to heal. She knows she was loved very much and had a great life with you and your family.

 

[pwand]

Thank you... its heartbreaking, and I feel horrible. Hmm, that article on crop and gizzard impaction is interesting. It really need to study up more on my chicken anatomy. I understand how the crop works, but should probably arm myself with more info just incase problems arise in the future. So, last night, Bells did leak a bunch of fluid from her mouth during her bath, and then again before she passed. It didn't smell good, but it wasn't really sour or super stinky. It was kind of a sandy brown/clear fluid. Not sure if that helps with anything. And, like I said, I have no info on her poops, because she didn't poop in the last 12 hours she was alive.

Does anyone know about these items for chickens: [COLOR=333333]. "A Water Cleanser in the drinking water forms a very important part of a prevention programme as it cleans food stuff of any contamination. This health programme is comprised of Turbobooster, Energy supplement, Fvite, Ioford, Dufoplus and Water Cleanser, and provides your pet bird with all the minerals and nutrients it requires for ongoing health and vitality." The lady at the store said to give them probiotics and electolytes on occassion, and to deworm them. I'm kind of a minimalist with things, and dont' want to overdue it. What would be the most important/useful things to do regularly?? They did just come off of a 2 month break of laying during their molt.[/COLOR]

We give our birds all an organic layer and organic no corn/no soy mix, as well as organic scratch. They have access to water obviously and get lots of veggie and fruit scraps. I usually give them yogurt once a week or so. We mix oyster shell into their feed and get some grit outside on occassion as well. Though, our backyard has a ton of natural grit already. Thoughts on adding anything else to the mix?

On another note, Our one bird Ruby, that turned out to be mega-broody last year ended up at the vet (before we knew she was broody). We had Xrays done, and turns out she has a small screw in her crop. We had our roof replaced about 2 years ago, and they were good at making sure things got picked up, but obviously missed some. We were afraid we were going to loose her soon after that, but she has been happy and healthy since. Any thoughts on this, or suggestions on how to deal with her in the future? Our vet said that its SO common for chickens to carry things like this around in their crops forever, but toxins can eventually take their toll. 

It sounded like she had sour crop which most likely was initially impacted. They can also get impacted gizzard. My other concern with organic feed is it sits longer on the shelf and may get old or go bad because less people buy it. Sour crop also can happen from spoiled food. Other things can cause it like having worms or Mareks disease, causes the crop to slow down. Deworm the other birds., i do crop checks every so often, before they eat in the morning to make sure its flat. I had one with this, so i have become crop obsessed. I seen a necropsy on the internet were the food was to pass through a narrow opening to the rest of the digestive track, it had become so narrow the chickens feed couldn't pass through. So many possibilities. We can only do our best and hope for a good outcome.

Here is a couple of good links to help explain the crop issue and treating it. The key to impact crop is lots of water and massages to try to pass an impaction. Some will tube feed water. There is so much to learn. Hope this is helpful.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html
http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/01/crop-issues.html

Heres good dewormers to use and dosages.

Valbazen dosage on this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/606881/valbazen-de-worming-question

Safeguard:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...er-for-chickens-can-it-be-used-in-their-water
Kathy has good info at the bottom of this thread. #14
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/688579/fowl-pox-what-to-do-with-flock#post_12532231

 

[ten chicks]

Crop issues can be a problem. I am always checking my birds for crop issues,bumblefoot and vent issues. I check their feet in the morning,crops in am/pm and vents in am,i'm sure they roll their eyes(and are thinking,here comes that crazy woman again,poking and prodding us)when they see me coming at night to check. I know they love me(treats anyway). Lol

 

[sunshineyarns]

Thank you for the info everyone!! I do check crops on occassion, but will certainly start doing this more regularly. Fortunately, organic feed flies off the shelves here, so I'm not concerned with its shelf life. We have to usually special order it when it comes in, or we will miss out. Alas, there is always the possibility of a bad batch, or something they ate. We usually give them our fresh scraps, but who knows..

I'm going to read up on all of this for sure. Any other info would be much appreciated.. especially if any of you think we should be regularly doing any other supplements. I do have some dewormer here that a friend gave me last year when she moved. Piperazine?? I'll look into the link above though...