Help!! one chicken dead another sick

[redjess1984]

One of my wyndottes died two days ago now one of my Rhode island reds looks like its dying. They have been healthy and then a few days ago I noticed they weren't really eating much. I thought perhaps it was because I put a ton of grass clippings and field greens in their run and its been very hot, but now I'm not so sure. The first we just found dead on the nesting box and I thought maybe it had an egg get stuck but now this one is sick. It's very thin, I can feel its breast bone.but you can't see any difference at all. The other chickens look fine but again this all came on very suddenly. There is no vet around here that will treat chickens and I just don't know what to do! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[dawg53]

Inspect your birds for lice/mites. It could be worms as well.

 

[redjess1984]

I wormed them about a month ago with wazine. I haven't noticed any mites or lice. Could they have some kind of bacteria?

 

[Heat]

Has their food gotten wet by chance? I have heard (but don't know for sure) that wet food can cause stomach issues and possibly prove fatal to chickens... Maybe the heat is affecting them all differently...

In any case I am sorry to hear about your loss and I hope you can find out what is going on!

 

[redjess1984]

Thank you I just hope I can figure it out before I lose any more. I'm wondering if it could possibly be heatstroke?

 

[dawg53]

I wouldnt feed them anything but layer feed and provide freshwater....especially in the heat. You can put fans in the pen/run to help circulate the air and to help keep them cooler. I have box fans in my pens and fans in the coops as well.

 

[redjess1984]

Ok I definetly think its the heat. I did a thurough exam and they all look fine, clear eyes, red combs and wattles, clean moist vents, no runny poop no mites good feet. I placed the sick chick in some cool water and she seemed to like it. I put her in my dog crate and brought her in the house after I gave her some vitamin water in a dropper. I'm gonna keep giving her some vitamin water in the dropper for the next few hours and hopefully she'll perk up. She's very weak and can barely walk. Great idea about the fans. Gonna put one in there tomorrow.

 

[evagay]

We also have ost one chicken and another not doing well. We are also wondering if it is the heat !!

 

[dawg53]

Ok I definetly think its the heat. I did a thurough exam and they all look fine, clear eyes, red combs and wattles, clean moist vents, no runny poop no mites good feet. I placed the sick chick in some cool water and she seemed to like it. I put her in my dog crate and brought her in the house after I gave her some vitamin water in a dropper. I'm gonna keep giving her some vitamin water in the dropper for the next few hours and hopefully she'll perk up. She's very weak and can barely walk. Great idea about the fans. Gonna put one in there tomorrow.

Good job. What does her poop look like...color and consistancy?

 

[Heat]

Ok I definetly think its the heat. I did a thurough exam and they all look fine, clear eyes, red combs and wattles, clean moist vents, no runny poop no mites good feet. I placed the sick chick in some cool water and she seemed to like it. I put her in my dog crate and brought her in the house after I gave her some vitamin water in a dropper. I'm gonna keep giving her some vitamin water in the dropper for the next few hours and hopefully she'll perk up. She's very weak and can barely walk. Great idea about the fans. Gonna put one in there tomorrow.

Hope she is doing better this morning!

Fans are a really good idea! There are a few threads on here about keeping your chickens cool in the heat and it seems like giving them cool treats like frozen watermelon help as well. Good luck and keep us posted!