hens all dying, lost over half my flock, unknown cause, please help!!

[ilovemychook24]

i still have one healthy hen, i may be able to save her!
luckily our vegetable patch is only filled with spinach (since we didnt have time to go in and get more seeds and eventually forgot about it)
if that doesnt work, i'll just keep them locked up, let nature takes it course, and if alls lost, i'll just disinfect the entire pen and hope there is good to come
just a question though..would the bait infect their eggs? i have some eggs in the bator to make up for the loss and they are well and alive at day 14 now but i'm just wondering if i put in some eggs that were last layed, wouldn't make it due to contamination?
anyway thanks all for support

<3

 

[MudgesMom]

Ilovemychook24So sad you are going through this.

How old are your birds? With the position of the head,feathers ruffled, and inability to move etc.
Do you think this could be newcastles or AE (Avian Encephalitis), or EE ( Equine Encephalitis)? As hard as it is you might want to have one necropsied. I think newcastles spreads rapidly and I think there are different strains.

The following Link is helpful for poultry diseases and has an easy Table chart at the end for checklisting symptoms

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Alethea]

I'm so sorry this is happening. I expect they are eating poisoned mice and dying from the coumadin. It would account for a number of things, possibly even the position. Is there an avian vet in your area who might help? There are on-line vets, which ae expensive, but so would be losing your flock. I'd go for the leafy greens, iron-rich foods to help fortify they blood they have, liver (the liver produces some anticoagulant), and sesame seeds, which help with platelet production. Make sure fresh water is available to help with dehydration due to blood loss. Good luck. I'm offering merit.

 

[ilovemychook24]

actually, now that you mention it....this actually looks like it might be newcastles disease
i did cheak out the link you posted, and thankyou

for a fact that my hens also have been
-gasping
-coughing
-sneezing
-one gets discharge from eyes
-runny noses
-lameness
etc
the one that definatley has these symtoms is an ex-battery hen
flock ages:
rhode island 7-8 years [hen]
2 barred rocks 6 years [hens
1 rhode island/ game bantam mix 2 years [hen]
1 rhode island/ silkie/ game mix 10 months [rooster)
i have lost five hens in about 3-4 days

 

[keesmom]

Sounds like it's time for a necropsy. Then you will know what the problem is and what to do about it.

 

[ilovemychook24]

sadly we dont live near an avian doctor or anyone that helps chickens

and
could someone guide me through the necropsy..i scared of where to cut and what to look out for and what to use

 

[tinychicky]

the rooster is probably not showing signs of illness because he let the hens eat all the"food" (mice) he found, unknowingly killing them

i'm glad your silkies are okay. it's hard to lose that many chickens at a time. i've had a similar experience this year. since last august i've lost near 20 birds from a variety of reasons including cocci, worms, CRD and a nasty mutt dog

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I was a nurse for 25 yrs. and the symptoms you describe sound like coumadin overdose. Especially the Black stools which indicates intestinal bleeding. I would not let them free range until you can be sure all the bait and dead mice have decomposed. I'm so sorry this happened your girls. I lost all of my first flock except two to a bobcat and a pair of bald eagles.

Sending you

 

[ilovemychook24]

wow, that is a big loss, i'm so sorry

it can be hard

my silkies are very heatly and fat and one isnt very tame which is a shame
i have a good feeling that when i left the gate open one day
they went for a wander, being bored of their usual area
went a little up the farm, found an old dead, decaying mouse
the rooster pointed it out, they all went crazy and start pecking away
the rotten material from the mouse probably had something to do with the black on the tips of their tongues
the poision slowly made them internally bleed from the posion the mouse had died from
and slowly they dropped

i now know that my rhode island wont die, she never leaves the pen...well not from a big distance
my mix will probably die including one of the barreds
and i'll be left with a flock of three
at least i have 5 eggs in incubator and six getting set soon
thankyou everyone, so much

 

[CluckCluck18]

OMG! I just lost one chicken a few weeks ago and I thought that was awful. I'm so sorry to hear what's happening to you. I'm new to chicken keeping but I agree that it's probably related to the mouse poison. I send my sympathy to you and hope you get this rectified quickly. Good luck!