Hens can't walk

[ameliadanielle]

I just feel like it's taking ages to hear back. It's driving me nuts. Lol. I know my friends are sick to death about hearing about it too. I won't be able to quit thinking about it until I know for sure. /sigh

 

[ktpaco]

I know how you feel!!! Sucks not knowing and just waiting....

 

[ameliadanielle]

I emailed Monday to ask how long it usually takes... no response. I may have to track down a phone number and call someone. I dropped her off last Monday.

 

[Eggcessive]

Look back at my link for Metzger farms in post #4. It has several njmbers for GA poultry labs.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Yeah, they have numbers for the other two locations, but the Tifton location I dropped my silkie off at only has an email contact. I only think they come there to pick up. I'm going to be on the phone with every number I can find tomorrow so I can try and find something out.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Now there is a number listed for Tifton and I called it but no answer. So I called another office and they are going to contact the vet doing the necropsy for me. Hopefully I will hear something today.

 

[ameliadanielle]

I got the results back! All samples they sent off to be tested for disease were negative. As I told them I was thinking about trading some of my chickens and I was worried about passing on disease. Mildred, our silkie, died from being horribly egg bound. That's one of the very first things I tried checking her for. Gave her a warm bath, felt her abdomen and also didn't feel an egg up in there. The vet said it was WAY up in there and he was completely surprised she lasted a week that way. He said they usually go very quick from that. This gives me no answers on the pullet. However... I have my ideas. This may be my fault. She was being humped pretty aggressively by a young rooster. She didn't have any outside wounds but he could have hurt her. Once she and Mildred were sick and they were in quarantine, I wasn't feeding them layer food. Mildred never laid many eggs. 9 in the entire year I've had her. She was not a prolific layer. So she was sick, I assumed she wouldn't be laying. I was feeding her chick starter for the extra protein because she was sick after my exam of her didn't show any stuck egg that I could feel. I assumed she was sick and wouldn't be laying until she got better. I also assumed the pullet was too young to be laying even though she was being humped. Her sister has started laying tiny little eggs for me. So she could have been injured and then I wasn't giving her calcium. The pullet was a game bird and they are only 5 months old. I've never had a game bird start laying that early. They are pretty slow maturing birds. Also... since spring has come my flock has been ignoring layer pellets in favor of the new green grass and plants and the multitude of bugs that also showed up. It wasn't until around the time the girls were sick that I noticed and put out oyster shell. The chickens hadn't really touched it all winter, as they were filling up on layer pellets and obviously had plenty of calcium from that. When I checked Mildred for possibly being egg bound I noticed they untouched feeders and the empty oyster shell bowl. I had no idea being egg bound could have caused her to have neurological symptoms like that. It does explain why she went so quickly. It also sort of explains why my pullet seemed to be recovering and standing on that bad leg again just to very quickly go downhill again. I will never again assume a hen is not egg bound just because I couldn't feel an egg. I also won't ever not give layer just because I assume a hen is not laying. :'(

 

[ktpaco]

Sounds like you have experience with chickens - so you were just going off of that - but I understand far too well how you blame yourself. I'm glad you got your results, and found out that nothing is contagious for the others. And I will take your tidbits of information regarding your chickens, so I can learn from them also.

 

[ameliadanielle]

I'm not too experienced. My dad has been keeping chickens since before I was born. I grew up around them. I've only had my own chickens since becoming an adult for just over a year. I am very glad she was negative for disease. Hopefully that means my flock is negative for disease as we had Mildred since last summer. The only new chickens we have gotten as adults was before Christmas. So, by this point if anything had been introduced they all should have had it by now. I'm just also very upset that it was something that could have been fixed and I screwed it up. I had to apologize to my husband. He isn't upset with me, but I am.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad you got the results back.
It is a positive note to know that there was no contagious disease.
Don't beat yourself up, you did everything you knew to do.
Here's hoping that everyone else will stay healthy and happy.