I have 28 chickens most are just 6 months old the others vary in age from 3- 5 yrsold. They are all Golden Comets except two Bramah's who are the oldest and seem to never get sick. Over the past year every so often I see a hen start to puff up some, loss of appetite, stand in one spot, listless like. Sometimes they have poopy butts. I clean them up, make up some hard bolied egg, yogurt, oatmeal etc. vit in the water, they seem to eat the food mixture well the first couple of days then they start to waste away. They get very weak, stop eating and drinking all together. It takes days for them to die. It is so heartwrenching to watch. I have wormed them with Wasine. They get organic feed, free range, fruits and veggies form the kitchen. Any ideas?? It seems to hit the older ones. But not the Bramah's. What am I doing wrong. I cant take the long slow death thing it's very upsetting. thanks for any help
Have you checked around the vent area of the chicken for mites? Even if you have a clean area for your chickens, mites can be brought in on new birds or even wild birds. You may not always see them on the bird at first glance, but if you have those Northern Fowl Mites that live and feed on the bird and congregate around the vent area, they can bring an otherwise healthy bird down, even kill them.
