Hi all.
I've only done one previous post on this site, and that was 28th April when I thought I had cracked my problem.
My last remaining hen, a large Buff Orpington called Buffy, died last week and I'm quite upset. I had rescued her from the brink in April by finding and treating Capillaria worms with fenbendazole. She was happy and laying again for a month. She then took a downward slide again, she first got broody, then shortly after started to be less active and developed a limp in her right leg- foot and leg seemed fine on checking, no infections. Around this time I noticed vent feathers were dirty so cleaned her and treated her again for worms, which it was recommended to do anyway at this time point. No change. She started to eat less, eventually eating almost nothing at all, all day, perhaps pecking at some grass and eating one or two mealworms. She barely pooed, but pretty sure she wasn't egg bound as this dragged on for weeks. She rapidly got weaker last weekend and died. These were her only symptoms, no respiratory problems, no signs of gleet or lice.
Me and my wife are now quite put off keeping hens, as that's our third of our first three and they all died in similar circumstances (although spread out over 12 months).
We're even convinced the coop or run itself is causing the issue, as the previous owner of the house itself said their hens died of unknown illnesses in the same coop. We cleaned it thoroughly before we used it, but kept the run the same.
So my question- Can anyone out there please tell me of any environmental issues that may have contributed? Can worms or other such infectious things persist in the soil of a run? In which case, how can we start again knowing we've done everything we can to stop the same things happening? I've heard of people 'treating' a run or a house to really clear up for a new set of hens.
Sorry its not a lot to go on.
I've only done one previous post on this site, and that was 28th April when I thought I had cracked my problem.
My last remaining hen, a large Buff Orpington called Buffy, died last week and I'm quite upset. I had rescued her from the brink in April by finding and treating Capillaria worms with fenbendazole. She was happy and laying again for a month. She then took a downward slide again, she first got broody, then shortly after started to be less active and developed a limp in her right leg- foot and leg seemed fine on checking, no infections. Around this time I noticed vent feathers were dirty so cleaned her and treated her again for worms, which it was recommended to do anyway at this time point. No change. She started to eat less, eventually eating almost nothing at all, all day, perhaps pecking at some grass and eating one or two mealworms. She barely pooed, but pretty sure she wasn't egg bound as this dragged on for weeks. She rapidly got weaker last weekend and died. These were her only symptoms, no respiratory problems, no signs of gleet or lice.
Me and my wife are now quite put off keeping hens, as that's our third of our first three and they all died in similar circumstances (although spread out over 12 months).
We're even convinced the coop or run itself is causing the issue, as the previous owner of the house itself said their hens died of unknown illnesses in the same coop. We cleaned it thoroughly before we used it, but kept the run the same.
So my question- Can anyone out there please tell me of any environmental issues that may have contributed? Can worms or other such infectious things persist in the soil of a run? In which case, how can we start again knowing we've done everything we can to stop the same things happening? I've heard of people 'treating' a run or a house to really clear up for a new set of hens.
Sorry its not a lot to go on.
