I need to diagnose my flock, quickly.

[Yermite]

Okay so I'm a newb so bare with me. We have 10 adult laying hens, five 3week olds in a coop that's 6ft x 5 ft. tomorrow I plan on sanitizing the entire thing because 2 weeks ago one of my Rhode Island Reds got sick. She seemed drunk while walking, she was panting frequently, she lost her appetite, stopped walking altogether, and once she stopped drinking water I knew it was too late. I looked up the easiest, respectful way to put her down and did it.

I couldn't let her suffer that way. That happened two days ago and now, this morning my Buff Orpington is doing the panting thing too! Frantically, I sprinkled DE everywhere, food, bedding, nesting boxes, and on each of them! I mixed a large batch of anitbiotic-filled water (Terra-Vet10). I'm going to rack out ALL of the bedding, nesting boxes, and perches tomorrow for a good soapy/water scrubbing and another coat of DE. I just want to make sure I kill whatever is upsetting my girls. Can anyone help me pin-point what's wrong with my girls and help me fix it?!

 

[Judy]

DE will have no effect on bacteria or viruses, and is quite irritating to their respiratory tract. Most chicken diseases are carried by the birds themselves, and many are highly contagious. I'd suggest you consider testing. Perhaps your country extension agent can direct you for this. I do happen to know know that you can have a necropsy performed for free in California, though I don't know who does it. You could post in a California thread and ask, if no one posts here to tell you: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/25/california-northern/45580_20

Perhaps these links will help:

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

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

I hope this turns out well for you and your flock.

 

[dawg53]

DE will have no effect on bacteria or viruses, and is quite irritating to their respiratory tract. Most chicken diseases are carried by the birds themselves, and many are highly contagious. I'd suggest you consider testing. Perhaps your country extension agent can direct you for this. I do happen to know know that you can have a necropsy performed for free in California, though I don't know who does it. You could post in a California thread and ask, if no one posts here to tell you: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/25/california-northern/45580_20

Perhaps these links will help:

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

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

I hope this turns out well for you and your flock.

x2

 

[Suzierd]

While your waiting on testing be sure to check them for lice/mites.

 

[Yermite]

Oh gosh, I'm not doing better for them with the DE. You're saying that it's possibly making things worse... I'll cut down on that then. Thanks for the links, I'm going to our local feed store as well.

 

[casportpony]

There are four UC Davis labs in California that do free necropsies on chickens, turkeys and waterfowl, limit 2 per day. The only thing you have to pay for is shipping, but they'll let you use their FedEx account and bill you at their discounted rate.

This is their website:
http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/

-Kathy

 

[Nambroth]

Oh gosh, I'm not doing better for them with the DE. You're saying that it's possibly making things worse... I'll cut down on that then. Thanks for the links, I'm going to our local feed store as well.

Yes, I'd cut out the DE as it does nothing at all against illness of any sort (and is only a moderate preventative of mites at best). It may just irritate their respiratory systems, especially if you used it liberally!

Have you started the antibiotics in their water? If not, I'd suggest waiting, as treating blindly with antibiotics (or, worse yet, not treating with a strong enough/long enough course) can actually cause more harm than good.

Cleaning things out in general won't hurt anything, just avoid using any chemical cleaners that can irritate their respiratory tracts.
Keep them with clean water, fresh feed, and as stress-free as you can for now. Observe them carefully; we cannot diagnose them but we can help you while you wait on testing (which I highly recommend, your state makes it pretty easy to get testing done!).

Good information to share:
-Careful observations of the hen's symptoms in detail;
-Flock history, if you have lost any birds other than what you mentioned, if you have brought any birds in;
-Diet-- what you are feeding them, exactly;
-Any changes you've made, such as worming, medications, supplements, etc.

 

[Yermite]

Okay. So we're done with the DE. Everything in the pit is cleaned with water and a sponge. (no chemicals) But again, my girls are free ranged, so I don't really know if cleaning makes a difference. I brought my gal Shrimp into the house today. I boiled a few eggs and she ate the yolk right up. I also made a mash of banana and honey and she ate that too. She is drinking well, but panting much of the day. She's not as flighty as usual, but being broody maybe she's just calming down. She's still laying eggs, but she was a tiny bit pasty so I cleaned her bum and applied vaseline. I haven't added anything NEW to their diets. Wait, eggshell. I've started giving them back the eggshells. Bu that's a good thing, isn't it? A red flag could be the babies we've just hatched. 5 silkies. I have not vaccinated them at all. Could that be what's happening?