I'm stumped 2 chickens have died in 5 weeks

[2ndTink]

I came home to my favorite chicken dead today. This morning she was fine as far as my quick check before going to work showed. Through the week I don't get a lot of time to just watch the chickens, but from my morning and evening feeding and opening / closing the coops, I haven't noticed anything.

To go back to the first chicken 5 weeks ago, I had no idea she was sick, same thing, going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark, 60+ hr work weeks. My husband was in the ICU so that even kept me from spending time that weekend with them. I noticed Saturday night she was on the floor of the coop, I thought she'd been knocked off and couldn't see to get back on the roost in the dark. I put her back on the roost and that's when I noticed she was puffed up and pale. It was almost midnight and I was running on 2 1/2 hrs of sleep in two days, so I didn't spend much time looking her over. I got a nap basically and went back to the hospital. Sunday night when I got home she had passed. Two weeks ago another RIR in the same coop was lethargic and puffed up. She's still alive, I have a thread on her but no progress. She's lost a lot of weight, isn't interested in eating, I did get her to eat a little scrambled egg last weekend so I'm planning on doing that again tomorrow.

She's still holding on, but tonight my favorite pullet is gone, and as far as I know, without warning, her crop was empty, and since I've been checking crops on them with Crazy Eyes not eating, I know she ate yesterday. I haven't noticed any bloody poops, the only thing I have seen is some poops are extra dark, smooth, and shiny. I have no idea if this means anything or not.

Could it be coccidiosis, or worms? There are no mites or lice. I have Corid, should I dose their water and see if Crazy Eyes gets better? They are in a well ventilated 8x10 coop, Nutrena layer feed, minimal snacks (scratch grains) and they are all about 10 months old, and my other 2 coops have had no issues.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

I came home to my favorite chicken dead today. This morning she was fine as far as my quick check before going to work showed. Through the week I don't get a lot of time to just watch the chickens, but from my morning and evening feeding and opening / closing the coops, I haven't noticed anything.

To go back to the first chicken 5 weeks ago, I had no idea she was sick, same thing, going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark, 60+ hr work weeks. My husband was in the ICU so that even kept me from spending time that weekend with them. I noticed Saturday night she was on the floor of the coop, I thought she'd been knocked off and couldn't see to get back on the roost in the dark. I put her back on the roost and that's when I noticed she was puffed up and pale. It was almost midnight and I was running on 2 1/2 hrs of sleep in two days, so I didn't spend much time looking her over. I got a nap basically and went back to the hospital. Sunday night when I got home she had passed. Two weeks ago another RIR in the same coop was lethargic and puffed up. She's still alive, I have a thread on her but no progress. She's lost a lot of weight, isn't interested in eating, I did get her to eat a little scrambled egg last weekend so I'm planning on doing that again tomorrow.

She's still holding on, but tonight my favorite pullet is gone, and as far as I know, without warning, her crop was empty, and since I've been checking crops on them with Crazy Eyes not eating, I know she ate yesterday. I haven't noticed any bloody poops, the only thing I have seen is some poops are extra dark, smooth, and shiny. I have no idea if this means anything or not.

Could it be coccidiosis, or worms? There are no mites or lice. I have Corid, should I dose their water and see if Crazy Eyes gets better? They are in a well ventilated 8x10 coop, Nutrena layer feed, minimal snacks (scratch grains) and they are all about 10 months old, and my other 2 coops have had no issues.

Might be coccidiosis, seeing as another pullet got it. @azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[2ndTink]

Might be coccidiosis, seeing as another pullet got it. @azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

This flock had coccidiosis when they were about 8 - 10 weeks, but I haven't seen any sign of bloody poops since then.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Also sorry about your husband and being so stressed and short of time. Check your feed for any mold, discoloration or chemical odor. Keep the body cold, not frozen, and try to send it to your state vet tomorrow am for a necropsy. That may give you a diagnosis. It won’t hurt to use Corid just in case. Is your water thawed at all times? The poops could be cecal poops. If your vet will do a fecal float on some collected dropping, they can rule out coccidiosis and worms.

 

[azygous]

Another possibility is a toxic substance such as rodent poison. The very dark, shiny poop could be internal bleeding. You could try acitvated charcoal, but it usually needs to be given soon after ingestion to do any good.

 

[2ndTink]

Sorry for your loss. Also sorry about your husband and being so stressed and short of time. Check your feed for any mold, discoloration or chemical odor. Keep the body cold, not frozen, and try to send it to your state vet tomorrow am for a necropsy. That may give you a diagnosis. It won’t hurt to use Corid just in case. Is your water thawed at all times? The poops could be cecal poops. If your vet will do a fecal float on some collected dropping, they can rule out coccidiosis and worms.

Thank you, it's so upsetting to loose my little meeps. Thabkfully my husband is doing better, so that's one less stress at the moment. I think I'll start Corid tomorrow since it should hurt then even if they don't need it, then get a fecal float test done. It's odd I'm only having trouble in one coop with my youngest chickens.

 

[2ndTink]

Another possibility is a toxic substance such as rodent poison. The very dark, shiny poop could be internal bleeding. You could try acitvated charcoal, but it usually needs to be given soon after ingestion to do any good.

They shouldn't be able to get any poison, we don't keep any here because of all our chickens and other 4 legged critters. All three coops are on the same feed, getting the same treats if I give any out, clean water that's on one of those heated stands so it's never frozen.

Keep the ideas coming though, I really appreciate your input and time.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've been keeping them inside their coop, 8x10 with a lot of vents, I've had a heater in there this week to try and give Crazy Eyes the best chance possible for her little body. It's been keeping the coop between 28 and 38 degrees.

Quote is from your other thread.
It's only the one coop?
And with the youngest chickens. How long have you had them?
Is Crazy Eyes older or the same age - she's with them?
Any changes in that particular coop - mold, mildew, more chickens than you normally keep in there. New feeder? I would inspect feed in that coop - it's possible the feed itself may be fine, but in some feeders it can sweat and mold, with there being a heat source, possible it's gotten damp?

Is the heater made to go in a coop -have you used it before? Does it emit any fumes?

Just some things to investigate.

I'm sorry that you are having a rough time, I hope your husband recovers and you can find out what's happening in this coop.

 

[Kiki]

You mention other coops.

When was the last time you brought ANY new to you birds home?

 

[2ndTink]

Quote is from your other thread.
It's only the one coop?
And with the youngest chickens. How long have you had them?
Is Crazy Eyes older or the same age - she's with them?
Any changes in that particular coop - mold, mildew, more chickens than you normally keep in there. New feeder? I would inspect feed in that coop - it's possible the feed itself may be fine, but in some feeders it can sweat and mold, with there being a heat source, possible it's gotten damp?

Is the heater made to go in a coop -have you used it before? Does it emit any fumes?

Just some things to investigate.

I'm sorry that you are having a rough time, I hope your husband recovers and you can find out what's happening in this coop.

Yes, just the one coop. I bought the day old chicks last spring, Feb or March I think. They are all the same age, from the same hatchery, bought within 3 weeks at the same feed store. It's an 8x10 walk in coop, I didn't add the heater until after Crazy Eyes wasn't looking good, it's a radiant oil heater the same as we have in the house.

No new feeders, the same bag of feed is fed across all three coops, I haven't seen anything wrong with the feed. The feeder is outside, once I saw Crazy Eyes wasn't eating I did soak some feed with hot water and let them eat that, but again, I gave that to all the coops.