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hey there. I know those scary chicken illness dreams all too well. but trust me, you'll come out of it, even though it doesn't seem like it right now, you'll learn a hell lot and your hens troubles will get better.
I feed my hens organic feed by Purina. I also give them fruits, vegetables, oats, yogurt, buttermilk, scrambled eggs as occasional and controlled treats. I know you are watching them closely have you seen any other symptoms besides the diarrhoea? One of my current hens had worms (capillaria), and her symptoms were persistent green diarrhoea, but she also rested quite a bit more than the others, and occasionally would just look sort of confused. I determined the parasite through a fecal, treated her (valbazen + fenbendazole) and the diarrhoea is completely gone. Diarrheoa can also be caused by other reasons such as eating watery fruits, and also in the case of a molt but persistent diarrhoea can definitely point to an intestinal parasite so its a good thing that you're getting a fecal.
If it's not a parasite, then there is a good chance that its another infectious agent (virus, bacteria) causing the problem, and the best way to determine that is through a necropsy, or by studying the symptoms which in your case seem to be tricky because diarrhea is a pretty general symptom.
One thing to remember is unless it is a deadly disease, like mareks (in my case) which is best prevented through a vaccination earlier in their lives hens are individuals like us, and some hens will have weak immunities, and others wont. This to give you hope that your strong hens will fight it. If I were you, besides trying to track down the problem, i'd also support their survivor hens' immune system with healthy boosts protein (scrambled egg), pribiotics (yoghurt/buttermilk), vitamins (I use provisol baby vitamin drops). I have heard a ton about grapefruit seed extract being an immune system booster, so i do occasionally put a couple of drops in their water or treats.
I wish to raise them organically, but organic methods shine during the prevention stage. Once they're suffering from symptoms, especially if they're bad, i use medication. I do a lot of research to determine the right medications, and try to be responsible about my use.
I hope you do not lose another hen, and that the rest of your flock survives and thrives. but if you do, try to accept it in the hopes of figuring out what is going on.
It sucks to have such a difficult time the first time raising hens. particularly because there are some lucky people who have raised them for 30 years or something and never had a problem. But, i do think that early difficulties will make you a better chicken raiser. use this an an opportunity to learn about your hens and their health, and best practices in animal husbandry.
One little note in addition, our garden where they free range is organic, and we have layers and layers of mulch, manure, compost, rotting leaves to build the top soil. I hear that free range poultry tend to have more problems with intestinal parasites because earthworms, beetles (and our garden is loaded with them) are transmitters of various parasites. So it's possible that your hens have parasites just from free ranging. I think that the good news is that healthy free ranging birds are also stronger and healthier, and are better equipped to fight problems when they're older.
hey there. I know those scary chicken illness dreams all too well. but trust me, you'll come out of it, even though it doesn't seem like it right now, you'll learn a hell lot and your hens troubles will get better.
I feed my hens organic feed by Purina. I also give them fruits, vegetables, oats, yogurt, buttermilk, scrambled eggs as occasional and controlled treats. I know you are watching them closely have you seen any other symptoms besides the diarrhoea? One of my current hens had worms (capillaria), and her symptoms were persistent green diarrhoea, but she also rested quite a bit more than the others, and occasionally would just look sort of confused. I determined the parasite through a fecal, treated her (valbazen + fenbendazole) and the diarrhoea is completely gone. Diarrheoa can also be caused by other reasons such as eating watery fruits, and also in the case of a molt but persistent diarrhoea can definitely point to an intestinal parasite so its a good thing that you're getting a fecal.
If it's not a parasite, then there is a good chance that its another infectious agent (virus, bacteria) causing the problem, and the best way to determine that is through a necropsy, or by studying the symptoms which in your case seem to be tricky because diarrhea is a pretty general symptom.
One thing to remember is unless it is a deadly disease, like mareks (in my case) which is best prevented through a vaccination earlier in their lives hens are individuals like us, and some hens will have weak immunities, and others wont. This to give you hope that your strong hens will fight it. If I were you, besides trying to track down the problem, i'd also support their survivor hens' immune system with healthy boosts protein (scrambled egg), pribiotics (yoghurt/buttermilk), vitamins (I use provisol baby vitamin drops). I have heard a ton about grapefruit seed extract being an immune system booster, so i do occasionally put a couple of drops in their water or treats.
I wish to raise them organically, but organic methods shine during the prevention stage. Once they're suffering from symptoms, especially if they're bad, i use medication. I do a lot of research to determine the right medications, and try to be responsible about my use.
I hope you do not lose another hen, and that the rest of your flock survives and thrives. but if you do, try to accept it in the hopes of figuring out what is going on.
It sucks to have such a difficult time the first time raising hens. particularly because there are some lucky people who have raised them for 30 years or something and never had a problem. But, i do think that early difficulties will make you a better chicken raiser. use this an an opportunity to learn about your hens and their health, and best practices in animal husbandry.
One little note in addition, our garden where they free range is organic, and we have layers and layers of mulch, manure, compost, rotting leaves to build the top soil. I hear that free range poultry tend to have more problems with intestinal parasites because earthworms, beetles (and our garden is loaded with them) are transmitters of various parasites. So it's possible that your hens have parasites just from free ranging. I think that the good news is that healthy free ranging birds are also stronger and healthier, and are better equipped to fight problems when they're older.
