Losing only hens, cocks seem fine

[rebrascora]

Did you check the gizzard?

My hens that died, were emaciated too. Their crops were normal ish but it was their gizzard that was packed solid with fibrous material. You can't tell unless you cut the bird open and then find and cut the gizzard open.... then it was really obvious... all that fibre was acting like a plug and preventing any nutrients passing into the intestine. The hen effectively starved and dehydrated because nothing could pass through that plug half way through her system to get absorbed into her blood stream. Initially she was eating because she was obviously hungry but eventually she stopped trying. It could be that the hens are eating more fibrous material than the cocks, perhaps for the iron in the greens, so that might explain why the roosters look fine but the hens are losing condition.
Sadly, it's very difficult to diagnose until they die and not really treatable anyway from what I have read, but preventable by not allowing them access to long fibrous material like grass cuttings.
It certainly could also be worms, but if you didn't see any/many when you opened her up, then that's probably not the main problem.

 

[charliewhiskey]

She seems better today. She is eating more vigorously and getting around better. I would be shocked if after just one day of worming they improved but that is what I am seeing. I also think removing the cock is helping the rest to relax and eat without being harassed. Eating.

The crop on the dead birds I checked were empty. Which makes sense considering they would not eat for the last days.

 

[rebrascora]

Pleased to hear she is looking better, but I also doubt she will pick up so quickly if it is a worm problem.

I don't know if you realise this but crop and gizzard are two very different things.

The crop is the initial holding area for food that is eaten. It is quite a flimsy sac and when full it can easily be seen and felt at the front of a chicken. Think of it as a hopper that the hen fills up during the day and that slowly releases food into the digestive system beyond, so that there is a steady trickle of food day and night..
The gizzard is much further down the digestive tract and is a very strong muscular pouch with a thick membrane lining. This is where the grit breaks down the grains and other food by grinding against them. The food is pulverised in the gizzard and then passes into the intestines for the nutrients and water to be absorbed into the blood stream. If the gizzard is blocked, nutrients and water cannot be taken up by the hen's body and she will have to live off whatever reserves are held in the tissues (fat and muscle) until eventually she dies... probably of organ failure as a result of dehydration.

Apologies if I am explaining the obvious, but it is important to know roughly how a hen's system works, so you know what to look for and how to interpret it.
Once I got over the upset of cutting my little friend open, I found it really fascinating.... especially seeing how the eggs start off as tiny little specs and seeing them at various stages going through her system.
I was a bit grossed out by finding worms in her intestines but there were not many and much as we would like to think of having a nice sterile world, it just doesn't exist. If parasitic worms were not a normal part of most if not every chicken's system, we would not need to deworm them. I think it is easy to be horrified at finding such things and think that perhaps I am not a good carer because I found a couple of worms in my chicken, but they are a fact of life for most animals and keeping them to an acceptable level is the most we can strive for. Eradication is an unachievable target.

Anyway, good luck with getting your flock back to good health.

Regards

Barbara

 

[charliewhiskey]

As it stands now, we discovered a high level of coccidia
I will be starting them all on treatment tomorrow.
Thank you all for your help.