Lost one chicken five more sick?

[Chris H.]

i lost my first adult chicken. She was alive this morning. Then I was doing yard work when I heard the chickens fighting and when I got in the run this one was dead. Upon inspection I noticed she had too huge soars just to the left and right of the tail. Butt looked ok and all chickens ladies eggs today and have been leaving eggs everyday. I inspected all my chickens five others have similar soars. So now I am trying to save the rest if I can get some advice. It has Bee not ️ not for a few weeks so the run was wet and muddy until few days ago. Water and feed not changed. Water is from well and I use a 8gal waterer. No rooster in pen and no new chickens. Hens all one year old all lay once a day. The coop had gotten dirty and I was unable to clean and the ammonia smelled bad but once rain stopped I cleaned the coop.

I have added bleach to water after cleaning the waterer well. I washed the soars on all chickens with iodine solution then sprayed with antibiotic spray. Plan on

doing that once a day until healed.

If anyone can help me figure out what this was or how to treat or how to prevent in future that would be great. Thank you!

 

[rebrascora]

This does not appear to be an illness. Either you have a predator getting in or your birds are cannibalising each other. How big is their coop (how wide by how long in feet) and how many chickens do you have? Lack of space, particularly if the weather has been bad and they have been confined to the coop will cause they to get stressed and start pecking each other and once blood is drawn, they sometimes all pile in and start attacking.
Is the coop and run predator proof? Small predators like stoats can get through as little as an inch and a half diameter hole. Where in the world are you? (It helps if you include this info on your profile page.... nearest city and country is enough) There are different predators in different parts of the world. If you are in a warm climate, then you will need to be careful that flies don't lay their eggs in those wounds and eat the chickens alive.

 

[Chris H.]

This does not appear to be an illness. Either you have a predator getting in or your birds are cannibalising each other. How big is their coop (how wide by how long in feet) and how many chickens do you have? Lack of space, particularly if the weather has been bad and they have been confined to the coop will cause they to get stressed and start pecking each other and once blood is drawn, they sometimes all pile in and start attacking.
Is the coop and run predator proof? Small predators like stoats can get through as little as an inch and a half diameter hole. Where in the world are you? (It helps if you include this info on your profile page.... nearest city and country is enough) There are different predators in different parts of the world. If you are in a warm climate, then you will need to be careful that flies don't lay their eggs in those wounds and eat the chickens alive.

The coop is 4x6 with four external nest boxes. It has a six foot perch inside. The run is 20 ft by 30ft. The run outside all day and are looked up in coop at night. We live in Lexington South Carolina. We have occasional mice but no evidence of anything else. We have hawks but run has a net over it. I have another flock in run next to this run and none of those chickens have this and they are in a smaller run and more chickens.

I worry it is the water. Had Bactria in it or the. Fact that it. Rained so much that I wasn't able to clean coop and it was pretty dirty when I got in to clean it. All but two chickens have sores on each side of the vent but higher. Up and slightly 1/2 inch away from vent. Today is second day of spraying with a topical cleaner and antibiotic then cover with blu kote to make it purple which seem s to keep chickens from picking each other. Even though I have never seen these chickens fight or anything except yesterday when they ganged up on the one that was killed. Her sores where large and bloody much more than the others.

I watched a video that explained that Bactria and algae in water supply can cause this so I am treating water with bleach to kill that and changing water more often. I hope that might be the cause so that I can prevent it again.

I don't think it's an attack either by predator or other chickens given that the sores are all in the same spot and bilaterally same on all chickens. But who knows.