Lost one chicken, now another one has symptoms!

[Leanne Burton]

We had to euthanize one of our chickens a few weeks ago - she didn't appear to be sick until just two days beforehand. She had lost a bit of weight and I noticed she had lost a fair few feathers around her rear end. The vet said she had been sick for quite some time! Now we are down to two and I'm keeping a close eye on them...I've noticed one of them is losing some feathers around her rear end too so just want to know if anyone has experienced this or knows what is happening? I'm afraid to let it go on even though she's quite happy, don't want it to happen again.

 

[featherhead007]

Check your coop carefully, as if you lived in it. Find anything that may cause harm

 

[flwrldy]

We had to euthanize one of our chickens a few weeks ago - she didn't appear to be sick until just two days beforehand. She had lost a bit of weight and I noticed she had lost a fair few feathers around her rear end. The vet said she had been sick for quite some time! Now we are down to two and I'm keeping a close eye on them...I've noticed one of them is losing some feathers around her rear end too so just want to know if anyone has experienced this or knows what is happening? I'm afraid to let it go on even though she's quite happy, don't want it to happen again.

I’m so sorry for your loss. I also lost a hen this afternoon to something. She was fine this morning and dead by 2. I took her in for a necropsy at the university near me. I hope to know tomorrow. No signs of sickness with my hen either, but when I looked at her vent it was swollen so it might be a stuck egg. I’m also concerned about an illness. Hopefully for boylthbof us they’re just isolated cases, and nothing contagious.

 

[micstrachan]

By missing feathers around her rear end, do you mean literally around her vent? Is it clean otherwise? Or did you mean the area below her vent? Is it swollen and squishy? Please check their crops first thing in the morning and make sure they are empty.
Also, if you can answer as many questions as possible in the “please read first” thread, that will help us narrow things down. Good luck!

 

[featherhead007]

Yes sometimes I stay up all night watching over a sick hen or two, tonight its my young rooster.. Got beat up pretty bad by my other rooster he's in the house with me now.

 

[Leanne Burton]

By missing feathers around her rear end, do you mean literally around her vent? Is it clean otherwise? Or did you mean the area below her vent? Is it swollen and squishy? Please check their crops first thing in the morning and make sure they are empty.
Also, if you can answer as many questions as possible in the “please read first” thread, that will help us narrow things down. Good luck!

Hi yes at the moment its the area around her vent and the area is clean. The other chicken, which died, continued to lose feathers below the vent and looked a bit inflamed. She had been to the vet about 3 months prior because she was sick, they gave her antibiotics and she came right. She was happy once again but we didn't realize she had actually been losing a lot of weight. I'm wondering if it could be worms?