Not an emergency, though I think I'm posting this in the right place. It will be lengthy, please bear with me. I wanted to put this out there to find out if anyone has had a similar situation or an explanation for what was going on. Here's the breakdown:
1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Red sex link, 2 years, 3 months or thereabouts. We didn't weigh her but DH figures 4-5 pounds.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
The day before Thanksgiving I rescued her from a neighbor's dog. Both were pinned in heavy brush and she was screaming horribly as the dog snapped at her tail feathers. Not a spot of damage on her anywhere but she was definitely traumatized (and so was I).
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
After the dog attack she started stripping her tail feathers, pulling all the fronds off til they were shafts, and breaking some shafts. Then she started doing the same on the front of her neck, working her way down to her breast and brood patch. More recently she stripped the feathers on either side of her back end. I have pics taken yesterday; will post if I figure it out.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
Not self-mutilation, no. We have had issues with soft-shelled eggs, brittle eggs, and two other hens that we'd nursed through egg issues, but never her. These are hatchery chicks, all purchased thru TSC the same day. I've read up on Speckledhen's informative internal laying posts; for sure one other hen had that and she produced a horrific THING an hour after her first bath.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Yesterday she was definitely lethargic. She was eating and drinking but not her normal self. We did a necropsy today and her gizzard and crop both had food in them. All organs looked normal (we are not experts by any stretch of the imagination, tho DH has hunted and butchered birds in the past). There was a brittle thin-shelled egg in her, regular size and pale, then behind it a soft shelled egg. The next eggs were in varying stages of production. No masses, no tumors, no fluid, no infection, no odd looking organs. Internally she looked fine, had a good amount of fat on her but not obese. She did have some plastic bits in her gizzard that were thick and rounded.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
The self feather picking has been steady since November. She was top bird and no one picked on her; she did it to herself. We checked for mites constantly (none) upped her protein with BOSS and tuna, she had access to free choice oyster shells, and she'd been free ranging every afternoon with the rest of the girls (3 more red sex links and 3 Plymouth Rocks, all the same batch that were raised together.) They have a coop large enough for 15 birds with wood chips, and hay in the boxes, and they're let out in a 50X15 foot run all day until they free range (maybe 2 hours a night), given scratch and BOSS in the AM, with free-choice oyster shells separately. Lately there had been thin-shelled eggs in the boxes that were usually broken and partly consumed by the time we got to them. This morning there was one underneath her, broken; we assume she laid it but we're not sure. Also, the thin-shelled eggs were paler in color.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Today, nothing at all. She was outside yesterday like usual, not quite herself but scratching, eating a bit and drinking, stopping to rest a lot. This morning when I let the girls out, she didn't come. She was in a nest box, head down, vent dripping and flexing, eyes closed and non-responsive. I took one look at her and told my DH she was critical.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Yesterday her poops were dark and runny. Today it was just dripping and really stinky. There was no infection or necrosis anywhere on or in her so it wasn't that.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Brought her in the house this morning. Gave her a hot soak at 10:30 and another at 1:30, thirty minutes each. After each, we set her in a box with a towel under a heat lamp in the kitchen and she just laid down and seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness. Non-reactive, quiet, not interested in food or water. She was simply fading while we watched, and her vent never stopped pulsing. She did poop after both baths, small, dark and wet. We tried to oil her vent and go inside to feel for an obstruction but were unsure about how far to press the exploration; went in about 1-1.5 inches. There was an egg there but we're not sure if she'd laid the broken egg today that she was sitting on this morning, and the one DH felt inside was tomorrow's egg. It wasn't rough or large and except for the thin shell it was perfect. Around 3 o'clock this afternoon DH was taking his turn sitting with her while I dealt with our 5-week olds, and he started yelling for me that she was dying. He said she started gasping, her eyes wide and her pupils dilated, then she stood up and thrashed, then collapsed. He said it was like she had a heart attack. Just...boom. Little off one day then pretty much comatose the next morning, then dead 5 hours later.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
No treatment necessary but advice about what might have happened to this bird is welcome, or about what we might have done differently. She was our favorite and the boss of the flock so we're upset and angry and wondering what the heck happened to her. Though no other birds exhibit the self-mutilating, which might be unrelated to her death, whatever happened to her is a complete mystery and if anyone has had a similar experience we'd like to know. Plus, obviously, if there's something deficient about our husbandry of the flock we'd like to correct it ASAP so this doesn't happen again. These birds are our entertainment and we currently have 6 April babies (from TSC also) brooding in our downstairs bathroom.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I have pictures of the feather-picking because I'd intended to post here about that. I will try to post.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
A ridiculously expensive Amish-built coop and a huge run, wood chips and hay and dirt. The coop is cleaned about every 3 or so weeks, the run about every 6 weeks, to the point of pulling up the top 3 inches of mixed mulch and poop, to go to the compost pile. I would think that if the environment, housing, bedding, food, water, etc., was an issue this would have happened to other hens. The rest are fine, as far as we can tell. Then again, we could be doing something wrong that we're not aware of, so any advice or insight is appreciated.
At this point our best guess is that she had some kind of deficiency or an inability to properly process protein (hence, the feather picking) and calcium (hence, the thin shelled eggs). The other thought about the feather-picking is that it was brought on by her dog-attack and it was a nervous thing, but she really wasn't a nervous bird; she was confident and friendly and inquisitive. She was the boss, and she didn't have a fear of free-ranging after the attack. We feed Blue Seal layer feed, available all day and night in their coop, but we were wondering if maybe they aren't eating enough of it since it's in the coop. They have free access to the coop all day. We'd learned a long time ago that they don't drink enough if we don't move their water outside into the run where they can see it, and now we're thinking we should put the feeder out in the run also. Hard to say, though, because the other 6 are fine. They get scrambled eggs, veggies, some leftovers (rice, pasta, etc) but treats are in moderation, plus 2 hours of free-ranging every day where we help them dig for worms by working the compost heap while they're out.
Sorry for the lengthy post but we're mystified and could use some insight. Thanks in advance for any help!
1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Red sex link, 2 years, 3 months or thereabouts. We didn't weigh her but DH figures 4-5 pounds.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
The day before Thanksgiving I rescued her from a neighbor's dog. Both were pinned in heavy brush and she was screaming horribly as the dog snapped at her tail feathers. Not a spot of damage on her anywhere but she was definitely traumatized (and so was I).
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
After the dog attack she started stripping her tail feathers, pulling all the fronds off til they were shafts, and breaking some shafts. Then she started doing the same on the front of her neck, working her way down to her breast and brood patch. More recently she stripped the feathers on either side of her back end. I have pics taken yesterday; will post if I figure it out.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
Not self-mutilation, no. We have had issues with soft-shelled eggs, brittle eggs, and two other hens that we'd nursed through egg issues, but never her. These are hatchery chicks, all purchased thru TSC the same day. I've read up on Speckledhen's informative internal laying posts; for sure one other hen had that and she produced a horrific THING an hour after her first bath.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Yesterday she was definitely lethargic. She was eating and drinking but not her normal self. We did a necropsy today and her gizzard and crop both had food in them. All organs looked normal (we are not experts by any stretch of the imagination, tho DH has hunted and butchered birds in the past). There was a brittle thin-shelled egg in her, regular size and pale, then behind it a soft shelled egg. The next eggs were in varying stages of production. No masses, no tumors, no fluid, no infection, no odd looking organs. Internally she looked fine, had a good amount of fat on her but not obese. She did have some plastic bits in her gizzard that were thick and rounded.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
The self feather picking has been steady since November. She was top bird and no one picked on her; she did it to herself. We checked for mites constantly (none) upped her protein with BOSS and tuna, she had access to free choice oyster shells, and she'd been free ranging every afternoon with the rest of the girls (3 more red sex links and 3 Plymouth Rocks, all the same batch that were raised together.) They have a coop large enough for 15 birds with wood chips, and hay in the boxes, and they're let out in a 50X15 foot run all day until they free range (maybe 2 hours a night), given scratch and BOSS in the AM, with free-choice oyster shells separately. Lately there had been thin-shelled eggs in the boxes that were usually broken and partly consumed by the time we got to them. This morning there was one underneath her, broken; we assume she laid it but we're not sure. Also, the thin-shelled eggs were paler in color.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Today, nothing at all. She was outside yesterday like usual, not quite herself but scratching, eating a bit and drinking, stopping to rest a lot. This morning when I let the girls out, she didn't come. She was in a nest box, head down, vent dripping and flexing, eyes closed and non-responsive. I took one look at her and told my DH she was critical.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Yesterday her poops were dark and runny. Today it was just dripping and really stinky. There was no infection or necrosis anywhere on or in her so it wasn't that.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Brought her in the house this morning. Gave her a hot soak at 10:30 and another at 1:30, thirty minutes each. After each, we set her in a box with a towel under a heat lamp in the kitchen and she just laid down and seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness. Non-reactive, quiet, not interested in food or water. She was simply fading while we watched, and her vent never stopped pulsing. She did poop after both baths, small, dark and wet. We tried to oil her vent and go inside to feel for an obstruction but were unsure about how far to press the exploration; went in about 1-1.5 inches. There was an egg there but we're not sure if she'd laid the broken egg today that she was sitting on this morning, and the one DH felt inside was tomorrow's egg. It wasn't rough or large and except for the thin shell it was perfect. Around 3 o'clock this afternoon DH was taking his turn sitting with her while I dealt with our 5-week olds, and he started yelling for me that she was dying. He said she started gasping, her eyes wide and her pupils dilated, then she stood up and thrashed, then collapsed. He said it was like she had a heart attack. Just...boom. Little off one day then pretty much comatose the next morning, then dead 5 hours later.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
No treatment necessary but advice about what might have happened to this bird is welcome, or about what we might have done differently. She was our favorite and the boss of the flock so we're upset and angry and wondering what the heck happened to her. Though no other birds exhibit the self-mutilating, which might be unrelated to her death, whatever happened to her is a complete mystery and if anyone has had a similar experience we'd like to know. Plus, obviously, if there's something deficient about our husbandry of the flock we'd like to correct it ASAP so this doesn't happen again. These birds are our entertainment and we currently have 6 April babies (from TSC also) brooding in our downstairs bathroom.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I have pictures of the feather-picking because I'd intended to post here about that. I will try to post.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
A ridiculously expensive Amish-built coop and a huge run, wood chips and hay and dirt. The coop is cleaned about every 3 or so weeks, the run about every 6 weeks, to the point of pulling up the top 3 inches of mixed mulch and poop, to go to the compost pile. I would think that if the environment, housing, bedding, food, water, etc., was an issue this would have happened to other hens. The rest are fine, as far as we can tell. Then again, we could be doing something wrong that we're not aware of, so any advice or insight is appreciated.
At this point our best guess is that she had some kind of deficiency or an inability to properly process protein (hence, the feather picking) and calcium (hence, the thin shelled eggs). The other thought about the feather-picking is that it was brought on by her dog-attack and it was a nervous thing, but she really wasn't a nervous bird; she was confident and friendly and inquisitive. She was the boss, and she didn't have a fear of free-ranging after the attack. We feed Blue Seal layer feed, available all day and night in their coop, but we were wondering if maybe they aren't eating enough of it since it's in the coop. They have free access to the coop all day. We'd learned a long time ago that they don't drink enough if we don't move their water outside into the run where they can see it, and now we're thinking we should put the feeder out in the run also. Hard to say, though, because the other 6 are fine. They get scrambled eggs, veggies, some leftovers (rice, pasta, etc) but treats are in moderation, plus 2 hours of free-ranging every day where we help them dig for worms by working the compost heap while they're out.
Sorry for the lengthy post but we're mystified and could use some insight. Thanks in advance for any help!
