My chicken is dying

[Littledid]

I understand ridiculous heat, It has been in the mid upper nineties with 80-90% humidity here.
Lethargy in chickens isn't a good sign.
I understand late planning but the chickens don't know what you are planning to do. They only know what their current situation is. 6 month old birds should be out foraging and finding a comfortable place to hang out, not living in a cage.
What is preventing a raccoon from reaching into the cage and pulling parts of the birds through? That's what they do. I left a rooster in a cage on the patio for just about 30 minutes after dusk once. That's all it took for him to be torn to shreds.

I'm well aware of all of this, they haven't been in these cages for long and I only keep them in them during the daytime. I used to keep them in a large shed but it's been way too hot for that, I move them back into the shed at night. They are two months old, not six. I would let them free range, but the only reason they are in these cages is because my older chickens would peck them to death otherwise. We have never had problems with predators. I know that doesn't mean it won't happen, but I'd rather have them safe in a cage than out and about, at least until their run is complete. Thank you.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm sorry, I misread your first post. I thought it was six months old, not 6 at two months old.
Two month old birds living in cages won't have worms so it is time to figure out what else the problem is.
If you lose another one, send it to your state poultry lab for necropsy and lab work. That's the best way to know what is wrong and how to proceed.
VA is in the heart of one of the poultry capitals of the world.
VDACS Harrisonburg Regional Animal Health Laboratory


261 Mt. Clinton Pike

Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802-2551

Phone: 540-209-9130

 

[Littledid]

I understand ridiculous heat, It has been in the mid upper nineties with 80-90% humidity here.
Lethargy in chickens isn't a good sign.
I understand late planning but the chickens don't know what you are planning to do. They only know what their current situation is. 6 month old birds should be out foraging and finding a comfortable place to hang out, not living in a cage.
What is preventing a raccoon from reaching into the cage and pulling parts of the birds through? That's what they do. I left a rooster in a cage on the patio for just about 30 minutes after dusk once. That's all it took for him to be torn to shreds.

I'm sorry, I misread your first post. I thought it was six months old, not 6 at two months old.
Two month old birds living in cages won't have worms so it is time to figure out what else the problem is.
If you lose another one, send it to your state poultry lab for necropsy and lab work. That's the best way to know what is wrong and how to proceed.
VA is in the heart of one of the poultry capitols of the world.
VDACS Harrisonburg Regional Animal Health Laboratory


261 Mt. Clinton Pike

Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802-2551

Phone: 540-209-9130

I happen to live close to there!

Thank you very much for your help and guidance. I'll let you know what happens. I was almost convinced it was worms, but now I realize it could be almost anything. :/

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yeah, chickens in contact with the soil and eating a variety of bugs can get worms but caged birds almost never do.
If it looks like you are going to lose her, it may be best to take her there for humane euthanasia and necropsy so you know what you're dealing with.
Call them for all the particulars. Sometimes they'll send you a FedEx label for shipping but since you are close, hand carrying is best.
If the bird dies, it needs to stay refrigerated.
Good luck.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

on a website I read it was safe.

You can read a lot of things on websites, doesn't make them true.

DE is considered safe and approved to be used at a rate of up to 2% in feeds as an anti caking agent by the FDA.

Her crop feels full, sort of squishy I guess

I wonder how it feels compared to others? By that I mean getting familiar with these kind of things can help.

I can't help but wonder or think coccidiosis might be the issue here? And nutrition wise... did you already state what is being fed including treats and supplements? If anyone poo'd in the water, it can spread cocci very fast... it happens.

You mention heat and acv... seems like I have read that together they could be an issue??

 

[Svaness]

Hi. I'm so sorry to hear about your hen. I just lost a chick 1 month old and she had the same symptoms. I tried everything I could but I couldn't get her to the vet.. I believe she may have had an impaction somewhere in her digestive tract. She looked exactly as your young hen does and her crop seemed sour (swollen and doughy-ish). I would recommend a vet. If you can't maybe look into stool softeners. I don't know if everyone would agree but I know some use it just make sure it's not a laxitive. And make sure she's drinking. I hope she recovers soon

 

[Littledid]

Hi. I'm so sorry to hear about your hen. I just lost a chick 1 month old and she had the same symptoms. I tried everything I could but I couldn't get her to the vet.. I believe she may have had an impaction somewhere in her digestive tract. She looked exactly as your young hen does and her crop seemed sour (swollen and doughy-ish). I would recommend a vet. If you can't maybe look into stool softeners. I don't know if everyone would agree but I know some use it just make sure it's not a laxitive. And make sure she's drinking. I hope she recovers soon

I'm so sorry for your loss as well. That may be a possibility, as her crop does feel very swollen. What did you use?

 

[Littledid]

You can read a lot of things on websites, doesn't make them true.

DE is considered safe and approved to be used at a rate of up to 2% in feeds as an anti caking agent by the FDA.

I wonder how it feels compared to others? By that I mean getting familiar with these kind of things can help.

I can't help but wonder or think coccidiosis might be the issue here? And nutrition wise... did you already state what is being fed including treats and supplements? If anyone poo'd in the water, it can spread cocci very fast... it happens.

You mention heat and acv... seems like I have read that together they could be an issue??

Ah, you're right you're right.
So DE isn't good for them at all?

I've been feeding them starter chick feed, and I've given them a little bit of Greek vanilla yogurt not too long ago. I've also fed them Grubbies a few times as treats– dried black soldier fly larvae. Besides that, that's all I can think of.

 

[micstrachan]

I don’t have time to read through this thread right now but wanted to urgently throw COCCIDIOSIS out there. Hopefully it’s already been covered, but couldn’t morally leave the thread without saying something before I sign off. Good luck.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I don’t think the issue is the yogurt. I’ve never given them yogurt at two months so I can’t say whether that safe or not I assume it would be and yogurt is good for the digestive track as long as it’s occasional but try to use unflavored yogurt. Even the vanilla has a lot of sugar in it. Especially in the heat sugar and he don’t mix well. I don’t think that’s necessarily the cause of the problem though