My Flock Is Slowly Dying Off.... HELP!!!!!

[CherryAdventure]

About a week ago, my rooster was attacked by a turkey, and lost his right eye. Now he's down and can't get up. I went out to feed the rest of my flock, and two of my girls were down as well. I lost a girl last week to the same thing.

The timeline is-They aren't as energetic, that's when I normally pull them out of the flock. They can't walk. They stop eating. They eventually die, or we put them out of their misery.

What is happening????????.

 

[Bridebeliever]

Stress can definitely kill chickens. Did the flock witness this attack? Is this their only rooster? I would try to make their environment as stress free as possible and add Rooster Booster, or other such vitamins to their water. Trying enticing them to eat with scrambled eggs for protein.

Good luck! So sorry you are going through this!

 

[junebuggena]

It sounds a bit like the symptoms of Merak's.

 

[Bridebeliever]

Do you think stress could cause Merek's to manifest like this? Like possibly it was sitting just under the radar and then a stressful event brings in on? I'm thinking similar to a person getting a cold sore after a sickness or stressful event.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Get a bird necropsied if at all possible. Some state poultry pathology labs will do them for free. Something is going on with them and the sooner you have a solid answer the better. Chickens can go into shock after a stressful event but generally with a little care they snap out of rather then dropping dead like flies.

How old are these birds? Any new birds brought in recently? Any other symptoms?

 

[CherryAdventure]

Stress can definitely kill chickens. Did the flock witness this attack? Is this their only rooster? I would try to make their environment as stress free as possible and add Rooster Booster, or other such vitamins to their water. Trying enticing them to eat with scrambled eggs for protein.

Good luck! So sorry you are going through this!

The rooster and turkey were in the same pen as the rest of the flock when it happened. They have 2 roosters, but this was their favorite. I don't actually have any eggs, as my chooks are free loaders. Is there anything else I can give them for protein?

 

[CherryAdventure]

Get a bird necropsied if at all possible. Some state poultry pathology labs will do them for free. Something is going on with them and the sooner you have a solid answer the better. Chickens can go into shock after a stressful event but generally with a little care they snap out of rather then dropping dead like flies.

How old are these birds? Any new birds brought in recently? Any other symptoms?

My girls are all different ages. I have month old chicks to my 8 year old rooster, but majority are 2-3 yo. The most recent hens I have brought in were about 2 months ago. Is a necropsy like an autopsy?

What is Mareks?? It seems to come up a lot.

 

[junebuggena]

Necropsy is for animals what autopsy is for people.
Mareks is a viral disease that affects the nervous system of birds. It is highly contagious and has a high mortality rate. There is no treatment for it. Birds that survive the initial outbreak will be life-long carriers.

 

[CherryAdventure]

Just found another sick hen. Change the title to "My Flock Is Dying Off Fast". The twop hens I pulled out earlier seem okay now. Could it be the heat? It's 33 degrees celcius. (91 farenheit). The two have been given electrolytes. My rooster is still unwell, but I think that must be his eye. Why do I have 3 sick hens who were fine yesterday?????

 

[cafarmgirl]

With the age difference in your flock, the very young birds and new hens brought in...I'd treat for coccidiosis asap even if just to rule it out. Sometimes the only symptoms you will see in adult birds are suddenly lethargic birds who die quickly. They can often fight it off longer then very young birds can but then suddenly be overwhelmed and just die. It would be high on my list of suspicions in this case. Not that there aren't a lot of other things it could be, it's just very common.

When you say these birds are down and can't get up, are they actually physically unable to move or get up or are they just too far gone to get up? Have you seen any of the splayed leg, one forward, one back position common to Merek's?

A necropsy by a poultry pathology lab is helpful because they do testing for just about everything you could think of. It's not just a matter of opening up the bird and having a lot, much more in depth then that.