My girls have been dieing but I don't know why?

[oesdog]

Anyone got any clues????

This is what has been happening.
Dorothy (PR)
Way back in January Dorothy got sick. She always got sick every winter and then bounced back so I was not very worried. Then there was a big commotion in the yard and I went to investigate. I found Drumstick pommelling Dorothy into the ground in the mud. So I went and rescued her, washed the mud off and wrapped her in a towel. She died shortly after.

Drumstick. (PR)
In February - Less than two weeks later Drumstick fell ill. With a respiritory type thing. It was completely unexpected and out of the blue. I took her into the shed and gave her extra food and vitamins and all the rest but she died within a few days.

Bertha (SS)
Bertha started to get sick a few weeks after that. March -
She died within 72 hours of first getting simptoms. Despite every effort to give her extra warmth and feed and all the rest.

Gerty (M)
April. - Gerty had seemed a bit solitory after Bertha died as they were sisters and very close having been hatched together.
I came home one afternoon to find she had died and was laid in the yard. She had no simptoms other than taking herself off alone and pondering.

Mable (?)
Mable has not eaten or drank well since we got back from being away a week ago. She has weakened and is now sitting alone in the yard. She was drinking. But I have had to give her extra water with vitamins and hand feed her for a few days. I think she may died today.

All these birds are between 3 -5yrs old.
I think Pneumonia killed Dorothy, Drumstick and Bertha. It was a very cold winter here and lots of folk lost live stock through that. We had very cold bitter winds off the sea.
I don;t know if it could be - but I think Gerty pined to death over Bertha and now Mable is doing the very same things???
Gerty always slept where Bertha used to sleep and would be very isolated after her sister died. I didn't notice her off her food but she didn't come out and about as often as she used to. Mable is now sleeping where Gerty slept and is doing exactly the same things not getting up unless made to and not interacting with the flock. Can they die of grief?????? Or are they just old and this is their time??????( We have had mable from hatch and it doesn't seem that long?) I am concerned because we have a baby chick of about 4 weeks old and I don't want to inadvertantly spreed anything nasty to it. I can;t even think about intriducing it to the flock if there is something killing the girls? There is no point in getting more hens if something is killing them either???

Oes.

 

[Jakoda]

Sorry your chicks are dying Could be anything.

I am no expert, but have you wormed them lately? Maybe coccidia?

 

[Eggcessive]

You probably have some sort of respiratory disease that is chronic such as MG (mycoplasma gallisepticum.) Do you have other chickens left? Many respiratory diseases are impossible to get rid of permanently. You can treat the birds with Tylan, but the disease may come back again and again. You could wait until all your flock is gone or cull them (which many can't do), then clean everything on your place with ammonia. After waiting for a few weeks, you could try getting more chickens, but some diseases can hang around in the soil for longer. Is there any way you can get a necropsy done by the county or federal poultry officials in Ireland where you live? That way you know the disease, and how long to wait before getting more chickens.

 

[cubalaya]

do your chickens have shelter in the winter? it sounds like crd and your whole flock has it.

 

[oesdog]

Yes the girls do have good shelter. We actually just got them a whole new coop and still this is happening.
I thought Mable would have been away by the time I came home. She was calm and peaceful but she was very weak so I lifted her and gave her water and had a cuddle sat out in the yard. But then I pooped her back into the run with her friends. SHe is unconcious - She wont know anything more. It has not been long or painful or drawn out. She simply went off her food and took only water then got weaker and today has just slipped away. SHe is laying on her side and I can see her belly going up and down so I know she is still alive but her comb is turning blue - I am upset but I think it is better to let her die like that where she can still hear all her friends and have the sun on her face. If I brought her in she would die alone which is worse. When the others go in to roost I will lift her body then. Now I only have 2 left out of the original 6 I got from DH when I had the cancer scare - Only Isobella and Carolline remain. Florry and Agness were rescues and Betty is the last of Berthas chicks. They are all I have left. Apart from the baby chick that is in the budgy cage in the bedroom Lol
He thinks he is a budgy now! He likes that cage because I take it round the house with me so he can see what I am at as he is an only chick he gets lonely.

Ohh I am sooo upset. DH looked up Tylan because we don;t have it hear so we will go see if we can get some when we get feed next. Too late for dear Mable though.

Oes

 

[oesdog]

Sorry to say Mable is dead

She died tonight and was at peace in the end.

Oes

 

[ten chicks]

Anyone got any clues????

This is what has been happening.
Dorothy (PR)
Way back in January Dorothy got sick. She always got sick every winter and then bounced back so I was not very worried. Then there was a big commotion in the yard and I went to investigate. I found Drumstick pommelling Dorothy into the ground in the mud. So I went and rescued her, washed the mud off and wrapped her in a towel. She died shortly after.

Drumstick. (PR)
In February - Less than two weeks later Drumstick fell ill. With a respiritory type thing. It was completely unexpected and out of the blue. I took her into the shed and gave her extra food and vitamins and all the rest but she died within a few days.

Bertha (SS)
Bertha started to get sick a few weeks after that. March -
She died within 72 hours of first getting simptoms. Despite every effort to give her extra warmth and feed and all the rest.

Gerty (M)
April. - Gerty had seemed a bit solitory after Bertha died as they were sisters and very close having been hatched together.
I came home one afternoon to find she had died and was laid in the yard. She had no simptoms other than taking herself off alone and pondering.

Mable (?)
Mable has not eaten or drank well since we got back from being away a week ago. She has weakened and is now sitting alone in the yard. She was drinking. But I have had to give her extra water with vitamins and hand feed her for a few days. I think she may died today.

All these birds are between 3 -5yrs old.
I think Pneumonia killed Dorothy, Drumstick and Bertha. It was a very cold winter here and lots of folk lost live stock through that. We had very cold bitter winds off the sea.
I don;t know if it could be - but I think Gerty pined to death over Bertha and now Mable is doing the very same things???
Gerty always slept where Bertha used to sleep and would be very isolated after her sister died. I didn't notice her off her food but she didn't come out and about as often as she used to. Mable is now sleeping where Gerty slept and is doing exactly the same things not getting up unless made to and not interacting with the flock. Can they die of grief?????? Or are they just old and this is their time??????( We have had mable from hatch and it doesn't seem that long?) I am concerned because we have a baby chick of about 4 weeks old and I don't want to inadvertantly spreed anything nasty to it. I can;t even think about intriducing it to the flock if there is something killing the girls? There is no point in getting more hens if something is killing them either???

Oes.

My condolences on Mable passing.

What i find very strange about the timeline of all your girls deaths, is that every month since January,one of your girls dies. Could be coincidences,but i never have believed in coincidences. What were symptoms, as you mentioned Pneumonia? Did all girls have respiratory symptoms? Any new feed introduced? Is there anyway they could have gotten into some poison? Have looked at Coccidiosis as being the culprit,it is possible for older chickens to die from Cocci. Cocci does kill fast.

Yes, it is possible for animals to die of broken hearts when their special friend /sibling dies. I have seen this many times in animals,doesn't matter what you do,they want to go and be reunited with their buddy.

 

[oesdog]

My condolences on Mable passing.

What i find very strange about the timeline of all your girls deaths, is that every month since January,one of your girls dies. Could be coincidences,but i never have believed in coincidences. What were symptoms, as you mentioned Pneumonia? Did all girls have respiratory symptoms? Any new feed introduced? Is there anyway they could have gotten into some poison?

Yes, it is possible for animals to die of broken hearts when their special friend /sibling dies. I have seen this many times in animals,doesn't matter what you do,they want to go and be reunited with their buddy.

It has been a very worrying time.
I love my girls but I also have other animals and grandchild to think of. I am thinking OMG should I just kill them all and start over?????? It would break my heart but what if it jumps to the dogs or god forbid my grandaughter????? It is very strange that I have lost a girl near every month since January. I think only April escaped a death. I have thought about poison. We don;t use any pesticides on the land at all and even the neighbour tells us when he is painting the fence. ( He hates chickens!) I have thought about poison but can't think how they would get to it???? I mean we changed the coop and the run since January! Still this is happening. However I did find maggots in the nest box tonight? Not nice but hay will have to deal with that with some boling water tomorrow when I clean the coop out. Everything will get scrubbed down again. We usually clean the coop every 4 weeks in the winter. We put extra hay etc in for warmth and I use the poo for the compost - so am worrying now about passing to our food through that and through the eggs??? Then we clean them every two weeks in the summer due to insects etc. And I don't use the compost then it just goes on the compost heap and rotts for the next season.

The simptoms have been a little different in each case. I knew Dorothy had had IB before so I was not surprised that she got sick every winter. Power for the course with her and she has been with us about 3 yrs. So I didn't put her death down to that. She seemed to have pnumonia. Drumstick was really well and then died very quick within a few days. But then she was the last to be in contact with dorothy? Once drumstick passed I thought that was it then Bertha got sick out of the blue. Again with Pnumonia like simptoms though she really struggled and faught every step of the way, which was not a pleasent end for her.. Nothing I did helped any and folk I tolked to in farming told me it was hard to get a bird back from that and they usually culled as they felt the bird suffered otherwise. Bertha died within 72 hours of getting sick. Gerty was in the dust bath with her a few days before she died? So they were together. Then Gerty died ( She was well and then was dead in the yard?) However a few days before she died she was palling about with Mable??????? I also know that Betty and Agnes are breathing funny? So is Florry actually - they are acting like Dorothy used to in the winter months. a bit raspy? It is very odd. Wee Betty will be the last of the chicks we hatched 3 yrs back. Only she lives here now as the only other one left is a rooster Omlet who lives on a farm. I am sad they are the last of Bertha's chicks.( They were the 18 week brood champs on BYC) The only two I have left of my original 6 are Isobella and caroline. They don't seem sick but I can't see them surviving this? It is very odd indeed. Maybe the neighbour is deliberately poisoning my girls??????? All I know is that before I went away Mable was find and now she is gone? I am lossing girls so fast and my little flock is decimated?

Oes

 

[ten chicks]

It has been a very worrying time.
I love my girls but I also have other animals and grandchild to think of. I am thinking OMG should I just kill them all and start over?????? It would break my heart but what if it jumps to the dogs or god forbid my grandaughter????? It is very strange that I have lost a girl near every month since January. I think only April escaped a death. I have thought about poison. We don;t use any pesticides on the land at all and even the neighbour tells us when he is painting the fence. ( He hates chickens!) I have thought about poison but can't think how they would get to it???? I mean we changed the coop and the run since January! Still this is happening. However I did find maggots in the nest box tonight? Not nice but hay will have to deal with that with some boling water tomorrow when I clean the coop out. Everything will get scrubbed down again. We usually clean the coop every 4 weeks in the winter. We put extra hay etc in for warmth and I use the poo for the compost - so am worrying now about passing to our food through that and through the eggs??? Then we clean them every two weeks in the summer due to insects etc. And I don't use the compost then it just goes on the compost heap and rotts for the next season.

The simptoms have been a little different in each case. I knew Dorothy had had IB before so I was not surprised that she got sick every winter. Power for the course with her and she has been with us about 3 yrs. So I didn't put her death down to that. She seemed to have pnumonia. Drumstick was really well and then died very quick within a few days. But then she was the last to be in contact with dorothy? Once drumstick passed I thought that was it then Bertha got sick out of the blue. Again with Pnumonia like simptoms though she really struggled and faught every step of the way, which was not a pleasent end for her.. Nothing I did helped any and folk I tolked to in farming told me it was hard to get a bird back from that and they usually culled as they felt the bird suffered otherwise. Bertha died within 72 hours of getting sick. Gerty was in the dust bath with her a few days before she died? So they were together. Then Gerty died ( She was well and then was dead in the yard?) However a few days before she died she was palling about with Mable??????? I also know that Betty and Agnes are breathing funny? So is Florry actually - they are acting like Dorothy used to in the winter months. a bit raspy? It is very odd. Wee Betty will be the last of the chicks we hatched 3 yrs back. Only she lives here now as the only other one left is a rooster Omlet who lives on a farm. I am sad they are the last of Bertha's chicks.( They were the 18 week brood champs on BYC) The only two I have left of my original 6 are Isobella and caroline. They don't seem sick but I can't see them surviving this? It is very odd indeed. Maybe the neighbour is deliberately poisoning my girls??????? All I know is that before I went away Mable was find and now she is gone? I am lossing girls so fast and my little flock is decimated?

Oes

Do you have access to any antibiotics to treat the girls showing respiratory symptoms.? If someone were to poison an animal,i would most likely be on some food thrown in yard,keep eye out for any strange items around yard. I am never surprised at the things people do,and have seen animals poisoned because they didn't like them. Maggots in the nest box,what is rotting in nest box,worth a look to see what it is.

I hope your remaining girls will be ok. Best wishes for them!

 

[oesdog]

We have not seen anything unusual in the yard. But a few years back someone tried to poison the dogs and we found rancid meat thrown over in plastic bags.
We have not had anything like that for years though now here.
We have got Tylan from the Vet so hope that will help some. We are going to treat these and leave them for 6 months before we introduce any new ones to make sure what ever is killing the girls is out of the flock. Usually even the neighbour who can;t stand the hens tells us when he is spraying the fences? So I am not sure about that but it does seem strange that the deaths are spread out and are all 4-6 weeks apart. I would have imagined that a disease would take more than one at a time???? Also reguarding the coop. They are in a different coop than they were - we changed it after the 3rd death. We got them a whole new place as we thought
it might have been too damp or let in the wind. - the new place is great. We didn;t have a death the first month they were in there and now we have had two.
So Bertha slept in the nest box in the other coop - then Gerty in the nest box in this coop and Mable after her. - however all three birds that "prefered" to sleep in the nest box are dead. Come to think on it little drumstick used to cuddle up to Bertha in the old nest box in the old coop too? However the nest box gets cleaned out every two weeks especially this time of year. - Only thing is I was away for 10 days cleaned them before I went and once I got back there were Maggots in the nest box when I cleared it - newley hatched little tikes - when the girls spotted them they didn;t last long. So everything is clean and scrubbed out again. We don;t usually have an issue with maggots as we clean often and I never leave broken eggs in the nest box. I check the nest boxes twice a day and if there is any muck I lift it and put fresh hay in. That is in between the Big clean every two weeks. We leave it longer int he winter though as there are less critters about and we use the scat for fertilizer!

Oes