My stupidity has killed one chicken and I need some fast advice

[redhen]

i dont think lack of grit was the problem in this case....it dosent make sense to me... because,if they were not getting any food from lack of grit grinding up their food..wouldnt the food still be stuck/impacted in the crop?....

... so,if the birds arent crop impacted..the food was getting into their digestive system.**chickens digestive systems confuse me!...with crops and gizzards...

.**.......i think it sounds like worms....also..i was always told that you did not need grit if the birds were JUST eating their chicken feed...its when you add the differant foods that they need the grit....is that right or not? now ya got me wondering....

 

[deedles]

I'm going back to answer questions:

They haven't had grit, are in a coop/pen and the ground is frozen with snow. I haven't shoveled out the run but have put hay on top of snow so they'll come out. They've had no opportunity to find grit unless they've been able to scratch frozen dirt.

Mites vs frostbite: when the sun comes up, I'll see if the black dots are still there. I've read that mites hide during the daylight hours but come out at night to feed on the poor chickens. If it's frostbite, it should still be there.

I see no evidence that any other animal has been in the coop. That is highly doubtful as their coop is pretty tight and hasn't a dirt floor.

I'm feeding a commercial feed that is 15% protein. I don't give any scratch. I do give occasional raw ground liver, fresh (unpasturized) milk that has curdled or yogurt, if I have it, assorted greens and kitchen scraps (I use only organic foods and prepare everything from scratch so they are getting nothing junky)

I felt up and down one of the girls necks yesterday and nothing like a full crop. I've never felt a full crop but I expected it to be like a hamsters cheeks packed full... sorta? My husband felt nothing of the sort in our dead chickens neck, either.

If we need grit or not, it's now in there... a pile of it under the feeder.

I'm going to make a bowl of high protein feed for them before I go to work... thanks for the recipe. I'll use some of that raw liver ground up finely, though, with some honey, some bentonite clay (worming purposes), the curdled milk, and some oats soaked.

I did buy some powdered vitamin/mineral/electrolytes from Fleet Farm last night to add to their water, as an extra boost since they do look debilitated.

I've always added cider vinegar to their water since the day they arrived as tiny chicks. I thought that was supposed to help with overall health and worms, etc.

My husband says "that's what you get when you go all organic and don't get medicated feed etc etc etc" Is that true? They have been vibrantly healthy, fat and shiny beautiful up until just a few weeks back. It seems to correlate closer to the change in this much coarser feed than anything... although I can't rule out worms at this point. Or mites. But mites apparently won't kill them this quickly, right.

They are noticeably thinner. So something is interfering with their nutritional intake/conversion. No grit or worms?

I'm going out shortly to check on them. I pray there isn't another dead one.

 

[danischi24]

Just take them off that feed. You said yourself that everything was fine until you started feeding it-why continue??? This particular batch may have something wrong with it...even something toxic accidentally mixed in. I have a feeling that once you go back to your previous feed, everything will improve. Use proper wormers & not clay to deworm. Using ivermectin injectable (which you don't inject) means you wont have to use Sevin or anything for mites. Good luck & get them off that feed!

 

[chickygirl2]

I would assume they may have worms and just worm them. You can get wormer at the feed store. I personally use ivermectin [which will kill only roundworms, not other worms for chickens]. I never use grit- with commercial feeds you should not need it.

 

[deedles]

Well, my husband poured a 12 oz cupful of grit into a pan last night and this morning when I checked on the girls they were (thankfully) all alive and all the grit was gone from the pan. I mean ALL. I poured another couple of cup fulls under the feed, gave them the mush treat that was suggested by some helpful person, cleaned out their waterer with hot water and soap and refilled with filtered water, cider vinegar and the vitamin powder.

The dark spots are still on the combs exactly as I noticed them last night... probably frostbite as several of you have said. We'll see when the sun comes up.

I do so appreciate all the assistance. It's nice to feel like I'm not all alone with this mess.

Thanks!

I did take a couple pics of them and will try to post them ASAP for you guys to check out. Maybe you'll see something I don't.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
sometimes a chicken will drop dead for no appearant reason..of course there IS a reason but we cannot always find it..

I would say that if your chickens are still laying eggs, they are not in bad shape.. A laying hen tends to be on the leaner side.. That is what many of us use to find the freeloaders.. If you find a nice fat chicken, she is usually the one not laying.. and egg laying would cease as one of the first signs of something wrong..

do not always expect to find a full crop.

It sounds to me that you ration their food.. you simply might not be giving them enough..

I am just making suggestions,so don;t get your hackles up, OK? I am not there, so can only guess..

 

[deedles]

No, no hackles up at all... I appreciate any input from more experienced chicken-ers than me (which is nearly everyone at this point)

It comforts me to hear that laying hens are leaner... they definitely look leaner.

The one that died was always a bit different. She was quite a bit larger than the others when we got her... kinda 'doofy' looking and slower. She did look kinda sickly the first 24 hours we had her but did perk up and seemed, well, slow but nice. When the other girls would be ripping the heck out of my gardens for bugs and worms, Nugget would be looking for the 'ripe tomato'. Maybe there was something wrong with her?

I asked an old farmer friend and he said sometimes a chicken will die for no apparent reason, you'll open them up and see all kinds of strange things; 2 hearts, half a liver, etc etc. He thought that they might be fine when they are young but then when they have the stress of laying, it's too much for them and they keel over.

Anyway, I do appreciate all the input. I hope I haven't sounded like my hackles are up, they arent'. I'm just a little stressed about the whole thing and afraid more girls will drop over.

Thanks again

 

[jvls1942]

I was just CMA.. I am always getting accused of being mean.. I don't mean to be.. I am just more blunt and to the point than most people are accustomed to..

I have 55 laying hens right now.. every few months or once a year, one keels over..(not the same one).

I wouldnt think any more are ready to drop just yet.. just keep doing what you are doing.

I put shovel fulls of sand into the coop .. the chickens will use only what they need..

I really do not think you have a grit problem, personnally..

 

[smith2]

All types of dairy products can help increase the weight on chickens. Just suggestions:
1) deworm/demite with something
2) increase grit just like you have done
3) mix some regular high-protein laying mash in with the organic feed and see how they take that. Maybe just go back to original food and switch to organic slowly.

Sometimes any change in food can really throw some chickens into stress. Not sure why? I also found one of my chickens dead this morning--broken egg inside of her. Laying hens do tend to be thinner than older dual purpose birds. I don't think the organic food is as nutrient dense as commercial laying mash/pellets, so they may have to eat more to stay healthy. Organic foods tend to be higher in fiber than commercial feeds. Too much fiber can harm chickens digestive systems so you might want to do some research on fiber contents and chicken diets. It may be the increase in the fiber of the food and not the grit?

 

[deedles]

Here are my remaining girls... do they look okay to you experienced folks?

My husband reports 4 eggs laid this morning, they did not rush the door when he opened it and he said they are making their usual happy sounds.

Maybe all is well with the addition of grit? Here's to hoping!