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

[WalkingWolf]

Sometimes it is hard to tell from a photo but they look beautiful and healthy to me.

BTW it takes sometime for grit to pass through the gizzard, a recent snow would not have injured them from lack of grit. I only put sand in my parrots cups once a week as they like to throw and play in it. But I know people who have kept parrots for years without grit, I don't think it's a good idea if you feed seed.

 

[beakkeeper]

Quote:
Yes, they look well, other than the fact that the first two think they are flamingoes!

Seriously, though, I hope you get them off the bad feed soon, so they can get more Wyandotte-shaped-- deep and ROUND.

Best of luck!

 

[Wifezilla]

I applaud your chicken's taste in political candidates

 

[chickenannie]

Your birds look nice and healthy in the pics, although I can't tell about thin-ness with those feathers. The fact that they ate all that grit is a sign that they needed it (despite what some of the feedback on here has said that chickens don't need grit!). If you feed soft foods or foods that don't need to be ground up, I believe you don't need grit. But my free-range chickens eat all kinds of seeds and whole grains (in their feed) that must have grit to digest!

By the way, you sound like a weston-pricey person, and I love the fact that you're feeding your chickens organic foods. Despite what your husband says chickens do not need medicated feeds -- how does he think our grandparents raised their chickens??? They just need a balanced feed that provides them with the right nutrition. I love Carla Emery's book called "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" because it describes how to make home-made feeds for all animals, including chickens.

I don't feed medicated feeds, never have, and there are some people who say medicated feed can mask an unhealthy flock because of poor housing conditions or disease, because the medication (antibiotics) keeps them going despite their conditions.
I feed my chickens a custom-mix I buy from a local organic farmer who grows much of the grain himself. It has corn, roasted soybeans, and oats along with minerals and probiotics that he buys from Fertrell Company (organic feeds). He grinds half the grains, but only cracks the other half, so the feed has both powder and grain kernels in it.

By the way, although chickens love milk, I would be careful how old the milk is -- from what I've read, you should never feed chickens old vegetables, rotten items, etc. because of their small size, it can really hurt them or make them sick. They are not like Pigs which can eat anything even if it is old, curdled, stale, and rotten, but chickens and rabbits are different.

You're doing a great job, and I'm sure your chickens will be fine!

By the way, I love the fact that your girls are so political that they decided to hang a poster in their coop! :

 

[chickenlady]

In your opening post, you stated that the death was not due to crop impaction, however, later in the post you say you were feeling the neck of the bird to check for this. The crop is NOT in the neck. The crop is in the breast/chest area on one side. So maybe you are blaming the food or grit all along when it could actually be a crop impaction that went undetected.

I personally do not think it is the fault of the food or grit. I dont think the black spots in the comb are frostbite, the combs are much too small for frostbite. It looks in the picture like peck marks. could be because you have a light on all night. When was the light put in there? The same time as the feed switch?

As far as mites go, have you looked on the birds for them? Check the vent area and tops of the legs. They will be in these spots rather than on the comb. Check in the daytime and at night by flashlight.

Lastly, the problem may be cocci or worms. Both cocci and worms will not always produce blood in the stools but will make the birds lose alot of weigh. I would start with a wormer like eprinex pour on(for cattle). Works quick and no withdrawal period noted.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
I don't really have experience in this area, but I did read on another thread, that hay can be harmful to chickens and a few people have said it killed their chickens (see link).
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=122471

It looks like a controversial subject (some say it's bad, some say it's not), but if you don't find any other reason for your hen's death, you might want to look into it.

 

[jvls1942]

OK I read that thread about the hay. It is another example of someone jumping to conclusion without proof.. I see a lot of that on this site.. A chicken cannot suffocate from a full crop.. the lungs are nowhere near the crop where it could crowd them..
and the esophagus(wind pipe) is nearly impossible to squash flat with your fingers.. try it sometime..

If that crop had been full of grain, those people would have surmised that you should not feed grain to your chickens.

I have been using hay for over 35 years and had thousands of poultry and have never had one die from hay.. I guess I am just lucky, huh?? I even feed hay as a treat...

 

[chickygirl2]

I did have a silkie die a few years ago from hay. I didn't know what was wrong. He kept gasping for air. After he passed away, I did a necropsy and found a big ball of hay curled up in the crop. I had been throwing cabbage and other greens down on the bedding at the time. They all ran to get the food. I think he just did not discriminate food from not food, and ate a bunch of it. I learned not to use hay then. I have used sand ever since for the coop.
patty

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
Patty, sorry about your chicken.. but read my reply above.. I do not doubt that your chicken died from lack of oxygen as you indicated.. but I do not believe it was from anything in the crop..

 

[Akane]

There is so much speculation as to the cause and so many factors here that I would do a complete overhaul. Deworm with a chemical dewormer. Bentonite is very weak for deworming and only good if you practice other parasite management techniques.

Cut out a bunch of the treats. Your feeding them so much stuff they may not even want to eat their chicken feed which will lead to nutrition problems. I would bring it down to 2 or 3 quality protein sources like sunflower seeds, hardboiled egg, and meat scraps. Milk is questionable but raw milk is usually considered ok and if it's been turned to yogurt that should be fine to include as a treat. These should be treats not meals. What each chicken gets of each treat should be tablespoons not cups, pounds, or gallons. I would actually avoid throwing in carb sources like corn and scratch. The other things mentioned actually have more calories (more heat generated), better balance of nutrients, and more protein. I would consider switching back to a more common feed but all feeds sold do have to pass the basic nutrition requirements for a chicken so if fed properly technically any feed sold for poultry should keep them alive.

Give them unlimited good quality granite or cherry stone (quartz) grit from the feed store. Remove the hay. I don't think people should completely avoid hay but you haven't been giving grit and hay is one more variable we can't keep track of.

If the health of your birds increases I would then slowly add back in things like the hay or switching back to an organic feed if you decide to give it up. Slowly add another treat and see if they still eat their feed and remain healthy. If they do not improve I would consider a disease beyond parasites and consult a veterinarian. I would also look into your management of the flock and see if they aren't being stressed by something. Pecking is a sign they aren't all that content.