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I called the vet that I take my dogs to and was referred to a local veterinarian that knows a lot about chickens. Besides being an experienced vet, he owns about 40 chickens himself.
He told me that a necropsy would run about $200-$300. I described all the sypmtoms Splash has been having. He didn't see the need for an expensive necropsy when only 1 chicken had been sick. If a second chicken comes down with the same symptoms, then maybe I should have one done. He said that he occasionally loses a chicken himself and that sometimes a chicken will be weaker or have a lowered immunity that makes it more susceptible to being sick. He also suggested that a chicken can get a joint infection that can spread to the rest of its body or that it could have eaten something bad. He said stress or less hardy breeding could lead to one chicken coming down with something while the rest stay healthy - that as long as I don't find another one with similar symptoms, I shouldn't worry about the rest of the flock being contaminated
In hindsight, I'm realizing Splash had been being stressed, which undoubtedly lowered her immune system. This all started happening after I started mixing the two flocks together. The older flock is real stingy about their food and tries to keep the younger ones from it. I do put out an extra food dish & water container, but it's still pretty stressful for the younger ones.
I think stress is inevetable when putting new chickens together, but some chickens handle it better than others. I had housed the 2 groups of chickens next to each other for months and waited till they were almost the same size before introducing them into the same pen (which opened up into the younger ones' pen for more space). Also, they were free-ranging in the same yard with no problems. The original flock is just plain mean when it comes to sharing their personal space.
Also, Splash came from a different source than all my other chickens (the only one I have that survived from the eggs I purchased), so maybe she wasn't from as hardy of stock as the others. She's also the only light colored chicken we have now (leghorns were rehomed), so maybe she was picked on a little more because she stood out?
She came down with symptoms (starting with drowsiness) at least 4 weeks ago (maybe even longer). I had discounted and started ignoring the daytime napping until she started limping. All the rest of my 17 pullets still seem very healthy and active.
I'm still planning to check her if/when she dies and see if I can find something strange in there. I'll post again afterwards.
He told me that a necropsy would run about $200-$300. I described all the sypmtoms Splash has been having. He didn't see the need for an expensive necropsy when only 1 chicken had been sick. If a second chicken comes down with the same symptoms, then maybe I should have one done. He said that he occasionally loses a chicken himself and that sometimes a chicken will be weaker or have a lowered immunity that makes it more susceptible to being sick. He also suggested that a chicken can get a joint infection that can spread to the rest of its body or that it could have eaten something bad. He said stress or less hardy breeding could lead to one chicken coming down with something while the rest stay healthy - that as long as I don't find another one with similar symptoms, I shouldn't worry about the rest of the flock being contaminated
In hindsight, I'm realizing Splash had been being stressed, which undoubtedly lowered her immune system. This all started happening after I started mixing the two flocks together. The older flock is real stingy about their food and tries to keep the younger ones from it. I do put out an extra food dish & water container, but it's still pretty stressful for the younger ones.
I think stress is inevetable when putting new chickens together, but some chickens handle it better than others. I had housed the 2 groups of chickens next to each other for months and waited till they were almost the same size before introducing them into the same pen (which opened up into the younger ones' pen for more space). Also, they were free-ranging in the same yard with no problems. The original flock is just plain mean when it comes to sharing their personal space.
Also, Splash came from a different source than all my other chickens (the only one I have that survived from the eggs I purchased), so maybe she wasn't from as hardy of stock as the others. She's also the only light colored chicken we have now (leghorns were rehomed), so maybe she was picked on a little more because she stood out?
She came down with symptoms (starting with drowsiness) at least 4 weeks ago (maybe even longer). I had discounted and started ignoring the daytime napping until she started limping. All the rest of my 17 pullets still seem very healthy and active.
I'm still planning to check her if/when she dies and see if I can find something strange in there. I'll post again afterwards.
