Need Help with Fly Strike-WARNING GRAPHIC PICTURES-NECropsy added

[seminolewind]

I do have more pics, I'll have to look.

My gf says to me "You have 32 chickens? You will go thru this 32 more times?" (mourning)

 

[speckledhen]

I could let them all leave, sell off or die off, and then never have anymore chickens. Perish the thought! I can't even imagine being without them now.

 

[Suzie]

seminolewind..

and those of us that have lost our beloved ones this year,,,

If it was not for bad luck I guess we would have none at all...at times.

It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all...we are blessed to have had the loving experience of our family, chickens, ducks, geese and all of the other animals that enhance our lives, It is our grief that is so very hard to bear...for our beloved ones it is a release from pain and illness..they have passed on to a better place than we can know of..one day we will surely meet them again and embrace them and all pain and feelings of loss will be behind us...that is my take on how I can cope with the devastating circumstances we find ourselves in...somewhere, somehow..one day..

My thoughts are with you all...it has been a hard year here for me to bear too...

I have no regrets...neither should any of us..despite our heartache...we do all possible to give of ourselves and be educated into being better carers..without your wonderful wisdom and advice..where would we be ? Thanks to everyone who posts helpful information...gives us knowledge...thanks!


Love to you all!

 

[speckledhen]

Couldn't have said it better myself, Suzie.

 

[Nambroth]

I made a separate thread with the x-ray photos, just in case it helps someone else someday.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/929056/not-an-emergency-x-rays-from-hen-with-ovarian-cancer

 

[JensChickies]

Oh my. I just read through this thread. I am so sorry for all the loss you have to go through. My heart is heavy for you.

 

[Michael Apple]

Michael, I'm not sure what you mean about unclean vaccinations and EYP. This one was a now 7 year old hatchery chick not vaccinated for anything. Her sister is still with me.

The rooster thing is kindof odd. When I picked him up, he was limp and his tail feathers were broken off. The feathers were found inside the pen where he died. Nothing outside the pen. There was 1 "doggie door" that was open to a yard for them. There was no blood. His poo was normal. Maybe he broke them in the throes of death?

I don't know enough about it to say it cannot be a problem at any stage in life, but from what I've seen, I do not believe we are free from it in the states. I have had hens which drop eggs while roosting at night. Generally they are soft when that has happened. Here's some more info from Merck:
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou...overview_of_egg_drop_syndrome_in_poultry.html

"Rare, sporadic EDS has been recognized in isolated flocks. It appears to be due either to contact with domestic ducks or geese or, more often, to water contaminated with wildfowl droppings. The risk is that these introductions could become endemic.
The main method of horizontal spread is through contaminated eggs; droppings also are infective. People and contaminated fomites such as crates or trucks can spread virus, which also can be transmitted by needles when vaccinating and drawing blood. Insect transmission is possible but not proved."

I once had a Dominique rooster who I watched fall off his roost one night when I was quietly locking them up. I quickly picked him up, and he convulsed, screeched, and died within about 5 seconds.

 

[speckledhen]

The fact is that there are numerous reasons for soft shelled eggs and eggs dropped off roosts that are not due to actual disease. There are no waterfowl around here anywhere, wild birds do not reside in my coops, though once awhile back, a wren must have flown in through the pop door just as we were locking up and no one noticed until morning when she was frantically trying to get out, the one and only time a bird has been inside any of my coops for any length of time.

Many hens have egg issues during hard molts. Some have them due to age. Some eat plenty of calcium but do not absorb it for some reason that can have to do with vitamin D or other deficiency in their bodies. So, many, many reasons for soft shelled eggs.

 

[Michael Apple]

The fact is that there are numerous reasons for soft shelled eggs and eggs dropped off roosts that are not due to actual disease. There are no waterfowl around here anywhere, wild birds do not reside in my coops, though once awhile back, a wren must have flown in through the pop door just as we were locking up and no one noticed until morning when she was frantically trying to get out, the one and only time a bird has been inside any of my coops for any length of time.

Many hens have egg issues during hard molts. Some have them due to age. Some eat plenty of calcium but do not absorb it for some reason that can have to do with vitamin D or other deficiency in their bodies. So, many, many reasons for soft shelled eggs.

Yes, numerous reasons for soft shelled or eggs without shells as you mentioned. My point is some are viral and should not be overlooked, nor the sources from which people obtain stock from. For over 30 years of raising birds, I have paid close attention to diet, and the biology of chickens, these symptoms have taken place from time to time with birds not in moult, nor deficient in diet, nor was it a result of parasites, diseases which may have compromised immunity and healthy egg production. I'm not trying to create unnecessary worry, only to be aware of problems which can only be determined by necropsy at a lab. Wild birds can always be a problem. Any bird that ranges can pick up diseases. Any pen which wild birds can enter, and leave droppings in troughs can transmit disease to the flock. That doesn't mean I recommend raising birds in a lab, it just means people should be aware of what to watch for and vaccinate if needed.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm not saying it's 100% impossible to have EDS here in the U.S. however, most everything I've read says it is not here. If it is, it is so very rare that it's not worrisome at this point in time. Probably another cause is what to look for.