Newbie Worried About Her Hens

[Janey1129]

Hi, I am new and hope someone can enlighten me. I got 5 chicks who would now be about 4.5 months old. They were doing great, or so I thought. They have been living outside for a few months now. I live in Rhode Island and the summer was great until recently it has gotten oddly colder, at night it goes into the 50s and during the day it has been in the 70s or 80s. Then other days and nights it is a lot hotter. It has been raining a lot too. I explain the weather because I am not sure if it may have played a role in my chickens deaths. 2 of the died on Thursday. All chickens seemed healthy and happy before then. I came home and saw one dead bird in the cage and one was not able to walk at all. It died a few hours later. There was no blood or feathers anywhere. I was worried it may be a disease, but it seems odd that they both would have died the same day and both seemed fine prior. I'm closely watching my other chickens and they seem fine. Anyone have any ideas? I would have brought a bird in for a necroptsy but I didn't think of it at the time. Thank you for your help

 

[dunnmom]

I'm sorry about your chicks. I doubt it was the weather. Can you take a picture of the cage and post it? I just want to see if it's possible that a predator got a hold of them. My mom lost 2 to something reaching in and trying to pull them out.

 

[Janey1129]

I'm sorry about your chicks. I doubt it was the weather. Can you take a picture of the cage and post it? I just want to see if it's possible that a predator got a hold of them. My mom lost 2 to something reaching in and trying to pull them out.

Thank you for responding. I will take a photo tomorrow and post it. I think that if a predator tried hard it may have been able to. I just assumed that i would see blood or feathers everywhere. Also, I didn't think so because one was paralyzed but didn't seem to have any broken bones or anything. I really don't know much about chickens though.

 

[dunnmom]

I'm new too, but so far, it doesn't sound like a disease thing to me, if you aren't seeing signs or symptoms. Maybe a more seasoned chickener will be able to help more. I just wanted to respond so you weren't having to wait a long time, and to give my condolences. Losses are always concerning and heartbreaking. Hug!

 

[Janey1129]

Thank you so much

 

[rebrascora]

Paralysis at that age always suggests Marek's disease. It is an extremely common and widespread virus which young chickens are particularly vulnerable to and adolescence is the time they usually get it. It can cause sudden death due to visceral tumours but paralysis or weakness of a leg or wing or a twisted neck or tail can also be signs of it. It also compromises the immune system like AIDS does in humans and makes them vulnerable to other secondary illnesses that they would normally be able to fight off. There are other causes of paralysis but at that age Marek's is probably the commonest.
Unfortunately there is no recognised treatment although supporting the immune system with good nutrition and vitamin supplementation like Nutri Drench and keeping the birds as happy and stress free as possible is the best you can do. If the paralysed bird is unable to support itself, making it a chicken sling or hammock will help it to stay upright in a comfortable position and if you fasten little empty yoghurt pots onto the structure and fill them with food and water, the birds can usually feed themselves.
Sometimes they miraculously recover from the paralysis and seem completely better for a few weeks/months/even a year, but are likely to have secondary attacks which are usually more prolonged and severe or fatal, but quality of life in the interim can be very good.

It is a very heart breaking disease, because you do your best, but often it is not good enough.
I hope I am wrong, but if there is no sign of trauma on the bird that died or puncture wounds then it is the most likely cause. It could be that a predator has stressed them and triggered the attack of the disease or it could just be that they are approaching point of lay when their hormones are kicking in and that sometimes kicks it off although they were probably infected months ago. It is a herpes type virus and lies dormant in the system until it is triggered, a bit like cold sores in people, but sadly more deadly. You can't tell who has the virus until they have an outbreak.

It is possible to send the dead bird off for a necropsy if you haven't disposed of it already. That should tell you what you are dealing with for sure.

Good luck with your remaining girls. Hopefully not all of them will get it.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[rebrascora]

This is a simple chicken sling that can be made from every day objects.

You can clip little cups/pots onto the front of the tub for food and water and adjust the sling part so that the chicken can reach them. .

 

[Jan's Happy Hennery]

HELP!
hi, my little one is two days old, had a stressful hatch - a leg appeared out the shel, then her head....then she rested for maybe 12 hours before being fully hatched.

She appears to have a twisted neck, is eating and drinking ok, but I have read about giving them selenium and vitamin E along with probiotic. Has anyone else tried this and what percentage of both men's would you give - the vitamin E is 67 mg tablets and the selenium is 50mg.

Thanks in advance

Jan

 

[Janey1129]

Paralysis at that age always suggests Marek's disease. It is an extremely common and widespread virus which young chickens are particularly vulnerable to and adolescence is the time they usually get it. It can cause sudden death due to visceral tumours but paralysis or weakness of a leg or wing or a twisted neck or tail can also be signs of it. It also compromises the immune system like AIDS does in humans and makes them vulnerable to other secondary illnesses that they would normally be able to fight off. There are other causes of paralysis but at that age Marek's is probably the commonest.
Unfortunately there is no recognised treatment although supporting the immune system with good nutrition and vitamin supplementation like Nutri Drench and keeping the birds as happy and stress free as possible is the best you can do. If the paralysed bird is unable to support itself, making it a chicken sling or hammock will help it to stay upright in a comfortable position and if you fasten little empty yoghurt pots onto the structure and fill them with food and water, the birds can usually feed themselves.
Sometimes they miraculously recover from the paralysis and seem completely better for a few weeks/months/even a year, but are likely to have secondary attacks which are usually more prolonged and severe or fatal, but quality of life in the interim can be very good.

It is a very heart breaking disease, because you do your best, but often it is not good enough.
I hope I am wrong, but if there is no sign of trauma on the bird that died or puncture wounds then it is the most likely cause. It could be that a predator has stressed them and triggered the attack of the disease or it could just be that they are approaching point of lay when their hormones are kicking in and that sometimes kicks it off although they were probably infected months ago. It is a herpes type virus and lies dormant in the system until it is triggered, a bit like cold sores in people, but sadly more deadly. You can't tell who has the virus until they have an outbreak.

It is possible to send the dead bird off for a necropsy if you haven't disposed of it already. That should tell you what you are dealing with for sure.

Good luck with your remaining girls. Hopefully not all of them will get it.

Best wishes

Barbara

Thank you for responding. I will definitely look into this. If any of my other hens become paralyzed I will surely make that sling. The two that did pass away, they showed no signs of illness prior to the day they died. My mother-in-law checked on them at about 10:30 am and they were all fine and then I checked on them when I came home from work that day at 4:30 and one was dead and another was paralyzed. The paralyzed one died a few hours later. Is it normal for that disease for it to show paralysis and kill in one day? The other wasn't even paralyzed to my knowledge that day. It was just strange they died within a few hours of eachother with no prior symptoms. Thank you for you help.

 

[Janey1129]

HELP!
hi, my little one is two days old, had a stressful hatch - a leg appeared out the shel, then her head....then she rested for maybe 12 hours before being fully hatched.

She appears to have a twisted neck, is eating and drinking ok, but I have read about giving them selenium and vitamin E along with probiotic. Has anyone else tried this and what percentage of both men's would you give - the vitamin E is 67 mg tablets and the selenium is 50mg.

Thanks in advance

Jan

Awww poor chick. I hope she gets better. I wish I could help. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable responds.