Off her feed

[RumAndCoconuts]

Thank you Baybay. That is a great list. I will send it to myself and put it on my Vancouver list.
Extremely helpful.

My hen is up and down. I thought for a while she was going to pass while I was holding her, and then she got up and seemed a bit more energetic,
Now she's back looking dire again,

Thank you for your input.

 

[RumAndCoconuts]

I just buried my little sweetie. She died in my arms.

Thank you for those who offered help here, if anyone thinks they can offer any more insight I would appreciate hearing it.

 

[MrsBrooke]

Poor little mama. I am very sorry to hear of your loss. <3 She looks like a sweet girl. Sometimes they go, and there is nothing you can do about it. Be comforted that you did the best you could for her, and she was comfortable until the last.

You still have other sweet mamas to care for.

I hope this is an isolated incident.

MrsB

 

[BayBay Peepers]

I'm very sorry you lost her. Know that you did the best you could and at least she had you with her to the end.

It's hard to know exactly what was wrong without a necropsy. Even going to the vet while they are sick does not guarantee an accurate diagnosis. (I just learned this recently) Chickens can feel ill for a long time before they show symptoms of being ill so detecting problems can be a problem in itself. Usually by the time we see something is wrong it's pretty far along. But this doesn't mean we can't do our best and in some cases help them bounce back.

From the look and color of her poop (I'm not an expert just guessing here) I would think she had an infection in her egg tract. It looks like maybe an egg broke in there or didn't form correctly and in turn gets infected. I believe it's called egg yolk periodontist or something close to that. Now that may not be it either. Maybe poop got into the wrong area and cause an infection (though I highly doubt this scenario) It's also hard to tell when they're not eating because that alone can change the poop. For an example: I had a hen who stopped eating and drinking and she had green poop. The vet said the green was from extra bile in the stomach. Later I learned from Kathy, on this site, that it's true, but once you get food and water in them the poop should change within 24 hours. If it stays bad then it's a sure sign of infection somewhere. Does that make sense?

Keep an eye on the rest of your flock to see how they're doing. Hopefully it was an isolated incident and not some kind of contagious sickness. Again I'm very sorry for your loss. It is never easy.

 

[krista74]

I agree with BayBay Peepers - I suspect it was Egg Yolk Peritonitis. My understanding is that instead of the egg coming down the usual tract it is laid internally into the abdominal cavity, which is caused predominantly by an E-Coli infection in the hen's reproductive tract.

A hen with Egg Peritonitis will cease laying, has a firm abdomen which may be distended and walks strangely - like a waddle.

One of the main culprits in causing this is an E.Coli infection. This can be discouraged somewhat by keeping your flock clean, well nourished and well housed, and by making sure everything in your coop (feeders, waterers etc) is nice and clean.

Also some natural products such as probiotics, oregano and Vitamin E have apparently been used and trialled with mixed results. Generally speaking though, Egg Peritonitis is difficult to treat at the best of times and antibiotics are usually required. Even then there are no guarantees.

I am very sorry you lost your girl, but do take comfort in the fact that you did your best and were with her at the end.

My thoughts are with you.

- Krista

 

[RumAndCoconuts]

I agree with BayBay Peepers - I suspect it was Egg Yolk Peritonitis.  My understanding is that instead of the egg coming down the usual tract it is laid internally into the abdominal cavity, which is caused predominantly by an E-Coli infection in the hen's reproductive tract.

A hen with Egg Peritonitis will cease laying, has a firm abdomen which may be distended and walks strangely - like a waddle.  

One of the main culprits in causing this is an E.Coli infection.  This can be discouraged somewhat by keeping your flock clean, well nourished and well housed, and by making sure everything in your coop (feeders, waterers etc) is nice and clean. 

Also some natural products such as probiotics, oregano and Vitamin E have apparently been used and trialled with mixed results. Generally speaking though, Egg Peritonitis is difficult to treat at the best of times and antibiotics are usually required.  Even then there are no guarantees.

I am very sorry you lost your girl, but do take comfort in the fact that you did your best and were with her at the end.

My thoughts are with you.

- Krista

Wow, so much to take in. But I really hope it's not e. Coli. I just don't know what I could do if it is. Their water is brought in direct line by pipes with those water nipples. Oh wait....they sometimes drink from our waterfall, that runs into our fish pond...I wonder if that could be it.
They like to stand in the water and cool their bodies down. I never even thought....does that sound like a likely place? Gah.....they love that.

Their pen is massive and is just jungle floor so it all gets scratched into the dirt. Their food is a sealed container that dispenses through PVC pipes and it just stays clean. If it's E. coli I bet it is the pond.....

But thank you for your kind words everyone, I know you've all been there. On the upside. We've had three legbars and 2 bielefelder just hatch. A few more on the way,
A bittersweet day.

For my hen that I buried, I planted a just sprouted coconut above her...so when the tree grows I will always think of her,

 

[MrsBrooke]

Wow, so much to take in. But I really hope it's not e. Coli. I just don't know what I could do if it is. Their water is brought in direct line by pipes with those water nipples. Oh wait....they sometimes drink from our waterfall, that runs into our fish pond...I wonder if that could be it.
They like to stand in the water and cool their bodies down. I never even thought....does that sound like a likely place? Gah.....they love that.

Their pen is massive and is just jungle floor so it all gets scratched into the dirt. Their food is a sealed container that dispenses through PVC pipes and it just stays clean. If it's E. coli I bet it is the pond.....

But thank you for your kind words everyone, I know you've all been there. On the upside. We've had three legbars and 2 bielefelder just hatch. A few more on the way,
A bittersweet day.

For my hen that I buried, I planted a just sprouted coconut above her...so when the tree grows I will always think of her,

I'm sorry for your loss, but I would love to see your Bielefelder chicks. Where did you get them?

MrsB

 

[RumAndCoconuts]

I'm sorry for your loss, but I would love to see your Bielefelder chicks. Where did you get them?

MrsB

Well they are just out of the wrapper so a bit of a mess but I will post a photo and let you know when they are nice and fluffy and have a final count, two of the eggs I set were 77 grams! That's beyond jumbo.
I got the eggs from http://greendaleheritagefarm.com/ in Chilliwack. They import to Canada mostly from Greenfire.

 

[MrsBrooke]

Well they are just out of the wrapper so a bit of a mess but I will post a photo and let you know when they are nice and fluffy and have a final count, two of the eggs I set were 77 grams! That's beyond jumbo.
I got the eggs from http://greendaleheritagefarm.com/ in Chilliwack. They import to Canada mostly from Greenfire.

Good to know. I know Greenfire charges a monster price for their birds. I'm happy you have some new babies to soften the blow of losing one of your mamas. Like you said, bittersweet.

MrsB

 

[enola]

I am sorry for your loss. Now is a good time to put together a medicine chest for using instead of depending on a vet. Please don't depend on "natural" remedies for worming and killing mites or lice. Using DE, papaya seeds,pumpkin seeds, AVC, paprika or garlic will NOT remove worms from chickens. There are many threads on this site that will prove that. Safeguard and Valbazen will remove worms. Corid is good to have around when chickens get coccidia. Chicken vitamins, probiotics, electrolytes are good to have around. Poultry dust or Sevin dust is good for lice. Mineral oil is great for treating scaley leg mites. Blue cote is good to cover small wounds so other chickens won't peck them.