One hen died....then another

[cibula11]

About a month ago I went into our coop in the morning to feed our 14 hens and one was lying dead near the waterer. This happened after temps went from 60s to upper 20s overnight. I figured it was just a "one time thing". I looked the hen over, but didn't see anything unusual. She was a bit thin in the breast area, so I figured maybe a little undersized.

Yesterday, as temps plummeted again, we had another hen dead. They've recently gone through a molting and I initially thought that it might be that their feathers hadn't fully come in and the cold snap got to them. Any ideas or things I could do to rule anything out? FWIW-they were just under 2 yrs old.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Have they ever been dewormed and have you checked carefully for mites or lice?

 

[cibula11]

No not really. I've done the vinegar stuff every so often, but that's it. Any recommendations?

 

[cafarmgirl]

ACV won't get rid of worms. If they've never been dewormed with an actual dewormer they could possibly be carrying heavy loads of parasites. That weakens them, they loose weight and body condition and kills them over time. If they were my birds I'd deworm with Valbazen, it's safe and it works slowly over a period of days rather then killing off all the worms at once which can result in blockages and/or dead worm toxicity. Standard size birds get 1/2 cc, repeat the dose in 10 days. You do need to discard eggs until 10 days after the second dose.

 

[casportpony]

No not really. I've done the vinegar stuff every so often, but that's it. Any recommendations?

Take a poop sample to the vet and have a fecal float done.

-Kathy

 

[cibula11]

What about Wazine 17 poultry wormer? I can't get the Valbazen for less than $45 locally

Or durvet? Which is a feed.

 

[casportpony]

What about Wazine 17 poultry wormer? I can't get the Valbazen for less than $45 locally

Or durvet? Which is a feed.

Wazine only gets roundworms. Would be best to get the Valbazen. Second best is Safeguard, but you have to use a lot of it five days in a row to get the same worms as Valbazen, so Valbazen will be less expensive in the long run.

You should also think about having a necropsy done.
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-Kathy

 

[cibula11]

Do you have to worm each individual hen with Valbazen? I'm just thinking about time and practicality. It would idea to find something I can add to their feed or water. But, I also understand the benefits of doing it individually too.

 

[casportpony]

Do you have to worm each individual hen with Valbazen? I'm just thinking about time and practicality. It would idea to find something I can add to their feed or water. But, I also understand the benefits of doing it individually too.

Valbazen and Safeguard should be given orally. Will they eat scrambled eggs of lay mash with water? The other option would be to mix some in their food, but you'd have to be sure that all would get about the same amount. If you decide to do that, let me know and I'll tell you how to calculate the dose... just let me know if you get Valbazen or Safeguard. Note that I am huge fan of giving orally, but I can understand why people would rather not.

-Kathy

 

[cibula11]

Yeah, they'll eat just about anything I give them. Haven't known them to be picky eaters. Is safeguard just the horse wormer paste? I need to make a run to the store, so I'll look at both. I just wasn't planning on spending $45 on wormer.