One pullet died, the other looks bad...

[lcountry]

We had two Delaware pullets, roughly 4-5 months old, and several adult hens. They had been turned in with our "big girls" during the day for 2-3 weeks and all seemed to be fine. Yesterday was a normal day, though I did see one of the older hens chasing the little girl. No marks or lost feathers on the little girls, ever.

This morning, one of the little ones is dead and the other looks bad. They were both separated from the big girls for the night and were fine at bedtime. No marks, no congestion, nothing, but one was dead. The remaining pullet is puffed up and lethargic. I did get her to drink a little water. Still no signs of congestion, crop isn't swollen, no visible signs of what may be going on.

About two weeks ago, we had a Brahma hen seem to have just "dropped dead". She was fine and the next morning we found her dead. I don't know if this is related or not.

Does anyone have any ideas what is going on? What would you do for the little girl to try to help the little pullet pull through? I'm stumped and not sure what needs to be done.

Thanks so much! (By the way, we're in north Texas so there isn't really any extreme temperature to consider, right now.)

 

[Judy]

You could look through here and see if anything seems to fit. Best answer would be an autopsy; you can often get this done through a state vet association, I believe it is, without spending a fortune. They vary whether they want the body frozen or refrigerated, too, I believe. Might be wise to go ahead and look into this. I know my vet knows who to call.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[jjthink]

From the sounds of it you have something contagious going on so an evaluation by a vet may save the rest of the flock - time is of the essence, given the rate of loss. A necropsy may also shed the light needed to sort this out.
So sorry for the birds that have succumbed and the little one now struggling

Try to provide any and all info you can think of about their living conditions, diet etc that could provide any clues whatsoever...
JJ

 

[lcountry]

Thanks guys. The one that I have inside appears to be doing better. She's not great, by any means though, but significantly improved. My daughter had the idea that maybe the bigger hens were keeping the little ones away from the water. The one that I have inside has taken some drinks and has eaten a little (tiny) bit of yogurt. The made her first step of improvement shortly after drinking. Does this sound like a reasonable possibility?

I'm also wondering about worms... I hadn't wormed them since I took them off of starter food. Possible?

Thanks.