Our Little Red passed away :( Contagious or old? *PICS*

[craftymama86]

I went to let our chickens out this morning to find our Little Red dead in the coop. Hubby got her out, didn't look like she had been pecked at. We've had the chickens about 2 weeks and she was already sickly when we got her. We recently bought some Polyvisol and I wish now I would have given it to her as soon as we bought it. We haven't seen any signs of the other being sick. A couple have had the sneezes but I think it's from getting dirt and food in their beak. They're messy, haha. Anyways, could the others get sick from being in the coop with a dead chicken in there with them?

Little Red

 

[craftymama86]

When we first got her we thought she was sick but then after my DH looked at her closer he thought she was old. Any thoughts?

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

could the others get sick from being in the coop with a dead chicken in there with them?

Could they? Yes, no question.

A sick chicken can spread disease to the flock, that is why most people will avoid taking any sick bird into their flock and will at very least quarantine them a few weeks first.

Any stress like moving a flock or introducing a new chicken can cause an outbreak of sickness that could have been lying dormant.

I don't think Polyvisol would have made any difference, it does not keep sick chickens from dying, it simply promotes good health at best and may be usefull in treating vitamin defficiencies.​

 

[craftymama86]

How can you tell the difference between a sick chicken and an old one?

I was a little bit surprised that she died when she did. After having them a week we started letting them out to free range, she would sometimes stay in with the chicks though but whenever we would bring her worms and grubs she would really liven up. Actually, since we started feeding her the worms and grubs for the past week she seemed to be getting better.... I don't know. This has been a lot to take in. It's upsetting that we got an ill chicken to begin with. My DH got them on his way home from work... It must have been getting dark for him not to see what she really looked like.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

Actually if I had to guess I would say she was young. The comb and wattles are small and pink. As they mature the become larger and red, then as they get old they will fade and become more droopy.

 

[Ironmaiden]

She doesn't seem old to me. The wattles etc are small and pink. Quarantine any new birds for 30 days to avoid spreading disease. Did you have the chicks and then introduce these others?
Sounds like she had something when you bought her. I'm sorry about your hen.

 

[craftymama86]

DH bought them all at the same time. I thought she looked young too. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the rest. I wish I could have quarantined her the day after we got her, when we realized something wasn't right, but we didn't have any place to put her.

I'm going to try and find some wood pallets to take apart and make another coop or quarantine house for this reason, or both, lol. I guess only time will tell if they got something from her?

 

[sheila3935]

If you got them all at the same time from the same person you wouldnt have to quarantine unless you had other chickens. Now if you already had chickens then yes you need to keep all newcomers away from the previous flock. For at least 30 days.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

If they all came together from same place they may well all be carriers. This can be bad or good depending on how you look at it.

The others may have already had what sickened the RIR so are not at risk because of her death. On the other hand they may be carriers of what ever it is/was and may come down ill durring future stresses and potentially pass it on to any new birds.

There is a lot of reading out there on CRD and chicken illnesses/diseases, very helpfull stuff for keeping a healthy flock.

 

[craftymama86]

Quote:
It would have been nice to get all healthy chickens but that just didn't happen. So, since that's the case, I hope they were already exposed and fought it off. I'm a pretty positive thinking person. Hopefully the rest of our flock will be ok.