Please help

zacaro

In the Brooder
Dec 16, 2020
3
3
11
A little over a month ago, I forgot to close the door on my chicken coop and sadly a fox killed one of them. The morning after the attack I inspected the 4 remaining, but they didn't seem to have any injury. 48 hours later I found one of them dead for no apparent reason and a week after that, another followed. Now, a little over a month after the first death, one of them is barely moving and barely eats and I don’t know why. Could any body tell me if there is anything I can do?
 
Internal injuries can always be there, just not obviously. The fox could have broken a bone, or caused your birds to bleed internally. There are plenty of other injuries that could have gone unnoticed to.

The one who appears sick now, could possibly be over-stressed or depressed by the loss of the other birds. @azygous could probably help more than I could

@Wyorp Rock can help to! :thumbsup

im so so sorry you lost your birds. Its very hard and upsetting. I hope everything gets better ❤
 
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A little over a month ago, I forgot to close the door on my chicken coop and sadly a fox killed one of them. The morning after the attack I inspected the 4 remaining, but they didn't seem to have any injury. 48 hours later I found one of them dead for no apparent reason and a week after that, another followed. Now, a little over a month after the first death, one of them is barely moving and barely eats and I don’t know why. Could any body tell me if there is anything I can do?
I agree with @CHlCKEN, sorry for you’re loss :(
 
Age & Photographs of the bird(s) in question & their poop.
Today's issues may be related, or totally unrelated.
Photos of the bird(s) should include posture from the side (entire bird), a front on facial photo, a photo of each side of their face, a backside (vent) picture.
Feel the crop of your sickly bird in the morning before having access to food & water (should be empty), and again when they go to bed (should be plump). Have you examined your flock for lice & mites? Is this bird laying, and if so, when was their last egg laid? How meaty is their chest? Are their butt feathers dirty?

Edited to add: When was your flock last wormed? Is a veterinarian an option?
 
She is 3 years old, she still lays sometimes but she does around once a week the last one was 3 days ago. she was the bullied one in the group and was starting to recover after the death of her 2 main bullies but her health dropped about a week ago. She has had no lice in more than a year. her weight as dropped by half
 

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Excellent pictures, thank you.

She's in the "I'm very sick" posture, her eyes look fine. Her comb is more pink than red, could mean sick, could mean out of lay. She's a little messy on the butt feathers, but not too much considering how poofy her feathers are there. Her vent appears dry, indicating she's not been laying, can you confirm? When she walks, is she kind of upright waddling, like a penguin or no?

She appears to be what I call a "production red" type of bird, bred specifically to lay lots of big beautiful dark cream to brown eggs (usually one a day) for a couple of years, and then not-so-much. They're fraught with reproductive disorders, often fatal. A three year old hen of such a breed is an old girl indeed, but some on the forums report girls of eight or more years. (I've never been so lucky with them, and have quit buying them.)

You didn't say if a veterinarian was a option.

I'm going to assume that due to covid and all of the many restrictions we're facing globally because of it, that a veterinarian is not an option at this time. So....

If this were my girl, I'd put her on amprolium (generic name, better known as Corid) in case she's suffering from coccidiosis. Cocci are an internal parasite that is found on all continents and in all soil around the world, there are several types of cocci, and an animal that is overburdened by this parasitic infestation doesn't always present with the same symptoms.

Cocci will take advantage of a young, old, or sick animal, attach themselves to the intestinal wall, and steal the nutrients that your girl needs to survive. The medicine works by blocking the B-vitamins (so don't offer vitamin supplements while treating her, but do offer them after the entire treatment is complete). This medicine will not harm your girl in any way, even if she's not suffering from cocci overload, so it's a safe measure to take and it's CHEAP.

You might consider worming her at the same time, different medicine but both can be added to her water at the same time. In my country, Piperazine is used for adult roundworms only. Ivermectin is a more complete dewormer, as it treats roundworms, threadworms, gapeworms and many external parasites. Ivermectin can be used orally (ingested) or topically (rubbed on their skin).
Albendazole also treats tapeworm, roundworm, capillary worms, cecal worms, & gapeworms.

Worming treatments require a second round of treatment 10 to 14 days after the first round is complete to kill off the hatching worm eggs before they reach sexual maturity (stopping the cycle of worm infestation due to the worms breeding).

Will keep you and your feathered family in my prayers.
 
A little over a month ago, I forgot to close the door on my chicken coop and sadly a fox killed one of them. The morning after the attack I inspected the 4 remaining, but they didn't seem to have any injury. 48 hours later I found one of them dead for no apparent reason and a week after that, another followed. Now, a little over a month after the first death, one of them is barely moving and barely eats and I don’t know why. Could any body tell me if there is anything I can do?
She is 3 years old, she still lays sometimes but she does around once a week the last one was 3 days ago. she was the bullied one in the group and was starting to recover after the death of her 2 main bullies but her health dropped about a week ago. She has had no lice in more than a year. her weight as dropped by half
I'm sorry about your hen. I agree, she doesn't look well.
I feel inside her vent for an egg. Feel her abdomen below the vent between the legs for bloat or fluid. She may be having some reproductive issues at her age. See that her crop is emptying overnight.

Do what you can to get her hydrated.
I agree, that deworming and treating for Coccidiosis may be a good idea as supportive care measures.
Depending on where you are located in the world dictates what products are available.
If in the US, both Corid and Safeguard (Fenbendazole) can be found at stores like tractor supply, I would suggest those are the easiest to find and will be effective.
 

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