Possible Salmonella in Flock

[Mai.Lady]

Hi all! We've had a rough year with our hens! The most recent issue has been lice (we have begun treatment, rural area), but we've had 3 hens die VERY quickly, and unexpectedly. They are young, not egg bound, nothing visibly wrong with 2 of them, the 3rd had extreme diarrhea and all had been lethargic. I did a necropsy on the one that exhibited NO symptoms, and I found green growths on the liver. I'm suspecting salmonella. What are my next steps? Is my entire flock of 20 lost? We've already disposed of the eggs as a precaution, have quarantined the kids from the chickens, we have recently cleaned the coop thoroughly (due to the lice outbreak). Help?!?!

 

[True Patriot]

This attachment should have some useful info. It's .PDF so most devices should be able to open.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What state are you in?
Good on you for doing your home necropsy.
The next step is to send a bird to your state poultry diagnostic lab to run cultures to see exactly what is killing them.

 

[Mai.Lady]

What state are you in?
Good on you for doing your home necropsy.
The next step is to send a bird to your state poultry diagnostic lab to run cultures to see exactly what is killing them.

We are in Utah. We have a hometown vet, would they be able to perform the tests, or will we need to seek out a lab?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Your vet will be able to look for worms and coccidian but may encounter bacteria they may not be familiar with. You'll have to tell them the symptoms and ask if they feel qualified to diagnose. Good avian vets are very rare and those with poultry experience are rare as hens' teeth.
The lab does this all day every day.

Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Utah State University
950 E. 1400 North
Logan, Utah 84341-2877
Phone: 435-797-1895

 

[Mai.Lady]

Your vet will be able to look for worms and coccidian but may encounter bacteria they may not be familiar with. You'll have to tell them the symptoms and ask if they feel qualified to diagnose. Good avian vets are very rare and those with poultry experience are rare as hens' teeth.
The lab does this all day every day.

Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Utah State University
950 E. 1400 North
Logan, Utah 84341-2877
Phone: 435-797-1895

If it comes back as salmonella, what are my next steps? I'm having an immense amount of anxiety with this.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Salmonella isn't uncommon in poultry flocks. Probably 70% of all chickens have some form of salmonella in their system at some point in their lives. There are over 2,000 species of salmonella but only about a dozen cause most of the instances of salmonellosis.
The two most virulent species are pullorum and typhoid, both of which are tested for in NPIP blood testing.
Salmonella enteriditis is the species most affecting humans.
What makes you think the problem is salmonella?
Culling is the most effective way to deal with it. Birds not showing symptoms are still carriers. Culling is also preferable to antibiotics because they negatively affect intestinal microflora which interferes with recovery. Antibiotics also cause antibiotic resistant strains to develop.
I'm not suggesting the problem is salmonellosis but if it is, you'll never get rid of it unless you get rid of the carriers.
Salmonella can't survive above 145F so are killed at adequate compost temperatures.
Salmonella is also passed vertically from hen to chick through the egg. Egg shells will also have salmonella on them. Embryos with salmonella either die prior to hatch or they are carriers after hatch.

 

[Jenny Loves Chickies]

Please check out my thread as I am going through a similar experience and had both birds necropsied at Cornell University, I will post a link here for you in case you find some of the information shared to be helpful

 

[Jenny Loves Chickies]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/silkie-is-yawning-non-stop-help.1269767/

 

[Fairview01]

If it comes back as salmonella, what are my next steps? I'm having an immense amount of anxiety with this.

There is more than one type of salmonella in chickens. There is the type that can be transmitted to people that can be found in their feces and egg tract which does not cause mortality and Salmonella Pullorium which is limited to fowl and can result in mortality. The last documented report of this disease was in 1981. Search for certified P/T testers for your state and contact one of them. If performed by the state it is usually free. P/T is a reportable fowl disease and the state will become involved. They will seize the suspected infected birds and perform additional tests to ensure it wasn't a false positive. If the cultured tests come back positive for the state may require humane destruction of your flock or additional testing over a certain period of time.

P/T is considered a vertically transmitted disease. From hen to chick through the egg. It is extremely rare to have it horizontally transmitted within the flock.

Sometimes chicks just die for no apparent reason. That's just the nature of chickens.