Unfortunately I have lost 2 out of my 4 hens to what I think was a respiratory issue. They did not have any outward visual signs, eyes remained clear, no moisture from their nose, still ate until the end, still laid until the end. Their droppings seemed fine. The symptoms they did have was hoarsness, labored breathing, what sounded like sneezes and coughing I think. Not really sure what chicken coughs and sneezing sounds like but that was my best guess. I wasn't sure if the eggs were safe to eat, so I discarded them. I did try antibiotics, they did not help. My 2 remaining chickens seem to be fine, no symptoms. I bleached the coup, discarded old nesting material and replaced it with new. The water is cleaned and I did add apple cider vinegar to it for gut health. I just ordered and waiting for Rooster Booster Wormer. I was going to get a necropsy from UC Davis but could not afford it. I was not able to get them into the vet, they were too booked and didn't want to pay emergency fees. I feel really bad.
Necropsies on chickens, turkeys and waterfowl at UC Davis are free if you live in California. This is a copy and paste from a thread I started. How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy They need the whole bird, refrigerated, not frozen. If you live in CA, there are four labs that do necropsies on poultry (chickens, turkeys, waterfowl) for free. I know that they do out of state necropsies, but I think they charge for those. You could call them and ask what they charge for out of state "backyard poultry". The lab I use is the one in Tulare, CA. If you are in CA, call them and ask for their FedEx account number, it will save a bunch on shipping charges. CAHFS 18830 Road 112 Tulare, CA 93274-9042 (559) 688-7543 (559) 686-4231 (FAX) [email protected] The other labs are listed here: http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/services/lab_locations.cfm If it's Friday, unless you want to overnight for Saturday delivery, I would suggest shipping on Monday for Tuesday delivery. What you need to do, if you haven't already done so is put your bird in your refrigerator, NOT the freezer! Then you need to find a box, line it with styrofoam (I use the 4'x8'x1" stuff from Home Depot. You can also get smaller pieces at an art store like Michael's, but is way more expensive. Click here to see foam options. You'll also need at least one ice pack. Here are some pictures that I took of the last bird that I sent: Box lined with foam on four sides and bottom. Seams of foam taped sealed. Box, sides, bottom and and top. Frozen ice pack in ziplock baggie. Brown paper on top of ice pack. Hen in ziplock baggie on top of brown paper. Brown paper on top of hen. Ice pack on top of brown paper. Lid on top of brown paper. Inside the box you should also include a submission form in a ziplock baggie. Do not tell anyone at FedEx that you're shipping a dead animal... that seems to really worry them. Just make sure that nothing will leak. -Kathy
How long were your chickens sick until they died? Here is a list of common diseases with symptoms that you may want to read: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
