Rooster died, 3 hens not acting normal now

Ryguy3684

Here comes the Rooster
Premium Feather Member
May 29, 2020
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Fauquier County, Virginia, United States.
I had 7 hens (18 months) 5 pullets (6 months), 1 rooster (18 months), & 1 cockeral (6 months). Last Thursday, while out in the run, one of my chickens had diarrhea in front of me. I saw a couple of worms, I believe roundworms, moving in the stool. All birds were acting fine. I wormed them with Safegaurd, for 5 days, which ended this past Monday. On Wednesday morning, everyone was acting normal. Wednesday evening, I found my rooster, who never leaves the hens sight, laying in a nest box. I took him out and he just stood there, not moving. His crop was empty, and he's molting, so I force fed poultry cel & Nutridrench, put him in the run, and he went to the coop and roosted at dark. I came out Thursday morning and he was dead below the roost. I took him in for a necropsy, that is being done today. If it matters, he pooped when I was feeding him and it was liquid and bright green.

Now, 3 of my hens are not wanting to leave the coop/roost. They ate yesterday, and crops were empty this morning. I thought it could be a depression from the rooster dying, but today, they haven't left the roost, even when I came out with the morning treats. They are active when I pick them up, so the lethargy is not as bad as my rooster, but I still feel something is wrong. If it's contagious, I'm afraid they'll die before the necropsy results come back. One of the "sick" hens had the same green watery poop, but I thought that could be from the deworming. I've moved them inside, will force feed them if needed, and they have all been given corid dosed in their water. I doubt it's coccidiosis, but it's the only thing I could think of that I could try. 2 of the 3 "sick" hens layed yesterday, so they're not egg bound. Please let me know if there's anything else I could be doing. I'm out of ideas.
 
Hopefully you will get the necropsy results soon.
I hope so. I'll do what I can in the mean time to keep the hens alive.
Any chance they ate something moldy or toxic?
I don't think so. The feeders are kept clean and fresh, and there's been no changes to the run, or yard. There's always a chance.
 
Did you take him to your state lab for a necropsy?
Any news yet?
Yes. One of the four labs in Virginia is in my town. I dropped him off this morning. I'm just waiting for a call. The doctor said he would call with the visual results and email the labs when they get finished.
 
No news yet from the necropsy. Hopefully they'll call tomorrow. When I got home, two hens were still on the roost. I went in with a slice of watermelon, to get some liquid in them. One hen gobbled it up and the other ate some. I wanted to get some plain yogurt in them, in case the worming messed up their guts. I mixed some plain yogurt with scratch grains and a few strawberries. One hen gorged herself, and the other are a decent amount. :thumbsup. That's at least one in the win column this week. Their not great, but it made me feel a little better.

Questions:
I'm dosing the water with corid, to cover all my bases. Problem being, the two hens aren't drinking. Is there a way to mix corid powder and direct dose those hens?

How long does it take for my cockeral to win over the flock? A couple of hens seem skittish around him, and he doesn't act like his daddy, who was a great flock protector. Since my alpha rooster was so dominant, does it just take time for the cockeral to step into that role? He grew up in the flock. He was hatched from our rooster and one of the hens, so he never had to play the role of protector.

Sorry for the long winded post. I'm killing time while the incubator warms up. I want to get some chicks growing in case my flock gets wiped out.
 
Corid will treat Coccidiosis. Drench instructions are in this thread, but you want your hens to be drinking the mixed Corid water too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/

Cockerel is 6 months. Remove him from the flock and see if the ladies come down from their perches.
Good idea. 6 month old cockerels are crazy hormonally. Might be afraid of him. Or sick of his advances.

I hope you hear soon! The waiting is terrible.
 
Corid will treat Coccidiosis. Drench instructions are in this thread, but you want your hens to be drinking the mixed Corid water too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/
That's great. Thank you.
Cockerel is 6 months. Remove him from the flock and see if the ladies come down from their perches.
I was wondering if that could be a problem. I've got him in the quarantine run now.
 

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