One of my chickens randomly died today. When I found her she didn't look like she had an injuries (no blood). She was only 1 yr old. Any ideas how she could have died? Oh, also I let them free range during the day. Should I be concerned about the rest of my flock?
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Here is a list of questions to help others figure out the problem. Good Luck.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.).[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2) What is the behavior, exactly.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]11) Describe the housing/bedding in use.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]12) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.[/FONT]
The chicken died...and only thing it was doing differently that day was sleeping on the ground inside the coop while everyone else was free ranging. I have brought in a couple of new birds over the last 3 weeks...not sure that is the cause tho because today I noticed a TON of mites crawling on the nest box of one of my broody hens. Is there anyway to treat naturally or do I have to use insecticides?
