sick chickens

[sheila59]

I have lost 3 hens each about 3 weeks apart. Is there a disease that would move that slowly through my flock?

The first on I thought worms but not sure. The second one I think had sour crop. I could feel grain in it and she had an awful smell. I massaged it, gave her oil, tried apple cider vinegar after about a week she died,

Now today I see another chicken is is listless and hardly walking around. All of my hens are between 4 and 8 years old. The one today I think is only 4 .

I give apple cider vinegar once a week in their drinking water and they get DE in their grain once a month. They are free range and all the others seem healthy.

I would appreciate any ideas.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. I agree that the chicken who died probably had sour crop. There can be many reasons for a chicken between 4 and 8 to become ill. I had 2 chickens this spring die of different crop problems, and I had never had a case of that before. Most of the time with chickens, we have to check for egg binding, lice and mites, crop emptying, runny droppings with odd color or blood, various reproductive problems, dehydration, and rule out each one. Get fluids into the sick bird and add electrolytes. If you lose another, it may be helpful to get a necropsy on a refrigerated body by your state vet or poultry lab. Doing a necropsy oneself at home can rule out a few illnesses.Here are 2 helpful links about necropsy:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[sheila59]

Thanks for the help. I will do that.