sick chickens

[deborah626]

my chickens seemed to be fine and then all of a sudden they started dying and i am losing one or two a day, no noticable signs or symptoms. would appreciate any advice

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

With no signs or symptoms, this is hard to diagnose. I would suggest a necropsy .

 

[ruth]

Can you give a little more information? You say "chickens" - are they grown or how old are they? What foods do they eat. Are you finding them dead in coop or brooder box? How many have died?

 

[sammi]

please give more details.

how old are they?

describe the droppings..color and consistency(VERY IMPORTANT)

please describe their living environment (open or closed coop, what bedding, do they have a pen)
is the coop clean?
is the bedding musty?
any leak problems..
how are you finding them? (under the roost/any injury/etc)
weather conditions

what all do you feed?

please watch the others very closely..
do they have wet or swollen eyes, or any head/wattles swelling.
any breath sounds (wheezing/rattling/gurgling)
sneezing
are they eating and drinking as usual.
are they alert, or hunched up?

 

[deborah626]

they are young layers, not babies, but not old either. they eat cracked corn and layer mash, found dead in coop which is closed in with no signs of anything getting after them, still eat and drink fine, untill signs of unalertness, lost seven in three weeks. not alert about a day before dead, old chicken house with dirt floor, some signs of diahrrea with a small amount of white color to it, wheat straw used in nesting boxes, laying very little amount of eggs none now for three days.

 

[sammi]

please describe in detail how the chickens acted..
were they hunched up?

did they have any breath sounds? (wheezing/rattling)

what color were the droppings/diarhhea other then the white?

any chance of moldy bedding?(look for wetness or dampness and dark color, musty smell..)
any chance of spilled feed getting wet and going bad?

 

[ruth]

Do they have access to an outside run? Is it freezing where you live? How old is the feed?

 

[deborah626]

food is fresh,no unusual breath sounds,but act lethargic, what is best way to completely clean coop other that just raking it all out, chickens do have outside run, 12 by 14 coop with 12 chickens and 3 roosters with a 3800squ. run lot. diahrrea is clear or brownish with white spots, no musty smell or wet straw in coop, feed kept in separate location, have switched feed from local mill to feed from TSC(did not fix problem)

 

[carolinacooper]

HI. I am by no means an expert, but I had a similar problem last summer with loose bowel movements, and a loss in egg production.Thankfully I did not lose any.I moved mine out of the coop,cleaned it out and disenfected it with a clorox/water mixture,and threw out some lime on the coop floor.
I treated the chickens with Terrimycian powder<I think thats how you spell it>you can buy it at TSC for @6.00 a pouch. You mix it in thier water.It works like an antibiotic, so do not use your hens eggs for food until it is gone from thier system.
I never figured out what caused the problem.I tried gradually changing feed brands also.It could be something a bird or mouse could have carried in.I hope this helps!Good luck!

 

[mhoward92]

well by going off of what you are saying I think you have a little virus going around your coop. You say they are "unalert" about a day before they are dying. when you notice that seperate/isolate them. get some oranges and put them in front of them. oranges have a type of acid called "fluxoral inocide" that builds the immune system and HELPS kill off virus. see what this does if it works wait about a week and moniter her. if she seems fine then put her back in the coop. reason i say isolate them is you probabally know how a virus spreads and thats why you are losing multiple.

-- try this and reply to the message or personal Message me to tell me the results. i might have an alternative solution if it does not work.

--- but i hope it helps and they start getting healthy again

Mitch