Sick hen (update: now dead) part of a 6 month death party PICS Page 2

[pnp4kidz]

Oh I hope you figure this out! I will be watching. I lost two hens this last summer and don't know why. The third in that pen looks scrawny to me right now. So I'm worried like you!

 

[TajMahalChickens]

Check for mites and lice. You should check every chicken (at night if they aren't cooperative).

I checked for lice/mites tonight. I only got to four birds, but I didn't notice anything on those four. I checked the vent area on three and one under the wing. I didn't se any thing crawling, and I didn't see any buildup on the feather bases (which I understand is northern fowl mites). I will check more tomorrow.

Lymphoid leukosis sounded awfully like what my last two were like, along with some of my others. I never noticed a enlargement of the abdomen, although they could of had it and I didn't notice it. I guess some of my bird's comb kind of got pale (or purple) and shriveled, so maybe it could be considered regression of the comb. I didn't take note of the poo of any of my other birds.

The virus involved has a long incubation period (4 months or longer). As a result, clinical signs are not noticeable until the birds are 16 weeks or older. Affected birds become progressively weaker and emaciated. There is regression of the comb. The abdomen becomes enlarged. Greenish diarrhea develops in terminal stages

quote from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

My maran is progressively getting better. Comb is almost completely normal. Her poop was still super runny (close to liquid), though, although I think the color is getting more normal.

Thanks​

 

[TajMahalChickens]

I am including some pics of my coop and surrounding area. Hopefully someone will be able to spot something that could possibly be causing this havoc!

Here's a pic of my winter run now (we are having a mid winter thaw here in Wisconsin)

My coop

Inside my coop. Waterer, feeder, and right now a cage to house my injured buttercup (her ear lobe was ripped/pecked open. It is healing well after washing it out, applying triple antibiotic ointment, and giving her .1 milliliter penicillin daily for 2 weeks.) The bedding looks dirty but it is because we chip our bedding, and the self-chipped stuff is mush darker.

Where theyfree range during the summer. You can see my other coop in the backround. (it held my original flock, and the chicks went in the shed. It is currently uninhabited, since I moved its three remaining members to the shed because the coop was getting to cold at nigh with only three hens.)

Here is a pic of my hens foraging during the summer. This is my "Big run."

This is my secure run. During the summer I keep this open 24/7, then I let them free range or go in the big run during the day when I'm around.

This shows the pen that I keep my sumer broilers in. As you can see, it is quite close to the coop. I did not let my chicks free range when I had the broilers.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Do you use any hardwoods for their bedding chips?

I ask as hardwoods can be toxic to chickens. Only pine or aspen shavings should be used and there needs to be good ventilation even with those.

 

[TajMahalChickens]

Yes, we cleared our woods and chipped all the branches. So there would be wood like oak & black walnut. Most of it was black walnut.

Could that be the problem?

 

[chickerdoodle]

Yes, that could be part or all of the problem. Black Walnut shavings--as little as 20% of the shavings are very toxic to horses. I haven't seen it mentioned in reference to chickens though but yew and others are. There are also wild plants, other trees and bushes that are toxic to chickens that grow in wooded areas. Wood shavings should also be dried and not put in when they are just freshly cut. It certainly wouldn't hurt to check out that possibilty as it would make sense of some getting sicker or dying and not others as each chicken has different tolerance levels of the toxin.

A few web pages to check:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/htm/bc/ttox04.htm
http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/Articles/plantlist.htm

 

[TajMahalChickens]

Ok, I am going to get those shavings out of there. Thanks for th info.

My maran is just fine. I haven't put her back for fear that she still might have some bug. She looks normal though.

Thought I would add this - two of my faverolles have some missing feathers on their necks. The area of missing feathers started small and has gotten to about the size of 5 quarters on one, and about 4 quarters on the other. ait doesn't appear to be pecking, and Those two birds I checked and I don't notice lice of mites. They are both still laying. I noticed the first feather loss about 3 months ago. Tiny black spots of regrowing feathers are appearing on about a square inch one one bird.

I find it weird since that feather loss is increasing, and it isn't growing back very fast. I worry for them because it has to be quite cold.

Oh, and I renamed the post to be more accurate of what it is now about.

Thanks everyone

 

[Miss Lydia]

If your sure it's not pecking then could it be molt? I still have a few that got started late and are still looking a little scraggly. Let me tell you from experience mites are hard to see, I checked my birds all the time and didn't see them till the mites got on me, I went to the sink and combed through my hair and these tiny little specks fell out into the sink and started crawling, gross! So thats something you could be missing. My chickens are always under the bird feeder picking up dropped sunflower seeds.

 

[sharol]

Just yesterday there was another thread that talked about the toxicity of walnut shavings. Let us know if things improve.

 

[Miss Lydia]

yes please do, I have a friend who gave me some shaving from his wood shop and some were walnut, I might accept them from him again but not put them into the coop.