I had a partridge rock that recently past. She was only 6 months old. We live in Northern NewEngland. I have 13 hens. They have a 8x12 coop with a caged 10x16 run. They also free ranged before the snow came. She first showed signs about two weeks ago. I noticed her wings drooping. Then she started to isolate herself from the flock. Started to "hunch up" and neck feathers raised. Her comb became very pale and seened to shrink. I watched he eat and drink. After a week She started to not roost at night then things went down hill. Her vent was very messy. There was no blood in the poop. She past away this sunday. A friend mentioned coccidiosis. I had the birds vaccinated when i bought them thru mail order. I bought corid 9.6 % to treat her on saturday. Since she pasted, i was curious abouttreating the other hens. None of them show any signs of illness. Any thoughts?
Sometimes it is difficult to determine cause of death. Some things happen naturally. Autopsies can be performed but at great costs. ENJOY YOUR CHICKENS AND
Welcome to BYC. I would just watch for any other unusual behavior from the rest. Your hen had several of the signs of coccidiosis with diarrhea, ruffled feather (usually from fever,) puffing up, and pale color. Most coccidiosis vaccines cover the worst 4 or 5 strains, out of the 9 or more that affect chickens. At her age they usually have developed immunity to coccidia by 20 weeks. She may have had some problem with immunity. Drooping wings can be a neurological symptom. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance from just being ill could cause that. Did she have any trouble walking? I would recommend that you worm all of your chickens with Valbazen or if you can't find it, then with SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer. Use 1/2 ml orally, then repeat in 10 days. Sorry for your loss.
Thanks for the great info. Yes she did have trouble walking. Towards the end her legs flared outward.
