Sick hens- please help. Eyes closed, droppy head, panting

[Judexxwhite]

Can any one help. All of our plymouth rocks are either sick or dead. One day they were fine, and the next they didnt come out of the coop, were hunched over with their eyes closed and dying rapidly. All the other chooks seem completely fine and show no symptoms, but all the plymouths have dropped off. This morning I found my last plymouth in the same condition.
I have eye droppered here some home made elecloytes and even a sprinkle of anti-biotic- but have no idea what the problem is or why it is only affecting the plymouths.
Any ideas, cures.
thanks Jude

 

[kosborn1]

Where did you get them from? How old are they?

 

[chicknmania]

Can any one help. All of our plymouth rocks are either sick or dead. One day they were fine, and the next they didnt come out of the coop, were hunched over with their eyes closed and dying rapidly. All the other chooks seem completely fine and show no symptoms, but all the plymouths have dropped off. This morning I found my last plymouth in the same condition.
I have eye droppered here some home made elecloytes and even a sprinkle of anti-biotic- but have no idea what the problem is or why it is only affecting the plymouths.
Any ideas, cures.
thanks Jude

For starters chickens hide symptoms until they are very Ill. Any sick ones need to be separated from the flock. Disinfect as much as you can..preferably with oxine or at least bleach. Best to get a necropsy done if you have any that have died within the past 24 hours..contact your state ag department or your vet should be able to direct you. A sprinkle of antibiotics is not going to do anything and you dont say what kind you used. Keep the sick bird in a warm cage or crate. What are her symptoms? Is she underweight? Sneezing? Discharge ? Swollen eyes? Pale? How old? Have you ever dewormed your flock? Do they free range? Have your Plymouth rocks been with the others for a while or did you get them recently? It's important to act quickly so the more info you can give here the more someone can help you!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Yes, a necropsy is the only way to figure out what the problem is.
Are the Plymouth Rocks all new additions? If so it could be they came with the illness (Mareks?) Hopefully you quarantined them before adding to your flock.
Are the PR your flock & you added new ones?

 

[Judexxwhite]

Thanks for replies. The birds are a year old and I bred them. They have been with all the other hens and rooster since birth. I have never had any problems before.
All the other chickens seem really healthy showing no signs of anything. Its weird- only the plymouth rocks are sick.
No discharge- closed puffy eyes- and breathing fast. Lethagic. Staying in the chicken house and not coming out- though of course I took them out and seperated them from the others. A couple of days ago, out of the blue, I found one dead plymouth in the pen and my 2 other hiding in the house. All other chooks acting as normal. It was a really hot day so I thought they had heat stroke so brought them inside and cooled and hydrated them. But they went down hill fast and eventually died. Now my last plymouth rocks has gone down. I have seperated her, and given her some penicillin, amoxycillin- and soaked oats, and electrolytes. Im so sad as I loved them. I have never had anything like this ever happen before.
And yes I recently wormed the flock. They free range every day. I havent cleaned their house for a while so maybe that is it? But why only the plymouths? And do I need to take all chooks out of the pen and find them another home until I can sterilise it?

 

[Judexxwhite]

Where do you get a necropsy done? Or can we do it ourselves and what would we look for?

 

[ChickNanny13]

Where are you located?
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
@Eggcessive @casportpony @Texas Kiki @Wyorp Rock @azygous @dawg53 I know there's a link but can't find it .... Thank you for your help

 

[Eggcessive]

What country are you in? You said it is very hot there, so I assume you are in the southern hemisphere. Do you have any veterinary schools or agriculture ministry that examine livestock were you live? Sorry that you have lost chickens. Had they all been laying eggs? Did you have good ventilation in your coop? I would remove the bedding in your coop, and put fresh bedding. Some possible causes could be coccidiosis, Mareks disease, but I would look over the bodies for clues. Promptly refrigerate, but don’t freeze, any body to get a necropsy.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No discharge- closed puffy eyes- and breathing fast. Lethagic. Staying in the chicken house and not coming out

The birds are a year old and I bred them.

A couple of days ago, out of the blue, I found one dead plymouth in the pen and my 2 other hiding in the house.

It was a really hot day so I thought they had heat stroke so brought them inside and cooled and hydrated them. But they went down hill fast and eventually died.

Can you clarify? They did have closed puffy eyes? Difficulty breathing or panting?
Photos of any remaining birds, their poop and your housing would be good.

Like the others have asked on both your threads, your location is important, if you can provide that or update your profile, it would be appreciated.

Have you introduced or hatched out any new birds within the last 30days?

In a situation like this it is best to have some testing performed. I'm going to take a guess and say you are in Australia, but could be wrong. Contact your local vet to see about testing/necropsy.
To me, it's odd for 1 year old birds of the same breed only to suddenly have the same symptoms and die - and no other birds are sick. Any possibility they got into rat poison, something stung all of them - did they get into a wasp/bee nest, snake bites, anything toxic (fertilizer, weed killer, oil) or rotten/moldy?

You can also try the 2 links to see if you can get some help that way.
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/about-us/services/laboratory-services/veterinary
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/anima...work#australian-animal-health-laboratory-aahl

 

[chicknmania]

I don't think it would be Marek's if they have closed puffy eyes. It sounds like something respiratory that is spreading quickly, and I assume all your Rocks run together, as most birds that look similar tend to do. I would suspect ILT (infectious Laryngeotracheitis) possibly, which is extremely contagious, and kills quickly. There is a vaccine for it, an eyedrop, which you can administer to sick and well birds. Yes, you can do your own necropsy, for ILT you'd look for a (basically) shredded throat on the inside. It is a horrible disease. But there's no guarantee that's what it is, and for the best results you should use someone who does necropsies professionally. If you're in the States, call your veterinarian or your State agriculture department. Depending on where you are, it's not expensive. Or, search on BYC for a fellow member in your area who has experience doing them. In the meantime, if I were you I'd try treating your sick bird with injectable Tylan, which should be available to you at the feed stores if you're in the US. And you can wash her swollen eyes with human ( plain saline) eyewash, and follow that up with triple antibiotic ointment (with NO pain killer in it) applied carefully on the closed eyes, or around the eye, with a clean finger tip or q tip. For the rest of them, I'd at the very least put them all on vitamins/ electrolytes right now, as well as sanitizing and disinfecting everything else possible. Do remember that you are on a ticking time bomb right now, you have to keep a close eye on all of them and treat as much as you can as quickly as possible. If your sick bird dies, you have to have a necropsy done within twenty four hours, and refrigerate the body if possible. Or, if it looks like she will die and you can't save her, a professional doing a necropsy can and will humanely euthanize her for you, prior to doing the necropsy. Good luck, I'm sorry you are having to go through this, it's a nightmare. Please keep us posted.
Also, I read recently that' there's an antibiotic powder you can get for birds, called ALL in One. I personally wouldn't use it, because imo it is so broad that it would build up resistance to a lot of antibiotics if used over time, BUT if you have absolutely nothing else you can try, that might be worth a try. You can get it on line, so i've read. It has several antibiotics in it.