Sick Hens

[LoreenRowe]

I am at a loss. I am losing hens and I think we've tried everything now except taking samples and a hen to the vet if we can find one in our area. I've lost 2 hens in the last 4 weeks and another one looks like she's going to die today. Here is what has been happening:

Note: They are free range and we give them plenty of clean water but cannot guarantee they aren't drinking from other water sources (that are less clean) because we have cows and goats too and if the hen has a choice between a muddy puddled filled with who knows what and the clean waterer right next to it, 9 times out of 10 she'll take the puddle

These hens are all over 2 years old:

1. Their combs got floppy and pale
2. they started fluffing up their feathers
3. they started moving slower and towards the end, couldn't control their balance
4. they stopped laying
5. they are eating and drinking fine but losing weight until they seem to lose all strength
6. they are not egg bound though I did a soak on the last two because they had started getting poopy feathers
7. have added nutridrench to their water, as well as electrolytes and probiotics and tried some vetrx too
8. gave the latest two (one that died on Thu and the other that is now close to death) safe guard wormer paste last Sat (a pea size on a treat I knew they'd eat),
8a. the one that just died stopped standing on Tuesday and on Wed morn she had poop loaded with little grain size white worms. That night she had very wet discharge that was full of what looked like very tiny worms. She died about 2 hrs after that. Someone suggested possible fly strike but I had soaked her on Monday night and kept her inside with us on Tuesday until she died and never saw any maggots around her vent
8b. I have seen no evidence of worms in the second one; she has had healthy poops until today, they are now mostly water and white
9. the latest one was still moving around yesterday and was eating and drinking last night though she was lethargic and wanted to lay down a lot; today she can't stand, she won't eat/drink and in the last hour she's got one leg stretched out and can't keep herself laying up straight, she flops to her side and has no strength. Based on past experience, I know she's going to die soon
10. They have access to dirt which I've sprinkled diatomaceous earth into that says is safe for chickens; a check for mites/lice has found no evidence but I know that I could miss them
11. There is no sneezing, coughing, fluids out of their nose, they don't appear stiff, just start moving very slow and start losing their balance near the end

We have 30 other chickens that are all fine. I've lost a total of 6 hens in the last 4 months. For 2 of them, they were fine up until the evening when it was time to roost and they were walking very slow, fluffed up and floppy comb and then I found them dead the next morning (this was weeks apart). The last 3 all had the same symptoms above and as soon as I noticed it, they were put in our medical ward and for one, she hung on for 4 weeks, the latest two started showing illness at the same time and held on for two weeks before rapidly going downhill

I'm feeling defeated and am looking for advice. Is this the point I take one to the vet if it shows up again because nothing seems to be working. Thank you for any help.

 

[dawg53]

"Little grain size white worms." Sounds like tapeworms (segments in feces.) Dose each one of your birds with Equimax equine paste. Dosage is given orally, 0.15ml for a 5 pound bird.