⠀ sickly girls

[1cutechick]

I lost a 2.5 year old leghorn a couple of weeks ago to an unknown cause. She just started getting weaker and weaker. She wasn't laying and didn't seem to be eggbound. (There was no "pulsing" of the vent area). She slept in a nesting box for a few days. Grasping at straws, I thought maybe there was a vent problem because she looked so messy, so I gave her a warm bath and a blow dry. She did seem relaxed during this, but afterward she tried to flap her wings once while she was still in the towel, and then she was gone. Did I do something wrong? Now I have a big fat brown hen who is standing on the floor and not roosting or laying down. She is walking slowly but did come to get a treat of a piece of bread I threw in the coop this am. I have 6 other girls and 1 rooster who seem to be ok, although everybody looks a little scruffy from molting. I feed them layer feed that I buy at the feed store, but I'm wondering if maybe there is a dietary problem and don't want to lose any of the others. Some are 1 year old, some are 2 1/2. I am only getting 1 egg maybe every other day from a leghorn that is 2. Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you.

 

[DrPatrickBiggs]

I lost a 2.5 year old leghorn a couple of weeks ago to an unknown cause. She just started getting weaker and weaker. She wasn't laying and didn't seem to be eggbound. (There was no "pulsing" of the vent area). She slept in a nesting box for a few days. Grasping at straws, I thought maybe there was a vent problem because she looked so messy, so I gave her a warm bath and a blow dry. She did seem relaxed during this, but afterward she tried to flap her wings once while she was still in the towel, and then she was gone. Did I do something wrong? Now I have a big fat brown hen who is standing on the floor and not roosting or laying down. She is walking slowly but did come to get a treat of a piece of bread I threw in the coop this am. I have 6 other girls and 1 rooster who seem to be ok, although everybody looks a little scruffy from molting. I feed them layer feed that I buy at the feed store, but I'm wondering if maybe there is a dietary problem and don't want to lose any of the others. Some are 1 year old, some are 2 1/2. I am only getting 1 egg maybe every other day from a leghorn that is 2. Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you.

This sounds like a health issue. I would recommend consulting with a veterinarian to determine what the problem is and if it can be resolved through treatment.

 

[Isaac 0]

One egg a day is normal at this time of year.I would get them started on some vitamins packs for chicken's such as Sav-a-Chick,Rooster Booster if it is a nutrition problem the vitamins should help.You can also give a poop sample to your local veterinarian for analysis.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I lost a 2.5 year old leghorn a couple of weeks ago to an unknown cause. She just started getting weaker and weaker. She wasn't laying and didn't seem to be eggbound. (There was no "pulsing" of the vent area). She slept in a nesting box for a few days. Grasping at straws, I thought maybe there was a vent problem because she looked so messy, so I gave her a warm bath and a blow dry. She did seem relaxed during this, but afterward she tried to flap her wings once while she was still in the towel, and then she was gone. Did I do something wrong? Now I have a big fat brown hen who is standing on the floor and not roosting or laying down. She is walking slowly but did come to get a treat of a piece of bread I threw in the coop this am. I have 6 other girls and 1 rooster who seem to be ok, although everybody looks a little scruffy from molting. I feed them layer feed that I buy at the feed store, but I'm wondering if maybe there is a dietary problem and don't want to lose any of the others. Some are 1 year old, some are 2 1/2. I am only getting 1 egg maybe every other day from a leghorn that is 2. Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you.

Please don't grasp at straws. Every state has at least one poultry lab that will do necropsies and lab tests. Some are free but even if it isn't it's worth knowing.
What state are you in?
The next time you lose a bird for an unknown reason, be prepared to send it off. Better yet, send your sick hen to the lab for humane euthanasia and complete lab work.
Then you'll know exactly the cause and the proper course of action. If you don't know what they have, you have no direction.
You may want to switch to a grower feed to help them recover from molt. A rooster and non-layers shouldn't be eating layer feed anyway.

 

[1cutechick]

Thank you. I did take the big brown girl to the vet and she found Mites. I have very poor vision and never saw one on any of the girls, but I didn't know to look for that either . She had to be euthanized. I went right home and dusted all the others top to bottom, front to back along with the coop. I bought a red light but probably still won't be able to see anything but I'll try. I have read you should "routinely" dust them all. How often is that? Monthly? Should I tip them upside down every time to get them really good? This is our first problem with mites and I feel so sad and stupid to have lost 2 girls because of my stupidity.

 

[Isaac 0]

Its alright those critters are hard to see anyway.Dust them every two months or so.Providing them with dust baths will prevent the problem.You can dust them upside down or put them in a garbage bag with the head out and shake