Itsybitsie
In the Brooder
- May 22, 2022
- 4
- 24
- 31
I live in SE NC. Snakes in my small town neighborhood are usually black snake or garter, but there are copperhead and water moccasins in the area and in the woods, rattlers. I've seen dead baby copperheads on the road on walks. Occasionally we let our hens out to forage and they have caught small black or garter snakes in the backyard.
Yesterday one of ourSapphire Gems just over a year old, beautiful, very healthy, and the chicken queen of the flock of 16 (no rooster) was nesting for the first time in our new coop recently built a month ago instead of the old coop. She was next to another nesting hen and both seemed content. My husband left them alone and checked later on to find her lying flat on the floor. He called me to come take a look.
She was weak, could not stand up, and felt hot to me, no signs of wounds, no blood or diarrhea in the nest, no discharge from her anywhere, and she couldn't stand up. Her comb looked normal, red and upright, but her head and tail were down. I wondered if she was too hot and I took her over to the wading pool and put her feet in it to cool er off and sprinkled a little on her comb , all which seemed to perk up her up a bit.
We tried to give her water and she only took a sip or two, then honey water which she wouldn't take. She was awake during all that and her eyes seemed clear. I felt her body and looked her over and could not find any sign of anything wrong. She had labored breathing but no signs of a stuck egg.
We lay her down in a bos while I came in to do a little research and get cleaned up from where she had peed on me. My husband went to check on her and came and said she is dead. I was stunned. He bagged her up and put her in the freezer until we could examine her more closely later.
We had not changed her food and no other chickens were affected. Could this be a spider or centipede or maybe a snake? She had not been outside the run in several days and was acting just fine that morning and my husband saw her eating her food and drinking the day before.
The neighbors have not sprayed their lawns , but even so, no other chickens were affected.
If it were a snakebite, wouldn't she have convulsed?
Is there a remedy for chickens?
Thank you.
Yesterday one of ourSapphire Gems just over a year old, beautiful, very healthy, and the chicken queen of the flock of 16 (no rooster) was nesting for the first time in our new coop recently built a month ago instead of the old coop. She was next to another nesting hen and both seemed content. My husband left them alone and checked later on to find her lying flat on the floor. He called me to come take a look.
She was weak, could not stand up, and felt hot to me, no signs of wounds, no blood or diarrhea in the nest, no discharge from her anywhere, and she couldn't stand up. Her comb looked normal, red and upright, but her head and tail were down. I wondered if she was too hot and I took her over to the wading pool and put her feet in it to cool er off and sprinkled a little on her comb , all which seemed to perk up her up a bit.
We tried to give her water and she only took a sip or two, then honey water which she wouldn't take. She was awake during all that and her eyes seemed clear. I felt her body and looked her over and could not find any sign of anything wrong. She had labored breathing but no signs of a stuck egg.
We lay her down in a bos while I came in to do a little research and get cleaned up from where she had peed on me. My husband went to check on her and came and said she is dead. I was stunned. He bagged her up and put her in the freezer until we could examine her more closely later.
We had not changed her food and no other chickens were affected. Could this be a spider or centipede or maybe a snake? She had not been outside the run in several days and was acting just fine that morning and my husband saw her eating her food and drinking the day before.
The neighbors have not sprayed their lawns , but even so, no other chickens were affected.
If it were a snakebite, wouldn't she have convulsed?
Is there a remedy for chickens?
Thank you.
