Something is happening to my girls...

[hmwatts27]

Hello! I am desperate for some advice. A few of my sweet little hens don't seem to be doing well...They just turned 2 on April 1st, and I didn't get them until just this past November. They have a very large coup (there are 8 in total, no rooster), plenty of space in their run, they get clean water every day, they get oats and corn scratch, compost (no meat, coffee grounds, excessive fruit, but I don't pick out raw potato, avocado, and raw beans/peas). They are fed organic feed (pellets), the straw and hay is organic, and I don't give them any sorts of medications. They have a small covered area in thier run that was just recently built to keep some area dry for dusting, although it is still wet (live in Pacific Northwest, rainy!). In the past week I have noticed changes in one of the chickens, and today it has become worrying...

Here are the symptoms, starting with the one I am most concerned about...

Flopsy: Named from her "Flopsy" crest, which is fallen to the left. In the past she has always been very loud and vocal, but recently she has been standing away from her sisters and quiet. Today as I was watching her asking her why she wasn't part of the group anymore I noticed that she was shaking. I picked her up, which I don't often do to her because she doesn't like it, and I realized how very thin she was. I have noticed a few of the chickens seem significantly thinner than others. She is now hiding under the laying boxes in the coop, standing there unmoved with dropping eyelids. I want to help her!!

Scarlet: She was the best looking when I got them (they were molting), and now she is pretty mangy...The feathers on top of her head haven't come back, so she looks sort of bald. She also seems thinner than the others.

Fluffy Butt: She looks great, except that now her crest is starting to flop over to the right, which it never did before.



Can anyone please give me some answers?? I would greatly appreciate it!!

 

[RhodeIslandRedFan]

I suggest you do a thorough search of each one for external parasites - lice and mites. They can be hard to see, but can cause the symptoms you describe. Here is a great site I have bookmarked for use in my own flock. http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[Celtic Chick]

Raw beans/peas are toxic to chickens! They contain a chemical that they cannot digest. I will have to find the link & get back to you, but in the meantime, keep them out of the compost. The raw potato peelings are toxic to chickens also. Only give chickens thoroughly cooked potato peels and beans cooked for no less than 15 minutes.

 

[Judy]

Are they actually eating the raw beans? I agree, this is a problem if they are. They can also pick up some molds or fungi (or something) in compost heaps. Chickens love compost for the bugs, etc., and some people find it causes no problems to let them have at it -- but others do encounter problems. The BYC treats chart notes to feed cooked beans only, but does not say why.

Another possibility is worms, if you have not wormed them.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[Celtic Chick]

Ok, I found it.

When hens stop laying in the Fall, many just attribute it to a natural slow-down that cannot be avoided. But we've found that the simple addition of boiled soybeans to their diet restored cold-weather laying to full capacity throughout the entire Winter. This may be due to the fact that as the weather cools, insects disappear, so the hens' protein is not being well-supplied. Soybeans provide this protein. Furthermore, soybeans perfectly complement the large amount of grains that the hens consume, making a complete protein in the diet. About 10 hens will eat around 2/3rds of a cup of prepared soybeans per day.

NOTE: The trypsin in all beans is toxic to the lining of the birds' intestines. It can scar their intestines, making them less able to absorb their food. Any beans fed to chickens need to be at 180 degrees for 15 minutes to destroy the trypsin . Keeping the soybeans at or above 180 degress F for 15 minutes destroys the trypsin. The best way to do this is by boiling.

Link to article:
http://www.lionsgrip.com/protein.html

 

[hmwatts27]

Thanks for everyone's help. We will be checking them for mites today. Last night the two that have the floped over crests did not roost, but instead both hid in the little cubby under the roosting boxes together facing the wall. This morning there was a strong urine smell in the coop, and lots of white poop under the box where they were hiding. One of them has it rear end down and there is lots of poop stuck on her, not only on her feathers, but all by her vent. I want to clean her up, but I don't want to stress her out. they both still seem pretty lethargic and just stand there seeming spaced out.

The reason why I don't sort through the compost is because I am a believer that they have evolved without us picking their food for them, and they wander in many parts of the world without humans picking their food for them. If I do realize it is the compost that is making them sick, I will surely sort through it.

If anyone can offer any more suggestions if it turns out not to be mites that would be great. Also, the poop stuck on her vent is really troubling to me...

 

[hmwatts27]

So I just went to check them for mites, and I noticed that there neck area is very swollen. They are super super fussy and won't let me pick them up to check them out. Help!!