Sudden death in 7wk EE. Should I treat the flock?

[playfullife]

Hello all - this is my first post but I've been reading these forums for advice for months and can't thank you all enough for your help.

I have (well, had) 6 Easter Eggers, all 7-8 weeks old, on medicated starter crumbles. One of them showed some mild symptoms starting a few days ago - sometimes listless/puffed up, and squinting. But I watched her and made sure she was eating and drinking, her vent was clean, there was no odd breathing or discharge from her eyes or beak. No sign of bloody droppings, and I clean the under the henhouse roost daily. She also had periods of normal activity as well. So I figured I'd monitor her and leave it at that.

Last night was the chickens first night with access to the run. They hadn't gone back in by sundown, but the run is predator-proof and dry, so I figured I'd let them figure it out rather than stressing them out further on their first day "outside."

This morning, 5 of my six chickens were roosting in the hen house, and the seemingly mildly ill one was dead in the run.

I'm kicking myself here, these are my first chickens. Should I treat the whole flock with Coccid or electrolytes? Is there something else I should be doing for them? The other chickens seem fine, but then, the dead one didn't seem very sick either.

 

[hahmmy]

I dont know what that is..i too have 6 about 6 or 7 week old chicks of various breeds. My buff Orpington is doing the same thing..cant tell what is wring but pretty sure shes not gonna make it. I feel badly..wish i could make her well or at least understand the problem.

 

[playfullife]

Ugh, that's so frustrating, @hahmmy . I'm obviously not an expert, but seeing as your bird had similar symptoms to mine, maybe just bring her inside somewhere warm and baby her for a few days? I really have no idea what might have caused this, but unless I get some advice I guess I'll just add electrolytes to the water and hope for the best.

 

[lastco]

So many illnesses have vague symptoms. That makes giving helpful advice very difficult. Personally, I think I'd clean everything (feeders and waterers especially) really well just in case, and watch them. Electrolytes aren't going to hurt anything either.

In the future, just make sure to quarantine any bird that isn't well, as soon as you notice something amiss. Bringing them inside, in a dog crate, is exactly what I do. The extra warmth and attention can certainly make a difference. You might also notice more defining symptoms by having an ill bird inside to observe.

I had to nurse a pullet on Easter that simply knocked herself stupid. She wouldn't even open her eyes, couldn't eat or drink. I just knew she was a goner, but gave her my best. Imagine the looks I got when I strolled up to my aunt's Easter dinner with a chicken in a dog crate. I gave her electrolytes, a drop at a time, all day. I went to bed expecting to find a dead chicken in the morning. She woke us all up the next day, demanding breakfast like nothing had happened. Everything is a learning experience!

 

[playfullife]

@lastco , thanks so much for the advice (and for being gentle with this newbie). I'll wipe down the feeders and waterers with disinfectant, add some electrolytes and be vigilant.

 

[lastco]

No worries. We all learn something everyday! We all lose birds too. There are no shortage of things that can go wrong.

I use vinegar in my coop a lot, but be sure not to use it on any galvanized feeders/waterers. Generally, if an illness is suspected, I use diluted bleach anyway, well away from the birds. Make sure you rinse everything really well. Birds are quite sensitive to chemicals. Letting the sun dry everything after rinse is also quite useful to kill a variety of things.

 

[playfullife]

Sun has been a rare commodity in New England this spring. I'll be careful to rinse everything.

 

[hahmmy]

Well tganks all. I probably shoukd have brought my littke one inside. I was deabting..went out to find her dead. She never seemes as lively as the others in her shipment. Who knows.

 

[playfullife]

Sorry to hear it, @hahmmy . It's so hard to tell when we're taking appropriate caution and when we're blowing things out of proportion. If she was never very lively, perhaps she was just sickly by nature.

 

[lastco]

Oh, no! @hahmmy Look into "failure to thrive" and see if that describes what happened with yours.

You know, I really do try to keep a cool head when things start going wrong, but it's really hard. One of the first chicks I hatched myself was runt. A pretty typical failure to thrive situation, but my first experience with it. I nursed it, and babied it, and lost sleep. When it finally died I threw an epic tantrum. My husband still talks about it! Lol.