The Old Folks Home

[vehve]

Great costumes!

I'd do a necropsy on the dead chicken. You might at least get some clues towards the cause. No chicken just dies on it's own, something is always the cause, but it can be something completely random, so you never know, especially if you don't look. Look for changes in the inner organs, and possible foreign objects, and of course there's the egg boundness possibility.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Thanks for clarifying, you're right they don't die of nothing but what they die of I usually cannot tell unless it's very obvious like being egg bound or internal laying.

I worm my chickens (and goats) every month so I know it's not that.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You worm chickens even in winter?
I think I've only wormed 3 chickens in my life. At least in recent years. We may have done so when I was growing up but I don't seem to recall.


For necropsies that will get results, Casportpony provided this state list.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

 

[WVduckchick]

Her body was fairly stiff, but not too cold. Her neck didn't flop when we pulled her out, but I'll check for that possibility too.

 

[WVduckchick]

I have a pm out to Kathy. She's awesome. I have not wormed either. Bought the stuff but read mixed things, so I hadn't done it yet.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

You worm chickens even in winter?
I think I've only wormed 3 chickens in my life. At least in recent years. We may have done so when I was growing up but I don't seem to recall.

I worm spring through fall (goats and chickens). I would worm in the winter but it's a giant pain in the butt for me with hauling water already let alone trying to measure out gallons and mls for accurate chicken worming. No, thanks.

I used to only worm twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall - first Wazine followed by an azole a week to 10 days later. The azole is also a giant pain in the butt because you have to catch each chicken and force an oral syringe into their mouth, and then squirt. With 50ish birds, that's a nightmare. So I switched to Wazine monthly. Just add the correct number of mls to the correct number of measured gallons and they drink. I know it doesn't get all worms, but it gets a large portion and since doing that I haven't seen any worms on the poop boards.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The bird was stiff when you pulled it out because rigor was at its peak.

I'm not a worming expert as would be indicated by the fact that I almost never do it. But I have a couple questions.

Where would chickens get worms in the middle of winter with the ground covered with snow?
Some roundworms have a direct life cycle where the worm eggs are passed from the chicken and then in turn eaten by the same or another chicken. Other worms need an intermediate host like grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, flies, slugs, earthworms, etc.. I would think if the chickens were wormed when cold weather hits, they wouldn't need it again till things start coming to life outside.
Embryonation of nematode eggs in cold dry conditions can take a long time if at all.
To avoid direct cycle parasites, management that prevents chickens from picking in their own droppings or at least keeping feeders full will prevent a lot of that.

Are you concerned about using the same wormer so frequently? Parasites become resistant to the same anthelmintic after 8-10 generations.

I thought Piperazine had a withdrawal period of 7 days. Then perhaps another 3 days for the azole. Does that mean you can only use 2/3 of your eggs during the production season?

Have you done fecal float tests to determine if worms are present? I would think with your knowledge and skills you probably already have the equipment to do your own floats and examination. A microscope that magnifies from 100X-400X is sufficient.

 

[ronott1]

Her body was fairly stiff, but not too cold. Her neck didn't flop when we pulled her out, but I'll check for that possibility too.

What Breed is she?

I have had a couple of Australorps from a hatchery die of fatty liver disease--The first one was about 6 months old.

With the leathery thing in the vent, I would lean towards egg yolk peritonitis though--If you were to open her up, you would see the infections.

I have a pm out to Kathy. She's awesome. I have not wormed either. Bought the stuff but read mixed things, so I hadn't done it yet.

Kathy is awesome!

I feel bad when the no science crowd goes after her though.

 

[vehve]

Still haven't wormed a single time. And haven't seen any evidence of worms. Sure, they probably have some sort of light thing going on, but when the ground isn't frozen solid, they walk about a lot in the day, and come winter, worms aren't really an issue.

We did have cocci tests done on the bunnies though. They had a very small presence of Eimeria, but seem to have developed a natural resistance.

 

[vehve]

No science crowd? Guess I've missed that. Kathy might sometimes be a bit too eager to treat for my tastes, but for a person not schooled in veterinary medicine, she gives excellent advice, and is probably one of the best people on this sight when it comes to reporting her sources of information.