what disease is taking out my flock?

[chickc]

Hello, I had 12 hens a few years ago when they were first hatched, and a few died to sour crop, one to an unknown cause, but the majority died to something that I don’t understand. (We have 5 hens left and one is currently ill with this.)

Symptoms:
-Ravenous for food and water (will eat or drink for hours on end unless we remove access from them)

-Waddling and trouble walking. The ones ill with this seemed to try running but it was very slow.

-Squishy underside/butt area. Seems painful to them when I hold them

-Not laying eggs

I have a younger flock (8 hens and 1 roo, roughly 9-12 weeks old) and I don’t want them contracting this disease from the older chickens, or getting it from wherever the older chickens have gotten it from.

A big option for me is from local birds. We have a bird feeder and the chickens love eating the scraps dropped by the birds, but I’m concerned that could lead to disease.

If anybody knows what this is and how to cure or prevent it, please let me know!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What do you feed?

Have you ever taken a sampling of poop for testing to see if worms may be a contributing factor?

From your description - slow, squishy underside that's painful, not laying eggs, waddling, trouble walking...reproductive issues would be my guess. These can be very common in laying hens. It's not a disease - it's a condition and what a lot of laying hens face since they produce a great number of eggs.

Fresh nutritionally balanced feed, fresh water and a few treats here and there.

If you really want to know the cause - if you lose the current hen that is not well, send the body to your state lab for necropsy or do one yourself and take a look. You will get a lot of info.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/chickens-obesity-silent-killer-how-to/
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system/egg-peritonitis-in-poultry#:~:text=(Egg yolk peritonitis)&text=Multiple follicle hierarchy-,Courtesy of Dr.,appearance among the abdominal viscera.&text=Peritonitis follows reverse movement of,the oviduct into the abdomen.

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exot.../pet-birds/reproductive-diseases-of-pet-birds