What is killing my hens???!!!

[MonkeyZero]

Hi

Well I lost my foster chicky a while back, its toe got all infected. Then my I gave my hens some corn and a bit of rice(cooked it all). Then 2 days later my RIR's chest was out and it kept falling over forward. Then yesterday I gave some conr to my D Brahma banty. A few hrs later it stared the same thing. The vets were losed and the er didnt do hens. SO then I got back from work, next thing i know shes dead. All i have left is my Lbraham!!! What's killing em???

 

[miss_jayne]

sounds like a couple things going on. sorry for your troubles.

is their feed wet? that'll kill them off quick.

any other symptoms?

when you fostered the toe infected chicken, did you isolate it for at least a month before it was with the others? it could have brought in something as a carrier and passed it on to your chickens.

hope you can find out the issue and solve it.

 

[MonkeyZero]

Of course, i qouarantined him. The run gets wet a lot cuz the neighbors have the water on. But i feed em on a board that stays dry.

Oh yeah. The rir and the braham(that died...) well when they fell they curled their leg, and a there was a slight pink line, but it was very faint. They ran less, and instead of clucking, they let out very high pitched peeps, rather thank their heavy voice

Also before dying, their eyes were a big sunken. And the color seemed to bee differnet.

 

[Jenski]

Sindoora, how old are each of your birds?

What do you normally feed them (besides treats)?

How long have you had them?

 

[dlhunicorn]

mycotoxin in wet feed can appear within 24 hours ... without knowing the age of your birds and other details it would be difficult to guess what is going on (you mentioned corn several times and I am wondering if salt is involved perhaps? Salt is extremely toxic to birds and you should never give treats/human food with ANY amount of salt in it)... if their area is wet then move them...wet conditions cause no end of trouble.

 

[MonkeyZero]

Well Im guessing the foster was about 2-3 monthish

The RIR and D brahma were maybe 3-5 month ish

I feed them rice, lay crumble, some grower for the foster, I just stared up on cooked corn, some crushed eggshell, and they eat grass in the run.
THe feed never got wet, cuz i fed them on a big slightly elevated broad board so the feed didnt get wet

The corn had no salt in it.

 

[chickenlady]

I would stop with the corn and rice. At their ages, they should be on either chick starter or a grower only. At 3-4 months old, they dont need the calcium that is in layer food. Maybe the corn is too big for them to process. Check where your store your feed, maybe the feed went bad or has some mold issues or something that is toxic. Take care of this water issue before you have more problems. Food that they are eating from the raised board can fall into the wetness and get moldy very quickly and they wont hesitate to eat off the ground. Why does your neighbor have so much water runoff into your yard? Are you sure it is just plain old water?

 

[spook]

I understand the layer feed at this age as this is what most feed stores reccomend, if they are done with medicated, then they go on layer. Realizing the difference now, this can be changed for all of us.
The next thing, water problems, can you go out with a spade and make a small trench to direct the flow of water from your chicken run/house. It will be the best idea all around to do this for your own property usage and hens. I too have a water issue from natural springs and have to create drainage of shoveling a 6" deep x 4" wide, then fill it with rocks or sand if available, cover with dirt to grow grass. Or cover with a board. Rocks are better as if it goes stagnant, you don't want to have molds and misquetos growing in it.
Sadly, your birds that have died, who knows, it could be a million things that you are not aware of- nor am I! Chickens do not like wet feet, if the ditch isn't enough to drain the water away from your chicken yard (and it could be a fertilizer or chemical in the water) also, some people have the water softeners and from my own experience, it is run through some type of sodium and it was 3 days of hell getting over those 5 glasses of water! I don't know how they are for your chickens. (Just a suggestion)
Your girls also could have picked through things, eating stones that are wet and moldy from the ground, who knows but even a small change will help. Keep your chicken(s) in for a few days, get to working on a trench and let that pen dry out, I would even take a mild bleach in a pump action sprayer, soak the ground down, let it be. Bleach straight will harm, but 1/4 cup to a gallon of water is a strong solution that will not harm anything.
You may eventually want to add sand to the mix so they can dust bath, drain water quickly.
I have no idea why your babies died, but clean up the area and see if it helps. Do not feed them anything in a open pen, it could also be wild birds too. feed only inside, fresh water inside, as they can be drinking from the ground which is not quality water - thanks to the neighbor.
Good luck to you!

 

[Emzyyy]

You can also fill your run w/ sand it keeps it alot dryer than just mud and alot more sanitary.

 

[MonkeyZero]

Ok its full of sand and large gravel where there is water