What went wrong?

[simplegirl1970]

I lost my favorite hen, Miss White, this morning. She's the one in the picture of my avatar. Went out to the coop at 8 and she was still on the roost and very unsteady. I tried to help her down and she basically fell to the ground and couldn't stand or hold her head up. I noticed that under the roost where she was sitting, her poop was really watery and yellowish. I felt her belly, and it didn't feel distended or unusual, but she felt as if she had a high fever. Her bottom was also dirty with watery, yellowish poo. I lost a hen a few weeks ago to the heat, so I tried giving her a small amount of water through a dropper. This only aggravated her and all the sudden she started vigorously flapping her wings for about 15 seconds and she died. I have not stopped crying.

I only have (had) 4 hens and have noticed that most days I've been getting only 3 eggs a day instead of 4. Do you think this was internal laying? I feel so horrible that I didn't think of that before this happened so I could have possibly prevented it. (keyboard is entirely drenched with my tears and can hardly read what I'm typing right now). What else could have been going on? What can I do to prevent this from happening in the future?

Also, about a month ago, Miss White was brooding, even though we don't have a rooster. She did this for about 4 days until I broke her of it. Just realized egg production went down after that. Could that have anything to do with it?

Any help and consolation would greatly be appreciated.

 

[Comeonbroodyhen]

I had the same thing happen to my Belgian Duccle Mille fleur this morning. Except she had lice. I treated her with dusting powder 3 days ago and the lice seemed to go away. But I came out to the coop this morning and she did the exact same thing as miss white did. Sadly she passed away. ( I also noticed that she stopped laying eggs about 3 weeks befor she died.

 

[Reurra]

Im very sorry for you loss. I hope you will be able to find out whats going on and stp it in case it might be catching.

 

[simplegirl1970]

I checked her out and she doesn't have any fleas. Anyone have more ideas?

 

[KnoxvilleChick]

Check out this chart-

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

I've heard that yellow poop can be a sign of an internal parasite. Which I imagine could definitely be transferred to another bird. I haven't dealt with it personally, but I bet you could find some good info here on BYC.

So sorry for your loss.

 

[terryg]

Chickens do die suddenly, but often the cause is not sudden at all. I doubt that it was worms. It sounds very much like she had an internal infection, possibly peritonitis or internal laying, but she could also have had cancer. Chickens are exceptionally good at hiding discomfort until the very end, as any change in behavior upsets the pecking order, and makes them susceptible to predators. For first time chicken keepers, the realization that they didn't know their hen was sick is hard to find out. Don't feel guilty. It takes a lot of experience to see the signs. I don't know how old your hen was, but you might want to read my FAQ about how long hens live. Keeping chickens beyond two years is a new thing - farmers never did this - and there are many challenges to keeping older hens. http://hencam.com/henblog/2012/04/how-long-do-chickens-live/

 

[simplegirl1970]

Terry, my hens were two this spring, so your article does make sense. It's just hard because she didn't show any signs (that I noticed) and I don't want my other three hens to get sick. Wondering if I should have an internal look at her? I have a friend who's husband might be able to do a sort of an autopsy.

 

[terryg]

I took a necropsy workshop at a poultry show and have been doing them ever since. (Also, Cornell has a 4 hour video on line that gives a good tutorial on doing necropsies.) Every older bird that I've looked at has had tumors or cancer, often along with other issues like internal laying. It does give me hindsight and help me make decisions about quality of life and euthanasia. I learn a lot each time I do it, and share that through my website. I am sure that what your hen had was not contagious, so you don't have to look. Go ahead and enjoy your remaining hens.

 

[Reurra]

It makes you wonder, if chickens are so prone to cancer, what makes them so prone to it? Is it the feed? Or something else?

 

[Mum]

So sorry for your loss; that must have been such a shock for you!