Lethargic Pekin Bantam

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lonicera56

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I had a pekin (8 weeks old) die quite unexpectedly about 10 days ago, but the rest of the flock have seemed fine although I did clean the house out & move the run as a precaution. Today I have found one huddled in the corner, looking very lethargic - again the rest of the flock are bouncing around ok. Any ideas what could possibly be a cause & what I can do to get her through it please?
 
First off, remove her from the others and pop her in a box with some bedding, food and water. Keep an eye and see if she eats/drinks/poos. If her droppings are iffy maybe do some reading to see what might be the cause.

I always give mine a day or two just left quietly if there appears nothing specific wrong with them. Check her all over, check for mites in the hen house also. Have a listen to her breathing also. See if it sounds normal.

If you notice anything specific let us know. Sorry I can't suggest more.
 
Hi,

It could potentially be a number of things - the top 'easy' things I would check are:

Worms - yes they are young but may have picked up some worms, especially if they have been near older stock.
Red Mite - check the coop, especially ends of perches
Lice - check between the feathers especially around the vent and under the wings
Check breathing for respiratory problems - you can place your ear on the back of the bird and listen.
Check your bedding is suitable eg. wood shavings should have the dust extracted and you shouldn't really use hay as it can get mould spores.
Check their feed - Advocado and green potatoes / shoots are both poisonous to chickens and there's some uncertainty about lettuce not being great for chickens.
Check they have access to flint grit and oyster shell grit for digestion and calcium.
Try to have a look at what she passes and the colour of it as this can be an indicator of problems.

If I get a poorly chicken, I will give them apple cider vinegar in their water as well as crushed garlic. There are a number of poultry vitamin suppliments available on the market too that you could give in the water.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else you can check at the moment....she should be isolated though away from the others somewhere quiet.

Tim
 
I took her out as soon as I found he & put her in a bird cage with feed, water containing acv & a light bulb for a bit of warmth - thought it might perk her up a bit!
She is now in my living room so I can keep a close eye on her. I'll check her over for any nasties, although I did treat them with mite powder a few days ago. Any other symptons, I'll let you know.
Thanks for your help.
 
Last night she was chirping quite a lot, she ate & drank a little, but didn't move about much. She's still with us this morning - just about, but she is just slumped in her nest & looks comatose to me. If you smooth her or blow on her feathers she moves slightly, but other than that, not looking good at all. No obvious signs of mites, worms etc. She's inside by the fire, so nice & warm but I think short of a miracle I'm going to lose this one.
 
Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that, I can't think of anything else you can check, she doesn't sound good to me. My fingers are crossed for you.

Tim
 
She died yesterday lunchtime. It's a real shame as she was the only white one I had. She's the 2nd one from a batch I bought about 4/5 weeks ago, I'm worried that maybe they had something that could now have passed to the others that were in with them. Other than the things previously mentioned, are there any other tell-tale signs I could look for?
 
Oh I'm sorry to hear you lost her. :cry:

The only thing I can think of is getting a PM done but there's no guarantee they will find out what caused her to die.

Tim
 
I lost another pekin today - this time a beautiful 16 week old lavendar cuckoo. No warnings with this one, just went to the coop & she was dead, almost as if she had fallen off the perch. That's 3 I've lost now - roughly 1 every fortnight. Any suggestions/ideas how I can prevent more? Presumably a trip to the vet is the only option?
 
Are you sure you don't have red mite? They can kill a small chook overnight if the infestation is bad. I always go out when its dark and take a torch with me to check under perches etc to be sure I've not got them.

Other than that, I'd really not like to say. I'd consider a PM but it may not give you a definative answer.

Was she also one of your new additions. I think I'd separate the new ones from the older ones and keep a close eye.
 
Hi
I check the perches for red mite daily & have dusted the birds & sprayed the house with poultryshield before I put them in (although the house is brand new - I bought it specially so I could separate the older ones from the younger ones after the last event!). If it was some sort of disease I would have thought they would go in numbers, rather than 1 at a time. I've wormed them with Vermx too, but I'm a fairly new pekin keeper, so I'm at a loss.
 
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