Mystery Deaths

[allat111]

Hello ! We have had hens since January 2010 We started with 3 sisters hatched September 09 These were Scots Greys....we lost one apparently healthy dominant one back in April this spring [she was top of the pecking order one day & dead the following morning] Tonight we have found another who had gone back into the coop this evening but had died subsequently. She had her tail up this morning so she looked ok although had been pale/grey in the face earlier in the spring/summer. She had been very runny bottomed a few weeks back but this seemed better too....any ideas?

What worries us is that one of the Blackrocks...the best layer so far [pol April 11] now has a very runny bottom & has red skin under the feathers although this hasnt affected her laying or cause her any apparent irritation. We have wormed about 6 weeks ago & use anti louse & mite powder on the new straw bedding each week....any ideas?

 

[foxy]

allat111, welcome to the forum! Sorry that you have lost a couple of Scots Greys they are lovely birds and much understated, useful backyard fowl.

It is very difficult to understand sometimes without resorting to the vet and various tests what is wrong or what our chickens have fallen off the perch from. One thing we can do in the first instance is to look carefully for the usual suspects that our birds can fall foul from. Firstly red mite, and should be top of our list this year with alternating warm/wet weather, these can kill a bird fairly quickly if undetected, and this will take a bird a fair time to recover once they has been an infestation. Worms are a consideration but not as a primary cause of illness.

Things to look for: diarrhoea - is this more of a watery consistency? This would indicate a kidney problem. If the droppings are just looser... then the gut is under stress through a number of possibilities, and in that case look more carefully at your bird in respect of crop, ( full, empty, squashy) weight - thin/normal or bloated.

Look at their behaviour, is it normal, withdrawn or active and bright? Presentation of bird which means feathers fluffed up, position of head, is tail up or down? Evidence of moult? Laying... in season or not laying combined with any laying dysfunction noted in quality of recent eggs.

These will then help you decide on a course of treatment or not or maybe that a visit to the vet is the best option.

 

[chrismahon]

Hello Allat and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your losses. You say wormed them but what with? It could still be a worm problem if your wormer or worming programme is ineffective.

The deaths may well not be related. The first could be a heart attack which we've had from 12 months onwards. The others as Foxy's advice or possibly worms.

 

[allat111]

Thank you for your responses Apart from a Bluebell who is all perky tailed & bright eyed...the 2 Blackrock are a bit flat tailed ...Jet. who likes to jump the fence ...visions of Steve McQueen in the Great Escape!!!! hasnt done that for a couple of days....the remaining Scots Grey is in moult.
Any way I took the Blackrock with the worse runny bottom & the red skin round the breast bone to the local vet... He took a faecal swab & sent it for analysis & gave an antibiotic injection...she looks ok for that. We are assuming that the troubles are coccidiosis based. The Vet has struggled to find an appropriate blanket treatment to treat all the birds...all his options were designed for other beasts & certainly will mean egg withdrawal for a month. I have ordered some Interkokask to disinfect the coop & the immediate surrounding area....still leaves the rest of the garden at risk though!

After that it it looks like wait & see!

Regarding the worms...the girls were all treated 6 weeks ago with Flubenvet & monthly add Verm-X to the pellets....so hopefully we have that undercontrol.

Regarding the red skin...the vet had no idea....I suggested allergy.....he had never heard of such a thing.....what are your thoughts?