Hi, I am new to Dave's though I have read many of your poultry forums! I have had chickens for several years and have never had any die without being attacked by a preditor before. Do you guys have any ideas to what was wrong and if I should be worried for my other 14 chickens?
This morning (9am) when I let the chickens out of the coop, she stayed on the roost and didn't come out. This was unusal but she looked at me when I stuck my head inside, so I didn't think too much of it. Now at 1:30pm I went out to let them out in the pasture to forage and collect eggs and she was cold and dead under the roost she was on this am! The only thing unusal looking about her is that one eye is weeping with clear but thick liquid.
The only thing we have changed lately is that we had rats under our raised-floor chicken coop and so raised it up on bricks this last weekend. We do not use poison on the rats! I even raked out the nests and accumulated junk under there so the chickens wouldn't get into too much of it.
Does anyone know what this could be? Do rats or rat feces have any effect on chickens??
PLEASE HELP......
WORRIED MAMA HEN!
6 mo old Aracana found dead in coop!! Please help!
There are some diseases that cause sudden death. I don't have my books with me right now--but I can look. Sometimes chickens do just die. I had a four month old Barnevelder roo that did that. No one else ever got ill and it had been fine the day before.
Did you notice any labored breathing at all. Any sneezing or coughing?
Many infections listed have runny eyes but also seem to have other symptoms as well.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PS044# I dont have a handbook yet but this sight had a list of different conditions. I wish I could help more but I am a new owner myself and have not experienced this type of thing yet. There are some great people here with far more experience than I who can help you. Best wishes for you and your flock.
Thank you for your replys! It makes me feel like I am not so alone in this!
No I didn't notice any labored breathing or anything unusual this am.
I have read everything in The Chicken Health Handbook and most of the conditions all come with other symptoms. It doesn't make any sense to me! She was laying too! grrr
I just hope the rest of the flock is safe.
Hi Dazey333! Chickens don't just die, though at times it sure does appear that way. When an animal, a fowl, or a person dies, there is a reason for it. Sometimes it's hard to figure out why, but I suspect she might well have been sick for some time. You might want to take a look at the rest of the flock to see if you can find anything wrong with any of them. As earlier commented I also had a golden campine that I found dead in the coop. After close inspection I could find no outward signs of why she died, but trust me there was a reason. I decided to treat the entire flock with Terramycin (1 tsp per gal ) I did this for the next three months. No more dead birds, and it's still a mystery what she died from. I also give the girls 4 tsp of ACV per gal as a preventative measure. Hope this helps and sorry for your loss. Haystack
Thank you for the direction Haystack! I inspected by flock tonight on putting to bed and cannot see any heavy breathing or other unhealthy behavoir. I sure would like to take any preventative measures I can! Can you buy Terramycin at a feed store? Also does ACV = apple cider vinegar? How does that help? Can you combine them both in one waterer? Thanks again!
Hi again Dazey! Yes you can combine them, but, If your going to give them terramycin you must remember you cannot eat any of the eggs for at least three weeks after they finish with the water that you put it in. That might cause you to want to reconsider and just watch them carefully for a while. The Apple cider vinegar is and should be an on going thing in their waterer. It serves to build up their immune system and thereby prevent a lot of infections and disease that they might other wise contract. ACV is something I also drink on a regular basis. At least twice a week. Have been doing that for about five years. Its tastless in the right amount. One more thing? Have your girls been vaccinated for Merek's or Coccidiosis? If not you might want to consider any new birds being vaccinated. Hope this helps. Always Haystack
yes there is diseases chickens can get from rat bites, and rat poo but i can't remember the specific name of it. kinda like how people used to get sick in the old days from rats pooing in corn meal and it was eaten without knowing it. milaria(sp?) but that's not what disease the chickens get it is just similar and can be deadly.
i had a cuckoo marans roo die a few mths back. he got paralysied(sp) and in 2 days was dead. a few days later we found we had rats and had 4 holes under their pen but they r about 8" off the ground where others r 3-4ft off the ground. we set traps out and killed 16 of them. noone else got sick. we believe he got into a fight protecting the welsummers in the coop and himself from them and he got bit and died from the disease. i buried him before we found the rats so i never thought to check him for bites or anything unfortunately.
AVC shouldn't be used with any water antibiotic it nutrilizes the antibiotics however if u give injections they can have the avc it doesn't bother the meds. it is to prevent certain backterial infections and cuts down on the amonia smell of birds it is not a must for them but a preferance and i use chopped garlic also when i use it for my flock. if u give an antibiotic u need to wait 10 days before u can eat the eggs again after the meds r stopped being given but we wait 14 days to be safe. sometimes chickens just die for what seems no reason but without a nycropsy or more detailed signs it is only a guess since there is noway to narrow it down or have ideas what it maybe. a nycropsy is really the only true way to test to see what happened. she may have been just to cold, had a heart attache, had a respitory infection ect in all honesty it could have been most anything. however my best guess is a disease due to the rats if they had access to the chickens.
I'd think it's either Marek's or Cocci. If it's Marek's, it is impossible to get off the premises. If it's Cocci, it is usually treatable.
If bloody stool was present, that would most definatly be Cocci. But if none was present, Marek's would be my next guess. As Marek's kill fast and usually unexpected.
Just make sure your coop is warm and dry, not wet.
As for the liquid coming out of the eye. I'd think it's common.
Good Luck!
Thanks for all of your responses and help! I did end up giving them the terramycin for 4 days because I noticed several other Araucanas were wet under their heads. I am now giving them the ACV. All look better except one araucana has white diarrhea and my banty cochin roo is a little wheezy. I am watching them all carefully and of course not eating the eggs. I also added a heat lamp to the coop and they seem to appreciate this.
I read about giving electrolytes if it is bronchitis. Should I try this? PS had no bloody stools.
As long as you are done with the antibiotics I would try the electrolytes.
I am glad things are getting a bit better!
Thanks for the update. I would try the electrolytes like Grow said.
Especially with runny poo to help out the poor boy.
electrolytes is fine anytime they r sick or under the weather, u can even use gatoraid or pedyalite if u can't find the powder at the feedstore. antibiotics should be given for 10-14 days if powder depending on the doseage and 3-5 if injections. glad to hear they r doing better for u i hope the others continue to get better also. yougert for treats after antibiotics is good also.
happy holidays,
silkie