The end of March one of my two EE hens died suddenly with no symptoms. Now the other one is showing signs of illness. I went out to check on them this morning and she was still in the hen house on the perch while the four other hens were out in the run. She is about 11 months old. I don't know how much she weighs but all of my hens have always seemed to be underweight - a very prominent breast bone. They are fed organic layer pellets(free choice), flax seed, oyster shell, and sometimes scratch. Since the death of my other hen I have been adding grit to the ground in the run. The floor of the run and hen house is covered with straw. They have shade cloth over the run and a misting fan on during the day. They have an automatic waterer. The hen house is a 4' x 4' converted playhouse and the attached run is 4' x 12'. She seemed fine up until today and layed an egg yesterday. She is the bottom of the pecking order but shows no signs of picked feathers or other injuries. She is laying on my lap and very lethargic. She will have her beak open for some time and then slowly close it. She also has her eyes closed mostly but will open them occasionally. Her breathing seems slightly labored but with no sounds.
AS I WAS TYPING THIS SHE HAS DIED. She started flapping her wings and arching her head backwards and I knew it was the end. I held her close and she continued to struggle. She expelled - from her vent - a clear liquid with streaks that resembled mustard in color and thickness. I would like to try to figure out if I am doing something wrong. When I brought her in the house, I was getting her to drink water with some acv in it but she wouldn't eat. I'm guessing I have some kind of parasite or disease making its way through my flock. When I ordered my chicks, I requested no vaccines and I have never treated them for worms. The only preventive measure for parasites that I take is adding DE to the run and the hen house floor. The hens will dust bathe in the DE and dirt. The reason I asked for no vaccines and don't use wormers is that I like to try to keep things as natural as possible. I figured that I have a small number of hens in an adequate space with a lot of fresh air and I shouldn't have many problems with disease. I don't think there are any other chickens in my immediate area to spread disease. Am I just being naive? I don't want to stick to ideals that cause my hens suffering and death. Please let me know what kind of preventive measures you take with your hens and if you have any ideas at all what might be happening with my birds. The remaining four are all alert and behaving normally. I have checked them all for mites and haven't found any. I really can't afford to have a necropsy done. Thanks for reading this and for any response you might have.
Stephanie
Replies
Stephanie
Your efforts could help the rest of her flock if you find a communicable pathogen, correct?
I will bring you my business in the future because you are a good and generous man.
Susan Foster
Wife of Dr. Foster at the AZ Burn Center
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