I am a newbie chicken mama with 3 hens my 18 yo daughter brought home as a result of her FFA interests. We built an awesome coop and run for them but the day we moved them in from the temp 4x4 cage one of them stopped laying and it's been 8 days since. Yesterday I had to separate her because she became lathargic & I don't want to infect the other 2 if she is sick. I'm going to go get some dust for mites as my daughter said there are mite eggs on her feathers. I know this heat is not helping her so I've been giving her cold watermelon with plain yogurt & a little crumble smeared on it to keep her hydrated. If I need to get her to a vet is there one in East Mesa (or close by) that handles chickens?
You need to be a member of AZ Herb Forum to add comments!
Actually I have to admit, I was trying to answer a question on another chicken site, and hadn't realized I had posted this here until just now. *blush*.
From all the symptoms, it sounded like Coccidiosis and canker. Unlaid egg, or being egg bound, kills in 3 days. This was a problem that most likely could have been solved by keeping the chicken inside on a heating pad, giving collodial silver and apple cider vinegar, with DE mixed in the food, as well as dusting the bird with DE.
Thanks Philodice for your reply. I don't think she was actually egg bound as the vet checked for that. I did dust her and gave her ACV. Like I mentioned, she seemed to be doing much better the evening before she died. The other 2 are still doing very well & laying eggs everyday. Once I'm a bit braver I'll let them out to range a bit. I'm such an overprotective chicken mama since Poppy's passing. ;-)
Philodice, just curious as to what lead you to that diagnosis? It's my understanding that cocci is usually diagnosed by blood in the stool and canker by sores/infected areas in the mouth/ears etc. Lethargy is pretty much a general symptom of sickness. If it was those two things, what dosage of colloidal silver would you recommend?
Well, I'm not sure what was wrong with her. Vet mentioned an ectopic (sp?) egg since she hadn't laid one in 10 days. Did the tube feeding and she was doing much better. In fact Saturday evening she was getting fiesty again and eating her crumble on her own. Her crop was full so I thought perhaps she was on her way to recovering. Then Sunday morning she was gone. :-( Go figure?
Now I'm keeping an eye on the other 2 but so far they are healthy, happy hens. Will replace our lost one eventually and add to our little flock but I'm not sure with summer coming on so strong it's a good time to do that....
I'm sorry for your chicken loss.
The stoppage of laying could have been nothing more than being moved to new surroundings. Sometimes it takes two weeks or so for them to get back into the swing of things.
I would wait until after the worst part of summer to add more to the flock. I know it can be done if you wanted to do it now, but it would probably be easier on everyone, yourself included, if you could wait until September. This will also give you time to make sure the rest of your flock is healthy.
Thanks Rachel for your response. She was a very good layer even the day after we brought her home. She was a fiesty little hen, but who knows what happened....
I think I will wait till after the summer heat ends before adding anymore to our little flock. Our coop is shaded by a great tree all day long and is on the east side of our house but here in the valley it just gets sooo hot. The two I have left were chicks this time last year but I'm not as brave as the high school's FFA kids. It's too heartbreaking to lose even one so I'll wait. You have confirmed what I was thinking. Thanks again.
Thanks ladies. I actually found a vet who does exotics just down the street to took her (Poppy) in yesterday. She is very malnurished but can't find anything else wrong with out blood tests and xrays. That would cost almost $400 - Yikes! So instead the vet gave me instructions to tube feed her and also medicating with antibiotics and wormer. Now it's a matter to time...she misses her coop-mates but at least she can see them and she now lets me cuddle her. In fact this morning her poops are looking normal again. If any of the 3 girls could overcome this thing it's Poppy. She's the fistiest (and was the meanest) LOL. Thank you again for your replies.
I have read that mites can cause a slow down in egg production if they are bad enough. When I first received my newborns they were covered with mites since they came from a free range farm environment. I stuck them in a plastic baggie with their heads out and did a soft version of a shake & bake so the dust covered them all over. Be careful purchasing DE as I bought some from home depot that was recommended as 'food grade' and when I read the label after getting home, it was 20% pesticide. We bought some from a feed store and use it liberally as Rachel recommends. I don't know of a vet but I'll bet if you call the Mesa Feed Barn (I think that's the name), they might be able to recommend someone in your area. The lady that runs the Tempe Feed & Tack is really nice and very helpful also. Good luck with your sick hen, It can be stressful for us fanatics! I had no idea how attached I would get…
Replies
Now I'm keeping an eye on the other 2 but so far they are healthy, happy hens. Will replace our lost one eventually and add to our little flock but I'm not sure with summer coming on so strong it's a good time to do that....
The stoppage of laying could have been nothing more than being moved to new surroundings. Sometimes it takes two weeks or so for them to get back into the swing of things.
I would wait until after the worst part of summer to add more to the flock. I know it can be done if you wanted to do it now, but it would probably be easier on everyone, yourself included, if you could wait until September. This will also give you time to make sure the rest of your flock is healthy.
I think I will wait till after the summer heat ends before adding anymore to our little flock. Our coop is shaded by a great tree all day long and is on the east side of our house but here in the valley it just gets sooo hot. The two I have left were chicks this time last year but I'm not as brave as the high school's FFA kids. It's too heartbreaking to lose even one so I'll wait. You have confirmed what I was thinking. Thanks again.