Chicken problems...

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, we've had our girls nearly 2 months now and things are not looking very good. We did not choose the pullets, but merely said we would take the 10 left. We put them in the cage and brought them home, without really looking them over. They didn't look all the same, but we just figured it was a maturity thing. They were 16 weeks old. Immediately we started seeing problems. Some could not walk very well, let alone jump onto the roost. We have tried electrolyte/vitamins in the water, administering b12 to each bird, feeding different feeds, and worming. We've talked to vets, Purina reps, consulted Ag books, looked online, and talked to any chicken folk we can find. We have a mister around the pen to help with the heat. They go out to forage at least once a day. They have shade, plus a grassy run. I try to keep everything clean. We've lost 2 so far. One fell over and couldn't walk. The other was dead in the house one morning. We have at least 2 more that look at risk. Only 2 out of the ten seem to be getting along well, with nice combs forming and robust bodies.

We do not know if it is something nutritional or something genetic. We have learned our lesson: any new chickens we get will be chicks we raise ourselves, or hand-picked birds.

The good news is, our rat terrier, Buddy, is doing really well with them. And Tipsey, our shetland who likes to stomp on things, is very tolerant now. They stroll around under her legs and she doesn't seem to mind. I have to keep one of the pullets from rushing over to eat Dapper Dan's supper in the evening (He is my avatar horse). She has figured it out pretty quickly. And Dapper Dan lets her.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions to offer? It is really wierd and frustrating.

 

[Riverrose28]

We once had roasting chickens that got so big they couldn't walk! We killed, plucked and froze them. Do they get calcuim in theri feed? Maybe they need more like what they have in laying mash. Just a thought.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I've heard of that. We paid close attention to the calcium/D/phosphorus combinations. The electrolyte powder addresses that. One Ag book said a B1 deficiency can cause some of our problems. but the food has brewer's yeast, which is the source for that. These little girls are way too undersized to bother with dressing. They have more feathers than body.

The one that we are surprised is still alive and running around started holding her head way way, almost turning a somesault. Really wierd. But the last two days she has seemed a little better. We are just hanging in there, hoping they will improve.

They are 5 months old now--if the date the seller gave us is correct.

Sometimes having animals is a heartbreak. I've laid awake at night worrying about them.

 

[MindyLee]

check for mites around their vents. that will weaken/kill them

also worming for worms and even consider them to have coccidia.

right now, i too am dealing with weight loss/death from a healthy flock. im dealing with upper respotiory infections due to the weather change and a hen fighting the coccidia issue.

murry mcmurry hatchery has some awesome meds for chickens.

good luck!

p.s. worms like nightcrawlers can give chickens worms so be carefull feeding them too many worms!

 

[Shari]

What breed are they?

IF they are broilers, things won't improve. They have been bred to be butchered at 4/5 months old. Past that time, and you have those problems.

I had something like this happen in the past. We thought we got normal Bronze Breasted Turkeys, but instead we ended up with with the Double breasted Bronze, a commercial breed.

By the time they were 4/5 months old, it couldn't walk any more and one had, what we think, was a heart attack. We original bought them as pets, but we ended up having to eat them.

If they are the run of the mill laying hens....

Did they get the Mareks vaccine?

They could have botulism poisoning, see if they match there behavior, same with the Mareks. Both these issues, cause what your flock is going through. There is no help for Mareks.

Botulism can be treated with molasses or Epsom salts. But its better to try and get a handle on what it is before treating.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

What breed are they?

IF they are broilers, things won't improve. They have been bred to be butchered at 4/5 months old. Past that time, and you have those problems.

I had something like this happen in the past. We thought we got normal Bronze Breasted Turkeys, but instead we ended up with with the Double breasted Bronze, a commercial breed.

By the time they were 4/5 months old, it couldn't walk any more and one had, what we think, was a heart attack. We original bought them as pets, but we ended up having to eat them.

If they are the run of the mill laying hens....

Did they get the Mareks vaccine?

They could have botulism poisoning, see if they match her behavior, same with the Mareks. Both these issues, cause what your flock is going through. There is no help for Mareks.

Botulism can be treated with molasses or Epsom salts. But its better to try and get a handle on what it is before treating.

We assumed they had been vaccinated since they were hatched at a commercial hatchery, but did not know to ask. That is possibly what they have. Will they all die, do you think? We need to find out what hatchery it was and not use them in the future. Not sure we kept the phone number of the folks we got them from. Frankly, we never wanted to speak to them again...

I wonder if Mareks is something imported, as old timers don't seem to mention it in their flocks.

 

[MountainWoman]

Commercial hatcheries don't vaccinate unless you add it at an additional fee to your order (at least that's my experience). If they are meat birds and not layers that could be another factor. Meat birds are made to grow so fast their poor legs can actually break and render them unable to move. Also wondering if you could have a case of spraddle leg in the ones who don't jump? Just one other thought - do you have turkeys around or any other kind of bird? Sorry this is happening to your birds.

 

[REO]

I *just* got an email about the dangers of teflon when it heats up.

Like, baking or cooking in the house (teflon) and house birds dropping dead. But one thing said..........

And when Teflon-coated heat lamp bulbs were installed in chicken pens, half of the chicken population passed away within a few days.

Made me think of your chickens & I thought I'd toss this out there Marsha.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, I typed a whole reply and it disappeared somewhere.

It's possible ours have Marek's. Thanks for the heads up about it; we'll be more alert with future birds. What a mess.

 

[Shari]

Mareks vaccines are only given, if you ask for it. Mareks has been around awhile and is a pretty big issue.

Sorry to hear they might have this. Is a hard thing to go through.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I called the OSU small animal hospital and talked with someone there. She suggested I call the State Diagnostic Lab, so I did that. For around $60 we can send a chicken and find out exactly what is going on. If we had a large flock it would be a good tool, but we decided we would not do that.

The Lab man suggested a course of tetracycline (sp) as we had another symptom he felt was suspicious for a respiratory parasite. The Marek's affects the sciatic nerve and that is why affected chickens cannot walk. But it can also cause tumors, which are not so obvious. Ours are getting old enough now that if they survive, they will be immune and be fine. Marek's is also airborne. He felt we should warn anyone around us who had chickens, but we are the only ones. It does not live in the soil.

We did worm them. He said people try to raise chickens organically and it is very difficult.

So, now from 10 we are down to 6. A couple of them are active and eating well but do not have a vibrant color. Hopefully these will all survive.

I feel so bad shoving all this medicene and whatever on them. But once they are healthy we can begin our normal regimen of plain fresh water and good food.

I guess we were just lucky in the past with chickens, so we did not realize all the ills they can contract. I now know more about chickens than I ever wanted to know.

 

[shadowpaints]

what breed are they?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

They are buff orpingtons.

Great news today! The remaining 6 are looking good! Bright eyes and no crusty stuff on their faces!! I don't know whether it is the tetracycline, the effect of worming, growing out of it, juicy grasshoppers, or all of the above. I need to take a picture! Hurrah!

 

[Shari]

Glad to hear the rest are doing good!

 

[jacks'thunder]

Yahhh!!!

I remember when I worked at the pet store we used Tetracycline alot on the sick parakeets, cockateals,and finches. I forgot all about it until you mentioned it! It worked well! I'm so glad there doing better. You must have gotten a very sick bunch of babies! That stinks big time! But I'm super glad your seeing a difference!! Keep it up and hopefully they will just get stronger and stronger!!!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

One more day of the tetracycline, then we will finally be just plain, fresh water. The last six seem to be doing fine. Here is a picture of the worst looking one. See how pale her comb is? There is one other with a pale comb (she has her back to the camera). But they are zipping around, eating well, jumping up and down in the trees, and generally seem to be looking fine now. Everyone is up on the roost at night.

One of the most exciting parts is how well our little rat terrier is doing with them! I kept him on a leash with choke collar for the first couple of weeks, then watched him and kept him beside me for a few weeks. Now he lets them flutter and flap all around him. I won't trust him completely, of course, but it's a relief to know he can be out with me calmly.

www.cassphoto.com/dog&hens.jpg

Thanks for everyone's info.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

False euphoria. Number five went to the vet for a necropsy yesterday. The vet asked me to bring her; he is curious himself as to what is going on. We did amprolium after the other antibiotic, and another round of wormer. He didn't find coccidiosis the last time, but some other, mysterious parasite evidence. Hence the round of wormer. The 5 remaining seem robust, but one still is very pale, as though she is aenemic. 3 seem to be a good size for their age. The one that is laying already is small. 3 have bright red combs, which seems like a positive sign.

We've lost 5 out of 10 so far. Our happy little chicken hobby isn't turning out so happy.