Dying chickens: Help please

[new2growing]

About 4 or 5 months ago I went past a poultry farm.Reversed the car, chatted to the owner & arrived home with 4 hens & a bag of food.A month later I added 2 POL. A few weeks ago,one of the originals started looking a bit lethargic & standing around with her eyes closed.She seemed to be eating ok then one morning she was dead in the ark. The same thing has happened to another yesterday. Anyone any ideas. There are no obvious signs of illness.The ark is cleaned out regularly & sprayed with ***** fluid. I've noticed what look like mouse(or rat?)droppings near where the food is stored.Could this have a bearing on it?

[TPeers]

Don't really have any answers for you - just a few thoughts.

Where the original birds battery hens or free range?

Do you know if they were young POL or second year birds?

Could they have got chilled in all the bad weather - do they have a covered run at all?

Have you changed their food/routine?

Could they have received a shock... a fox... local kids.....?

I have had a bird die of a stroke - yes, seriously! Did the birds seem in any way clumsy, as if they did not have full control of their legs/wings?

Not sure if any of this helps, except to tell you what has not happened.

Sory for your loss

Terry

[new2growing]

The poultry guy said they were about to go for the chop as they were no longer efficient,ie past their best.I assume they were in their 2nd year.They were free range,as they are at my place.Neither bird that died seemed to have lost any of their faculties so a stroke doesnt appear to be the answer. I've never wormed them though. Maybe I should and see if that helps the remaining ones.I'm thinking along the lines of virus or parasite.

[TPeers]

Ok, so if they were 'past their prime' and given that even the best free range farm is going to be a heck of a lot more intensive that a few back garden hens.

I would think there are a couple of posibilities.

1. Some sort of infection which would lay out the older, less resiliant, birds first. This could be viral or bacterial, try a course of Verm-x or similar this is a general parisitical treatment which covers most internal parasites. If the problem is viral - it was nice having hens.......

2. External parasite. Give the housing a good clean and check for mite infestations - they get into the best kept houses! Treat all the birds with a mite powder as a preventative, and spray/dust the house carefully as well.

3. Contamination of food. Check the food supply, you said you thought there were rat/mouse droppings... make sure that the food has not been 'invaded' It is best kept in strong metal, lidded containers as these are generally vermin proof. If the food suppy has been contaminated I would get rid of it and buy new - and store it somewhere else. Not easy I agree, but vermin carry all sorts of nasty bugs and so on, you don't want to go there! Think about putting traps and/or poison down.

4. Ground contamination. Has there been any major flodding in the area which could have washed chemicals over your land? Have you been out with the weedkiller or slugbait? Has your neighbour? Crop spraying? Any of these might have an effect.

5. Old age! It could just be that there is nothing wrong, that the birds have had a short life because they have been raised in a fairly intensive way, to produce an egg a day for over a year. With all permitted antibiotics and so on an so forth. Yes free to range - but where, and over what? A large concrete apron that can be easily washed down? Or genuine grass? They could have just been tired, stressed out and therefore not as likely to live to a ripe old age.

You gave them the best enviroment you could. You did everything you could to provide for them. I'm sure they will have enjoyed the space to stretch and scratch.

[Snadger]

Thankyou TPeers for a very concise reply. Funnily enough the dying of old age scenario was the first one that crossed my mind. All the more reason for my foray into chook keeping to involve POL, even though my heart tells me to give older birds a chance!

If it was old age that they died from, New2growing, you should be proud that you gave them a little bit of happiness in there old age!

[Birdie Wife]

If there aren't any obvious signs of illness it's difficult to say, unless you get a vet to do stool/blood samples on your remaining birds. Chickens can hide their syptoms really well, they have to, because the other birds in the flock will tend to pick on weaker members to the point of actually killing them sometimes. It sounds a bit to me like the previous owner has few scruples, selling you birds that were way past their best. As Snadger says, good on you for giving them some enjoyment in the final few weeks of their lives but on the other hand, you should be getting them for free if the previous owner was just going to knock them on the head.

[yoanbob]

could you go back to the farmer and ask if his birds have come down with anything?

[new2growing]

Been to see a 'poultry expert' today.Old chap with a gnarled face who said "Ah,Boy" quite a lot.As in "Ah boy,you don't wanna worry 'bout that.Chickens do that, just go quiet then next thing, they're dead." & "Ah boy, you don't wanna bother 'bout givin' em medicine & stuff.That stuff costs more than the birds." He said I didn't seem to be doing anything wrong but just to keep an eye on the two POL as they would be the stronger birds & if they started looking dodgy I might have a problem, otherwise it's just mother nature ( & he was the bloke in the Animal Feed place where I went to buy the Verm X.) He wasn't much of a salesman as I came away empty handed.!!!

[witch-1]

I must say I was told if your bird is sick you will notice and they either die or recover - the cost of vetinary bills outweighs the cost of new birds - abit harsh in my opinion as I've gotten quite attached to my girls!

He could be right though!

Good luck with your newer birds.
Jan