Help chicken dead

[elizajay]

Yes GG62 does have a valid point of view and is something I am thinking about.

[Nicos]

How much does a worm count cost?...and does it include egg count?
Sorry to pinch your thread Sally- but it certainly affects us all!


And so- how did you get on??

[bearded bloke]

Also if the worm count is positive (worms &/or eggs) what would the treatment be ?

[Scarlet]

Actually, I have used the worm count kits for my turkeys (as we were eating them and they're traditional breeds that are kept for 8/10months) they can get black head from ground that chickens have used so a little dicey keeping both.

I find the kits very expensive especially if you have to worm regardless with flubenvet and with more than half a dozen chickens a couple of kits often doesn't show the true picture of all your hens. For that reason I can't justify the price. I usually have around 30+. One kit per horse is very different, treatment can be targeted for the correct worm and only one horse out of a dozen may need treatment. Different story with chickens, you still have to worm the lot.. chicken keepers are often on a budget, worm count kits and then treatment for the whole flock becomes very expensive.

Some keepers are lucky with worms, pasture size makes a difference as does the weather. Muddy ground, mild weather is a breeding grounds for worms, most chickens are kept in very small runs for years. This ground becomes fowl sick in no time at all and if you can't rest this (or lime) the worms increase rapidly.

To be honest I don't often have a sick or ailing chicken and I often put it down to the fact that I only keep traditional birds..not hybrids. I have a couple of chickens that are now over 6 and still lay eggs. Good husbandry is the key.

[Nicos]

Good husbandry?...spot on Scarlet!

We'd all expect clean hospitals...so why not the same for meat/ eggs we are going to consume?

Sally ...not heard from you yet...fingers crossed all is OK and you aren't struggling with red mite?

[Scarlet]

She did say in post#3 that she cleaned their coop out every other day and hadn't seen any.
To be honest if a hen has died from a red mite infestation the chickens haven't been cleaned out for a long time. I don't believe that anyone can have a coop crawling enough to kill a bird without realising that they have a problem, even going in to collect eggs you'd end up with a few crawling on you....

[Nicos]

...now you are making me itch Scarlet!
Having never had red mite ( touch wood )... I really can't comment ...apart from * scrat scrat!

[kathyd]

She did say in post#3 that she cleaned their coop out every other day and hadn't seen any.
To be honest if a hen has died from a red mite infestation the chickens haven't been cleaned out for a long time. I don't believe that anyone can have a coop crawling enough to kill a bird without realising that they have a problem, even going in to collect eggs you'd end up with a few crawling on you....

Well... we had mites last year (I think, or maybe the year before, I have no sense of time...), and I do clean the coop every day and check for mites regularly. I've never, as far as I know, had them crawling on me though, and now I know what I'm looking for I do still see them in other parts of the outhouse where the chicken shed resides, even during the day. So far I've been able to keep the creocoted/diatomaceous earthed coop free as far as I can tell, but I'd never again criticise anyone for failing to spot the mites before they had an infestation. Although how my friend managed to miss hers for so long I must be honest I'll never know! They'd even travelled as far as her bedroom with her and she was changing her sheets and clothes daily... Sadly she didn't realise what they were though, or maybe she could have avoided the death of her first bird .

[Scarlet]

They'd even travelled as far as her bedroom with her and she was changing her sheets and clothes daily... Sadly she didn't realise what they were though, or maybe she could have avoided the death of her first bird .

Yes, I've had mites, lice, worms and even coccidiosis in one batch of chicks Ive had, it's not something to be ashamed of. With even the most rigorous cleaning regimes chickens will pick up these parasites, although there are sure signs that every keeper must be aware of that points to something wrong. Dishevelled birds, ruffled feathers, hunched birds, dirty bums, droopy combs, lack of feeding, increase in feeding etc ...they all build a picture. My point really about good husbandry (along with the cleaning regimes!) was that it's good to arm yourself with a little info before you have chickens, your friend must have seen some of these signs well before the mites travelled into bed with her and possibly ignored them? That said even with the best of knowledge or advice often it's not enough. Not every bird is destined to have a long life and some birds die without us finding the cause.

[kathyd]

I think my friend just didn't recognise the signs Scarlet - I agree, if you're going to keep chickens you need to be aware of what to look for, and be prepared to ask for help if you don't know what to do.