Dead hen, I think others are sick, please help!

18 years ago

I found an aracauna hen dead last night in the coop. I looked her over, probablyh not good enough. I really just checked to see if she looked egg bound. Did not. I just came back in from the coop and another aracauna hen looked funny to me. I realized that she has redness around her eyes and down toward her beak where her face feathers usually would be. Another hen is starting to look the same way around her face, but this aracauna was looking listless too. This batch of chickens are right at one year old and they started molting several weeks ago, so the normal feather loss has not made me worry. This balding redness around the eyes and face does. Are these mites or lice??? Can they get on me when I clean out the coop?????? I have read that cleaning the coop and dusting the litter and the birds with Sevin is recommended.

I will admit, I am totally CLUELESS. I have raised chickens for 5 years and I have never had anything like this. I dont want to lose any more birds - can you please tell me what to do???? I'm really upset about this.

Thanks for your help.

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Comments (3)

velvet_sparrow
18 years ago
Any other symptoms, such as dirty vent feathers, weird poops, not eating or drinking, runny eyes, swelling around the eyes, nasal discharge, etc.? If you check my chicken info page on 'Health' here and read about mites and worming (including how-tos using Sevin and Ivermectin), it should give you more info on what it could or not be:

http://home.earthlink.net/~velvetsparrow/VSChickHealth.htm

That page also has some basic diagnostic tips that should help you narrow it down. Meanwhile, support the flock by offering them unflavored Pedialyte to drink (gives them an electrolyte boost, which helps any sick animal). If they aren't eating, ofer them goodies such as raw corn, diced grapes, diced tomatos, live mealworms, scrambled eggs, etc. to help get nutrition in them. You need to observe them a bit, because chickens don't show they are sick until they are REALLY sick, and by then it can be too late. So keep an eagle eye on them--are they eating normally and with appetite? Are they fluffed up? Laying eggs? Check everything you can,pick up each hen and give her a good visual and by hand going-over.

If it isn't mites and instead is something irritating their facial skin only, it could be something they are repeatedly poking their faces into--check around for any poisons, toxic plants, bad feed (if it smells musty or has gotten wet, it could be carrying Aspergillosis, get rid of it pronto!), etc. Don't rule out nasty neighbors. There's nothing saying that the molt and something else, such as an illness, can't be going on at the same time coincidentally. Birds in molt can fall prey to illnesses easier, because their bodies are working so hard to grow feathers. Birds in molt can also use an added protein boost, so offer foods high in protein to help them grow new feathers.

Good luck!

Velvet ~:>
velvet_sparrow
18 years ago
How are the chickens...?

Velvet ~:>
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hengal
Original Author
18 years ago
Velvet -
Thanks for asking. They seem to be doing okay. We've cleaned out the coop. I've sprinkled sevin in the bedding and next boxes and I've added Rooster Booster to their water (vitamins, electrolytes, etc). They all seem to have a very good appetite, and I've seen no creepy crawlies. I don't know what the deal is. They do not free range due to our hawk problems. They have a full yard penned in 40' x 45' that is has deer wire over the entire top (intended to keep the hawks out.) There is no plant life they can get into, as nothing is growing in their yard.
I was not aware that chickens are much more suceptible to things when they are molting. I'm sure dusting the coop won't hurt anything and hopefully this "booster" they are drinking in their water will help them get stronger.

Dead hen, I think others are sick, please help!

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velvet_sparrow

velvet_sparrow

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Dead hen, I think others are sick, please help!

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velvet_sparrow

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