hens

RPWC · 23rd June 2015, 19:35

One of the four I have left from the initial six,is not well,she's started acting the same way as the last two,not interested in food,head sunken into her shoulders,isolated,not interacting with the others,standing on the spot for long periods of time.
I fear she may suffer the same fate as the last two,if she doesn't improve.
I have given her two syringes of water with an antibiotic powder mixed in,that i got for the last one.
This time I have got in early in the hope of a good outcome.
Not holding my breath,but if she doesn't start eating after a week,I'm not going to let her starve herself to death like the last one would have done ,had I not intervened.

jonathan63 · 24th June 2015, 06:01

Not good news.
How old are they?

RPWC · 24th June 2015, 06:49

Just tuned two years old. The two that I lost didn't even get to that age.

jonathan63 · 24th June 2015, 07:23

Not all hens live to a ripe old age but they should make it passed 2 yrs old. I have known chicken live passed 7 or 8. Even a commercial hybrid should live longer than that. I suspect they have some sort of challenge: either disease or parasite. Have you tried worming? Another thought, although a long shot, might be a heavy infestation of mites.

Given that they are not all suffering the same I would go with an internal parasite as the first port of call. If it were a disease challenge I would expect to see them all suffering to some extent.

RPWC · 24th June 2015, 15:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathan63

Not all hens live to a ripe old age but they should make it passed 2 yrs old. I have known chicken live passed 7 or 8. Even a commercial hybrid should live longer than that. I suspect they have some sort of challenge: either disease or parasite. Have you tried worming? Another thought, although a long shot, might be a heavy infestation of mites.

Given that they are not all suffering the same I would go with an internal parasite as the first port of call. If it were a disease challenge I would expect to see them all suffering to some extent.

yes they have been wormed,added the powder toothier feed,house is plastic, so hard for mite to find a home. the old wooden one I had was riddled with them,treated the infestation with diatomaceous earth.

Vossy · 24th June 2015, 15:33

Have you tried here Richard? Hens
Just a thought.

RPWC · 24th June 2015, 20:58

Thanks Steve,some useful pages there,but doesn't tell me anything I don't already know. I am dosing her twice a day with 2.5 ml of water with antibiotic powder dissolved in it,can't remember the name,but its pink.
If she doesn't start eating by next weekend,I will have to end her suffering,I won't let her go the same way as the last one and starve herself to death.

Vossy · 24th June 2015, 21:27

Seems to be a theme there, I can't help with what is wrong but it does seem like like your doing everything right to correct the problem.
I hope you find the problem as its always a worry when something like this keeps happening.

RPWC · 24th June 2015, 21:34

My dad kept hens years and years ago,he said the hybrids,like I have aren't as strong as the age old breeds,such as light sussex,white and black leghorns rhode island red etc. the ones I have are Goldline, I think may be a case of after this one goes(if),moving them all into the old hen house and sterilising the current one,and doing the same with their feed and water containers.

TR75 · 24th June 2015, 22:30

We've had issues with our chickens in the last few weeks which resulted in us having to put one of them out of their misery. Turned out she had developed a prolapse and she was not exiting properly which made things for messy. We tried to give her a bath to soothe it but unfortunately it was too far gone.

She was one of our best layers of the six and we've definitely noticed a decrease in production, especially as our two silkies have become very broody.

The next issue we are having is that they are now trying to eat their own eggs, before we get the chance to remove them after work.... Not quite sure on how solve that problem yet so the saga continues.

Who said owning chickens was easy?

23rd June 2015, 19:35	#1
RPWC This is my second home 75 model car Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Posts: 20,204 Thanks: 4,008 Thanked 5,083 Times in 3,114 Posts	hens One of the four I have left from the initial six,is not well,she's started acting the same way as the last two,not interested in food,head sunken into her shoulders,isolated,not interacting with the others,standing on the spot for long periods of time. I fear she may suffer the same fate as the last two,if she doesn't improve. I have given her two syringes of water with an antibiotic powder mixed in,that i got for the last one. This time I have got in early in the hope of a good outcome. Not holding my breath,but if she doesn't start eating after a week,I'm not going to let her starve herself to death like the last one would have done ,had I not intervened. __________________ Cheers. Rich…

24th June 2015, 06:49	#3
RPWC This is my second home 75 model car Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Posts: 20,204 Thanks: 4,008 Thanked 5,083 Times in 3,114 Posts	Just tuned two years old. The two that I lost didn't even get to that age. __________________ Cheers. Rich…

24th June 2015, 20:58	#7
RPWC This is my second home 75 model car Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Posts: 20,204 Thanks: 4,008 Thanked 5,083 Times in 3,114 Posts	Thanks Steve,some useful pages there,but doesn't tell me anything I don't already know. I am dosing her twice a day with 2.5 ml of water with antibiotic powder dissolved in it,can't remember the name,but its pink. If she doesn't start eating by next weekend,I will have to end her suffering,I won't let her go the same way as the last one and starve herself to death. __________________ Cheers. Rich…

24th June 2015, 21:34	#9
RPWC This is my second home 75 model car Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Posts: 20,204 Thanks: 4,008 Thanked 5,083 Times in 3,114 Posts	My dad kept hens years and years ago,he said the hybrids,like I have aren't as strong as the age old breeds,such as light sussex,white and black leghorns rhode island red etc. the ones I have are Goldline, I think may be a case of after this one goes(if),moving them all into the old hen house and sterilising the current one,and doing the same with their feed and water containers. __________________ Cheers. Rich…

24th June 2015, 22:30	#10
TR75 Posted a thing or two Rover 75 CDT Connoisseur SE Auto Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Launceston Posts: 1,567 Thanks: 169 Thanked 166 Times in 134 Posts	We've had issues with our chickens in the last few weeks which resulted in us having to put one of them out of their misery. Turned out she had developed a prolapse and she was not exiting properly which made things for messy. We tried to give her a bath to soothe it but unfortunately it was too far gone. She was one of our best layers of the six and we've definitely noticed a decrease in production, especially as our two silkies have become very broody. The next issue we are having is that they are now trying to eat their own eggs, before we get the chance to remove them after work.... Not quite sure on how solve that problem yet so the saga continues. Who said owning chickens was easy? __________________ You've just been ROVERtaken

24th June 2015, 06:01	#2
jonathan63 This is my second home CDTi Conniosseur SE HLNav Tourer and a Personal Line CDT Conniosseur SE Tourer..for the time being. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Cumbria Posts: 3,639 Thanks: 340 Thanked 423 Times in 294 Posts	Not good news. How old are they?

24th June 2015, 07:23	#4
jonathan63 This is my second home CDTi Conniosseur SE HLNav Tourer and a Personal Line CDT Conniosseur SE Tourer..for the time being. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Cumbria Posts: 3,639 Thanks: 340 Thanked 423 Times in 294 Posts	Not all hens live to a ripe old age but they should make it passed 2 yrs old. I have known chicken live passed 7 or 8. Even a commercial hybrid should live longer than that. I suspect they have some sort of challenge: either disease or parasite. Have you tried worming? Another thought, although a long shot, might be a heavy infestation of mites. Given that they are not all suffering the same I would go with an internal parasite as the first port of call. If it were a disease challenge I would expect to see them all suffering to some extent.

24th June 2015, 15:33	#6
Vossy Why? ... MG ZT+ Cdti Auto saloon. Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Blockeswich, South Staffs Posts: 1,555 Thanks: 173 Thanked 483 Times in 330 Posts	Have you tried here Richard? Hens Just a thought.

24th June 2015, 21:27	#8
Vossy Why? ... MG ZT+ Cdti Auto saloon. Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Blockeswich, South Staffs Posts: 1,555 Thanks: 173 Thanked 483 Times in 330 Posts	Seems to be a theme there, I can't help with what is wrong but it does seem like like your doing everything right to correct the problem. I hope you find the problem as its always a worry when something like this keeps happening.