Author Topic: Dead Hens (Read 6606 times)

Wildman · « **on:** July 24, 2008, 09:04:02 am »

Good Morning, has anyone had any hens die?. My Son got some hens about 5 months ago paid good money for them and they have been fine. He then got some ex bats and they have been OK as well. They have had them all together for some months now. The other day they found one of the ex bats looking very poor and not moving at all and very dirty bum, they took it into the house and put it in warm water and it seemed to like it. Next day they put it out for a bit in the garden and it moved about a little, next day out in the garden again and it was walking around and eating but a little slow on the move however the same morning they found an ex bat dead in the hen house. Next day they found one of the first hens dead (only about 6 months old( she had been sitting on the nest for a few days (they have no male). The first hen to be ill is doing OK, has anyone any idea's what it could be, they are going to see a vet on friday (only time he could see them). Apart from the one ex bat none of the others looked ill

Rosemary · « **Reply #1 on:** July 24, 2008, 07:51:53 pm »

Sorry to hear about your hens.

The only diagnoses I can find are based on the colour of the droppings - assuming the other symptoms were listlessness and head sunk into neck; white diarrohea maybe with blood - coccidiosis; yellow diarrohea - Blackhead; green diarrohea - worms.

I would be interested to hear what your vet's diagnosis is, and the recommended treatment.

Hope no more die,

Rosemary

Wildman · « **Reply #2 on:** July 24, 2008, 10:17:48 pm »

Thank you, I will let you know the out come

doganjo · « **Reply #3 on:** July 27, 2008, 03:04:17 pm »

I had ex batts before and lost quite a few of them. I was told that they pump them so full ofvitamins, andtibiotics, ands hormones to keep them helathy that it is cold turkey(no pun intended) when they come off everything and their systems only cope for a short time then they can keel over. However, that said, I don't know why the other hen died unless it was a bug that the ex batts couldn't handle and pssed it on?. I hope to have more ex batts soon so I'm hoping they'll be fine.
Annie

katrina4068 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 28, 2008, 09:21:54 am »

hi, we too have got ex battery hens and i have had one keel over from illness. oakey as she was called went from being friendly chicken, always up close, happy to be picked up, to one that any time you tried to grab hold of her she would run a mile. she started being the first one to go to bed, then one morning was collapsed on the coop floor. i lifted her out, she took a few steps then sort of fell over. i rushed her straight to the vets and he said she was painfully thin. surprising as she hadnt stopped eating (i know this form watchign her head constantly stuck in the food bowls) but not being able to get my hands on her for a good couple of weeks before there was no way to tell.
the vet gave her antibiotics and told me to keep her indooors for a couple of days, but she died in the night.

the vet also told me that due to the amount of rubbish they pump into them they can die just through their internal organs not being able to cope and that kidney failure in them wasnt uncommen. all that said i woudlnt expect this to affect the others.
please let us know what the vet says and i hope the rest of the brood are doign well.

Rosemary · « **Reply #5 on:** July 28, 2008, 11:37:02 am »

Just a question but do the rehoming agencies not warn you about this?

Wildman · « **Reply #6 on:** July 28, 2008, 10:25:45 pm »

Hi, yes they do say they can die just. The vet said the sick hen that they took for him to see had a growth and put her down, this maybe the same for the other exbat that died he said they get this a lot. The other hen may have got hot as she was sitting on the nest all day. He could not find anything to link the 2 exbats with her death so we got the green light and all is well.