4 of our chooks have gone onto heaven :(

[carlsandclan]

This hasn't been a good time with our chooks. We lost Gabrielle to the dog last year (on the day of my grandfathers funeral, no less), then we lost Pixie suddenly a month ago. She just went to sleep and fell off her perch (not being funny, mind!) A week later, Annabelle got sick. I brought her in and nursed her, and she was doing well after a week, so back out she went. Then she got really sick. She couldn't walk at all. In she came again. Then Michelle got sick, too. Sadly, we lost Michelle last night. Then Annabelle passed away tonight. At least I did what I could, and they were comfortable and loved.

RIP
Gabrielle
Pixie
Michelle
Annabelle

We'll miss our girls. They were much loved chooks.

[megzly]

Sorry for your loss its so hard to lose a pet even if they are what most peole consider "farmyard pets" meaning they are disposable. We have chooks to and i know it is pretty easy to get attched to the girls

Just something you said about Annabelle, she may have sufferred from a common disease called Mareks. Basically tumors form on nerves. It is highly contagious and is usually picked up when the chickens are quite young but may not show till they are a bit older. It mainly affects the legs making it harder and harder for the bird to walk. It does lie dormant in soil so if you are thinking of getting more chooks it may pay to shift the pen location to be safe. Nothing can be done about mareks unfortunatley, there are vaccines but ussually they are only available to chicks from hatcheries.

It also may have been rickets which is a basic nutrient deficience affecting young birds making bones "rubbery" as such, rickets can be fixed but doesnt generally result in death if noticed early

Hopefully one day when you are ready you can welcome some more girls into your home *bug Hugs*

[Robyn]

Sorry Carls, Yep i can relate to that as well we also had chooks, Some mornings I'd go down to feed them & find one on the ground dead. This went on for some time every now & then another dead. Until one night i heard them making a racket & went out to check & a snake had one of the girls. It took off when i turned the light on. After about 30 minutes the darn chook recovered. The next day if hubby wouldn't make a safe place to lock them up at night they were given away. I just could not stand the poor girls meeting their maker like that, so they have been moved on to a safer home.

[carlsandclan]

I suspect Mareks, unfortunately. I suspect a couple of other things, like bacterial infections and worms, too. We do worm the girls, but because they eat so many earthworms, it's almost impossible to keep on top of it. And Coffs has had such wet, humid weather this last year (we flooded 6 times last year alone)
We have 3 left, who are younger girls, and I'm really really hoping that they will be OK. I've read that they can survive the disease, but become carriers, if they are fit, healthy and not stressed. The older girls who passed went off lay about 6 months ago - so that could have been part of the stress.
I've cleaned out their house etc, but because it's a permanent shed, I can't move it. I may see about getting a portable house for them. ARGH! If I could trust my dogs, I would bring the girls inside and put them in the laundry at night!
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping for the best. I'll keep the girls as fit and healthy as I possibly can in the meantime.


Some days I feel that the animal god just doesn't like me - with losing chooks, having a dog break her back, the other dog eating wild birds that I try to keep safe......but I guess everything happens for a reason.

Thanks for your thoughts! I appreciate it.

Carls

[madaussie]

i agree chooks are great .
j

[meandem]

I've always wanted chooks, so my heart bleeds for you. Not enough credit is given to chooks, they really do a lot of hard work and look good at the same time! I'm so sorry for your loss.

[vankarhi]

I lost some of my chooks a few years back in similar circumstances. I put it down to old age in some of them as most of them died were old and some I had no idea what their age was as they were given to me as adults........I put it down to possibly my putting onion skins in the bins.....then i read they shouldnt eat anything to do with onions...so no more onion skins and I have not lost a chook again......but I guess they are getting older again so I probably will start to lose some eventually.

As for dogs.......my staffy killed all of my young hens in 2 days. I was so angry with her I just lay on the couch as it was safer for the dog ......

I had lost all of my chooks (as I mentioned) and had only been left with one and she was a handraised one. She went clucky so I got her 6 day old chooks after she sat on her eggs for 4 weeks........we took her eggs out (no rooster so no chickens) and put the chickens under her about 9pm. She loved her babies for 10 weeks........until Summa killed them and she was alone again.......Summa didn't kill the mother surprisingly. Then I bought a couple of young hens and someone gave me a couple more hens and we have 8 girls again.

[avril]

Aspergillosis

Synonyms: brooder pneumonia, mycotic pneumonia, fungal pneumonia, Aspergillus . When the source of the disease is the hatchery, the disease is called brooder pneumonia. In older birds, the disease is called aspergillosis.
Species affected: All birds (domestic poultry, pigeons, canary and zoo bird species), animals, humans, and plants are susceptible.

Clinical signs: Aspergillosis occurs as an acute disease of young birds and a chronic disease in mature birds. Young birds have trouble breathing and gasp for air. Characteristically, there are no rales or respiratory sounds associated with aspergillosis. Feed consumption decreases. Occasionally there is paralysis or convulsions caused by the fungal toxin. Mortality in young birds averages 5-20 percent, but may be as high as 50 percent. Mature birds also have respiratory distress, reduced feed consumption, and may have a bluish and dark color of the skin (cyanosis). Nervous disorders, such as twisted necks, may occur in a few birds (see Table 1 ). Mortality in mature birds is usually less than 5 percent.

Transmission: Aspergillosis is caused by a fungus. The fungus grows well at room temperature and higher. All litter and nest materials (peat moss, peanut hulls, sawdust, peat, bark, straw) have been known to have been contaminated with aspergillus. Feed and water should be suspect when attempting to identify the source of contamination.

Treatment : There is no cure for infected birds. The spread can be controlled by improving ventilation, eliminating the source of the infection, and adding a fungistat (mycostatin, mold curb, sodium or calcium propionate, or gentian violet) to the feed and/or copper sulfate or acidified copper in the drinking water for 3 days. The litter can be sprayed lightly with an oil-base germicide to control dust and air movement of fungal spores.

Prevention: It is important to thoroughly clean and disinfect the brooding area between broods. Use only clean litter, preferably soft wood shavings. Do not use sawdust, litter high in bark content, or shavings that have been wet.

Viral Diseases (nonrespiratory) .

This is also a possibility.

[carlsandclan]

Thanks Avril. I did consider that, but it doesn't make sense with all the signs in the girls. Annabelle had the typical Mareks 'one leg forward, one leg back'. None of them showed any respiratory distress, either.

Our 3 remaining girls are doing great - they are each laying an egg a day, growing well, and very happy. We've always let our girls free range through the day - they have the run of a couple of paddocks (we live on 5 acres), then they get closed up at night.

Carls

[avril]

How Old were your girls Mareks usually hits betwwen 12 - 30 week old chooks.

Here is some more info for you

Marek's Disease

Also known as:
MD; Neuritis; Neurolymphomatosis; Range Paralysis (eye form; gray eye, iritis, ocular lymphomatosis, uveitis)

Symptoms:

The first indication of infection is a variation in the growth rate and degree of feathering.

In chicks over 3 weeks old:
Most commonly 12 to 30 weeks old
Growing thin while eating well (most common form)
Deaths starting at 8 to 10 weeks and persisting until 20 to 25 weeks

In mature birds (6 to 9 months old):
Enlarged reddish feather folicles or white bumps (tumors) on skin that scab over with a brown crust (skin form)
Stilted gait or lack of coordination
Swelling of the peripheral nerves, particularly of the nerves of the leg and wing, is often noticeable
Pale skin
Wing or leg paralysis (involves nerves)
When both legs are paralyzed, one points forward and the other points back under the body
Sometimes rapid weight loss
Gaping or gasping
Transient paralysis lasting 1 to 2 days (pseudo-botulism form)
Dehydration
Emaciation
Coma
Death, due to inability to get to food and water or trampling by other chickens
The visceral organs may contain tumors ranging from microscopic size to fairly large.
Such tumor lesions may be confused with those of lymphoid leukosis without a qualified laboratory diagnosis.


Marek’s symptoms feet first
· Limping
· Toe’s may be swollen or bent
· Unable to weight bear on the foot or leg
· No loss of appetite
· No visible pain
· Just loss of mobility
· Usually affects one leg, then a wing
· Then it affects both legs, one leg will be stretched out front and the other out the back of the bird (classic position)


In breeds with reddish bay eyes:
Cloudy, grayish
Dilated
Irregular pupil ('gray eye, involved optic nerve)
Distorted or blinded eye

In all ages:
Sudden death of apparent healthy birds

Treatment:
Most people say NONE; to cull the birds
Some tumors, particularly those of the feather follicles, clear up and the bird recovers on its own
But survivors are carriers of this disease for the rest of their lives

On page 2 of this thread is a Pro Biotic Approach to treating Marek's Disease, I have never used it so do not know if it works, it is up to the person reading to decide if they would like to try it

Tumor formation from Marek's disease can be prevented through vaccination.
Salsbury MD-Vac, a vaccine of chick-embryo tissue culture, is recommended.
Vaccination at one day of age usually protects birds through their lifetime.


******

These may be the first symptoms of Marek’s Disease, they usually show up in birds that are young, but this disease has attacked older birds also

Before jumping to the conclusion that this is Marek’s, it may be wise to look at the surroundings the bird is living in, it may just be an injury or sprain or twist

1. If you have high perches then she may have injured herself jumping down
2. If you have any sharp objects that she may have jumped onto to injure her foot
3. Have you checked her foot pad to see if any cuts or forign objects have gone into it
4. Have you checked the leg to see if she has sprained the joint or muscle
5. Isolate her into an area where she does not have to jump up onto any roost
6. Supply deep soft litter for her to stand on
7. Her toe may be broken
8. It may only be just twisted and be fine in a matter of hours
9. Feel for swelling…. Indicates injury
10. Feel for a hot spot….Indicates infection

[carlsandclan]

The girls were older (20 - 24 months) which is what has me confused. They had rapid weight loss, dehydration, lack of co-ordination, paralysis in wings (one wing at a time), paralysis in legs (one at a time - then at the end, one was pointed forward, the other backward.) emaciation. In the final couple of hours, they wouldn't eat or drink at all.

It was really Annabelle who showed symptoms for any length of time - Michelle showed some, but died very quickly, and Pixie we just found dead one morning.

I think they had been 'sick' for some time - all of them went off lay completely about 6 months ago, and I put it down to all the rain we had at the time.

The symptoms cross so many different diseases, so it is almost impossible to know without having had a necropsy done. *sigh*

Thanks for the info, Avril. Hopefully it will help others who have chooks. I kinda hate myself for not trying to do more, sooner.