Poorly chicken

[The Marshalls]

Hi All,

Well we've had a bit of a sad week. After having almost no problems in the 18 months since we got our 4 rescued hens, two have died this week, Shirley and Charlotte. Shirley had never really recovered as well as the others from her time in the battery farm, she always had a limp and hadn't grown all her feathers back, so it was no surprise she went first. Had been under the weather for about three days, and just kept going down hill.

Like I said, this wasn't too much of a surprise, but we've just been away for a couple of days and some friends were looking after the three girls. We had a text Saturday saying one appeared very unhappy and sore at the rear end. We thought an egg might have broken, which has happened before, and that by the time we returned, she'd be ok. Well unfortunately this wasn't the case. By the time we returned last night, they'd all gone to bed, and didn't have time this morning to check hr over. Anyway, when I got home this evening, she was pretty much flat out under a bush and hardly moving. I carefully picked her up and noticed her back end was really bloody, but crawling with maggots. She didn't last much longer, fortunately for her. I can't believe it though, as we always try to make sure they're clean and the Eglu is cleaned regularly as well. Having read around the forum, I've seen something called Flystrike, which sounds possibly like what she had. It was really awful and quite upsetting, but such a shock as it seems to have happened very quickly indeed.

I noticed last week that the Eglu seemed to be smelling quite badly, even though it had been cleaned only a couple of days before. Now I actually think it was Charlotte that was smelling, not the Eglu. It's just really awful and I feel really bad we didn't spot it sooner, though there was typically some bad timing with us being away.

It would be useful to know if there's anything else we can do, other than keeping bums exceptionally clean, to avoid this situation again?

Thanks

Chris

[Egluntyne]

Sorry to hear the news.

 

Cleanliness is the key. Empty the poo tray often and check and wash bottoms regularly.

 

Clean dry nesting material is a must.

 

A few drops of Citronella in the poo tray might deter too.

[The Marshalls]

Thanks.

How worried should we be about the other hens? Though it's possible Shirley had had the same condition, she was always up and down the 18 months we had her, and I don't think she showed the same symptoms as Charlotte.

My Wife has been putting hay in the nesting box of the Eglu for over a year, mainly to give Shirley a comfy bed, as this is where she always slept, but is this ok to do? Isn't it there for laying, rather than sleeping? When I cleaned it out last night, there was no sign of maggots.

The girls used to always sleep in the same formation, Shirley in the box, Charlotte and Cerys perched on the edge behind her, then Katherine stuffed in behind them. They rarely slept on the other side.

Chris

[Steph101]

Sorry to hear your news. Sounds very distressing.

I don't think you're meant to use hay; it can cause respiratory problems (?). Correct me if I'm wrong... I use barley straw; before that, shredded paper. Diatom in their dustbaths is a good thing. Every few weeks, I wash my hen's bottoms in warm, tea tree shower gel, in a washing up bowl, and give their legs and feet a good soak too. I then massage a bit of vaseline into their legs and feet with a bit of eucalyptus oil in it, after gently drying them off with a bath towel. (Their own, I hasten to add!). Then I dust them over with red mite powder (smells lovely, of tea tree and lavender) and diatom earth. Once they are tame, they seem to appreciate the pamering! (I have to admit, though, the gingers are more docile and easier to do than the feisty black rocks!). I've carried out this procedure if they've got muddy feet, looked under the weather, or suspected they might be egg bound... it seems to perk them up no end!

[The Marshalls]

Thanks,

That all sounds like very good advice indeed. The two we have left are unfortunately the least tame of the 4, but we'll give it a go and see how we get on. I think the shredded paper sounds like a good idea as well.

 

Thanks

Chris