corney83 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 We've been keeping chickens/ducks for over a year now and until recentley have had no problems. We hatched out a duckling using a broody hen 10 weeks ago but unsure whether this has anything to do with it. Basically we did have 3 hens and one duckling, but about 4 weeks ago noticed our brown hen was becoming very lethargic but put it down to her maybe starting her moult (as the broody hen has been through recently), but on closer inspection realised she had a lice problem (put it down to her trimmed beak), she slowly deteriated until she died last w/end. This was despited fully cleaning out/disinfeting thier house and using diatoms/louse powder thoughout inc on the hens. We put it down to a mixture of lice and moult at the wrong time. That was until this morning when our white hen was found at under the pertches very weak and unable to stand, she is lice free but halfway through a moult, I am in the process of cleaning out and disinfecting thier house again and she is in our bath on top of newsaper just about holding on. I know they get lethargic but surly not this unwell during a moult? The other chicken and duck seem perfectly fine but worried it might spread to them. Any ideas what could be going on? Is it worth a trip to the vet to have any tests done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Hens can take asevere moult quite badly, but I've yet to hear of one dying from the moult. It does make them more susceptible to other diseases or problems though, so you'd best get the remaining hens to the vet. For advice on treating lice and mites, see this thread I hope that you get to the bottom of it and would be interested to hear what the problem is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 I would take the hen in the bath to the vet so they can see the symptoms How old are the hens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corney83 Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Unfortunatley was too late for the white hen just got back from work to find it hadn't made it. In talking to the vet he was suspecting worms - i had previously dismissed this as I was adding diatoms to thier feed but the Vet wasn't conviced these were strong enough as they are free ranging hens. All we can hope now is that the worming treatment (flubenvet) works for the remaining hen and duckling. Once they have recovered hopefully the black hen will go broody again so we can bump up the numbers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Your vet is right - Diatom can only be relied upon as a preventative at best - it has no medical back up for acting as a wormer. You're best to dose with Flubenvet 3 or 4 times a year to be safe. It's unusual for worms to kill a hen, but it can happen in extreme cases. May I suggest that you treat the soil in your run too - when you change the litter, sprinkle it with a mix of garden lime and a powdered disinfectant such as Stalosan or BioDri. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Sorry to hear your news. Keep us posted on progress with your other hen. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Not wanting to be insensitive, but could you (or someone else) do a DIY post mortem on your hen. If she died from worms, I imagine the infestation would be so bad that you'd find the evidence inside her. I'd recommend moving your chickens and resting the ground they're currently on too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
