Unsecure chicken perches

[Minnie&Moose]

Went to let the hens out this morning only to find that Masha, one of a pair of new hens, had died over night. She and Muppet have only been with us since the middle of last month, so were just coming to the end of their 'quarantine' phrase prior to beginning introductions to the 'thugs' in the cube. Masha seemed fine yesterday, appeared to have settled well, was the dominant bird of the new pair, and didn't have a mark on her. Neither bird appeared to eat much in the way of pellets but I put that down to being so young. I had wondered whether they should be on growers when I first got them (14/15 wks & pure breeds) but the breeder said they would be fine on layers pellets.

 

My dilemma is what to do with Muppet? I hadn't intended to introduce the new ones yet because both seemed very young and very small compared with the thugs - and given I have separate housing I didn't need to hurry things along. But now Muppet's on her own. Because I don't know why Masha died (no obvious signs of illness) I don't want to risk Muppet passing on something to the thugs; neither do I want to get her a friend until I know she's OK.

 

So, how long will she be OK on her own? And should I move her eglu a bit closer to the others' pen so that she can at least see and hear them? Currently she's about 100 feet away from the thugs. Any advice most welcome.

[Mollie333]

Sorry to hear about your loss..

 

Is there any possible way you could get a PM done at the vets, or even get the breeder to take a look at her? i know it sounds slightly sickening, but if it was a disease which will spread, then you need to keep Muppet on her own.

 

Have you checked the coop, and Muppet for any lice, mites ect?

Could it have been the stress of moving? Had they been wormed?

 

Depending on the individual bird, she should be fine for a few weeks..

 

I'd give Muppet a *-Basic Health Check-*

[Minnie&Moose]

Thanks for your response Mollie.

 

There are no signs currently of any obvious illness with Muppet, checked with the breeder and they report no problems with other birds in the same hatchings/groups (they had a good recommendation on here and I've no reason to suppose they're hiding anything). But Muppet is obviously unsettled - calling constantly and pacing the run. I've moved her so she gets a better view of the 'thugs' but is no closer to them. How long would people recommend I wait before either trying to get her a friend of similar age & size or put our top hen in with her (our top hen has always been most reasonable with newcomers and has intervened when lower ranked birds were very aggressive so I think she's the best one to try first)? I'd like to wait at least a few more days before I risk any cross infection but I don't want Muppet to be too miserable.

[meezers]

I'd be inclined to get her a new friend of the same age from the same breeder ( who incidentally, I think, could have offered you a refund, but may give you a discount if you buy another ? ) I'd guess if it's anything infectious , the remaining hen would have been exposed to it by now, and if you go to the same breeder, the new hen may also have been exposed to the illness, and won't be infected should the remaining hen be 'carrying' anything.

[Mr Rhode Island Red]

Sorry for your troubles

 

She should be fine on her own for a while, the same thing happened to me and she was fine on her own, but try to introduce her to your main flock once shes old enough

[Egluntyne]

I'd keep her on her own for a few days, to observe her, and the introduce her to a couple of similarly aged hens. Ideally quarantine them for a week to ensure that they don't bring anything nasty in. I suppose if you have enough accommodation you could get them now and quarantine them