Fowl cholera?

[Cinnabar45]

I've lost two hens in the past two months to something I'd never seen before. Disease descriptions are often spotty in books and even on the web, but here's what I saw: a bird who acted "depressed," not joining the others in foraging for treats but standing by herself, hunched posture, feathers ruffled as if cold. Not eating, but thirsty (in one case). The comb was discolored; grayish, not the bright red of a laying hen, with some dark spots. No swellings that I noticed (but I wasn't focused on this aspect).

One bird, when I isolated her, propped her head up on the feeder, as if she was needed to be held up. Neither lay down. Poops small, mainly brown and liquidy. Both hens died, and when we picked them up their breasts were wet and their bodies very light. Apparently they'd exuded or excreted a watery substance at the end.

This sounds like fowl cholera to me, but I'm not sure. Other ideas? Any experience in treating this, preferably not with conventional meds?

 

[nuthatched]

Age, diet? Crop feel? Any mucus?
Belly feel? Last time they laid?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've lost two hens in the past two months to something I'd never seen before. Disease descriptions are often spotty in books and even on the web, but here's what I saw: a bird who acted "depressed," not joining the others in foraging for treats but standing by herself, hunched posture, feathers ruffled as if cold. Not eating, but thirsty (in one case). The comb was discolored; grayish, not the bright red of a laying hen, with some dark spots. No swellings that I noticed (but I wasn't focused on this aspect).

One bird, when I isolated her, propped her head up on the feeder, as if she was needed to be held up. Neither lay down. Poops small, mainly brown and liquidy. Both hens died, and when we picked them up their breasts were wet and their bodies very light. Apparently they'd exuded or excreted a watery substance at the end.

This sounds like fowl cholera to me, but I'm not sure. Other ideas? Any experience in treating this, preferably not with conventional meds?

Sorry for your losses.
Sounds like it's time to seek professional care - if you lose another, getting a necropsy would be a good idea. You can find your State Lab in the link below.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Do you have photos of what the birds looked like?

Here's info on Fowl Cholera, have you looked up photos of birds with Cholera - any blackening and swelling of the wattles, respiratory symptoms like pneumonia, etc.?
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/fowl-cholera/fowl-cholera#:~:text=Fowl cholera is a contagious,it can also be asymptomatic.

I would make sure feed is fresh, not molded. Clean water stations and provide fresh clean water daily.
Make sure birds have Grit (Crushed Granite) and Oyster shell free choice, coop/housing is kept relatively clean, that the birds have ventilation in the coop and check for lice/mites.

Very hard to know what's going on - it can be something as common as reproductive problems, worms, crop dysfunction to a complex disease.

 

[Cinnabar45]

Sorry for your losses.
Sounds like it's time to seek professional care - if you lose another, getting a necropsy would be a good idea. You can find your State Lab in the link below.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Do you have photos of what the birds looked like?

Here's info on Fowl Cholera, have you looked up photos of birds with Cholera - any blackening and swelling of the wattles, respiratory symptoms like pneumonia, etc.?
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/fowl-cholera/fowl-cholera#:~:text=Fowl cholera is a contagious,it can also be asymptomatic.

I would make sure feed is fresh, not molded. Clean water stations and provide fresh clean water daily.
Make sure birds have Grit (Crushed Granite) and Oyster shell free choice, coop/housing is kept relatively clean, that the birds have ventilation in the coop and check for lice/mites.

Very hard to know what's going on - it can be something as common as reproductive problems, worms, crop dysfunction to a complex disease.

Thanks for the links on state labs. There isn't one in my state, and none of the private vets around here care for chickens. I did't take any photos but will if another falls ill.

There wasn't any swelling of the wattles or the face that I could detect; definitely no respiratory symptoms. That's why I'm not sure of the diagnosis. Sounds like fowl cholera in some ways but not in others. Some descriptions highlight respiratory problems, yet cholera seems to develop a septic process. (I'm a homeopath and these would lead to very different remedies.)

We feed organically and what the girls can forage, limited though that is right now. Sometimes they get added treats when the local organic grocery discards greens. Since we have over 30 birds, we go through feed quickly; it doesn't sit around and it definitely isn't moldy. Water is changed daily. They have grit and oyster shells. Parasites don't seem to be a problem: the girls are still going outside for their dust baths, though soon it will be time to put down a basin of sand and DE.

A friend and fellow chicken enthusiast recommended a strong infusion of oregano and cinnamon, mixed with raw honey and added to their water. Not as a treatment but as a prophylactic. I'm thinking of experimenting with that.

 

[Cinnabar45]

Age, diet? Crop feel? Any mucus?
Belly feel? Last time they laid?

My girls are now entering their fourth year. Feed is organic layer pellets, with nightly treats of organic scratch or sunflower seeds, foraged weeds, and occasional organic veggies, from our garden or the local market.

No mucus. Did not feel the crop or belly. No idea when these two last laid (we have over 30 birds). This has been a strong cohort of layers and almost all have the bright red combs of hens who are actively laying, though production is always down in winter.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

This sounds like fowl cholera to me, but I'm not sure.

More like a crop function issue.

sorry for your loss.