Lukers
Chirping
Hey everyone, I need some help, I have been having some issues in my flock. So, I've had chickens die, like a lot, and I just dissected one, and her intestines looked fine on the outside, but, she was skinny as a fence rail, sick for several weeks, and just overall dumpy and not normal. That's how they all go, just fine as can be, then rapid onset, extreme weight loss, and then they just sleep on the ground one night and die. I didn't notice anything indicative of Marek's disease, no little white tumors on the guts, and no paralysis and no eye troubles. I do sometimes notice red, watery or otherwise off-colored droppings, and the affected birds still eat and drink, but not very much at all. The hen I just opened up had nothing wrong with her liver, though the lungs and kidney had blood clots nearby, but that was likely just blood pooling, not anything related to the disease. Unless it is, and I don't know. Some chickens get diarrhea stuck to their feathers, and others are as clean as can be, and it affects chickens anywhere between 1 and 8 months old. Do I have a very aggressive strain of coccidia? I've tried corrid, and I've cleaned the pens out and bleached all the feeders, waterers, roosts and such. What should I do? It seems like birds I get from the feed store just all die, and those I get from friends as eggs that hatch and grow up here on the property do alright, though some do die from it too, as do some from my own birds that hatch out, but those all do better than hatchery birds. Also, my old hens that I have had since before the disease issue are right as rain, and it's a toss up to weather if a hen that I bring on as an adult gets it or not, some do, some don't. While some month old pullets will get it, it often happens around the point of lay, and cockerels get it too, right around when they start to crow, and if they're home hatched, again, some get it, some don't. So, what do I do? Also, I was wanting to get a RJF cockerel from someone near me (He's @Az OEGB on here, by the way, in case he sees this, I am going to tell him personally too) , but I don't know if he'll get it. I don't want to risk his life, but I also want to see if he can come here and remain healthy and possibly breed him to healthy hens to see if he stays good and possibly breed for better chickens.
Also, I have a little home hatched pullet that has some sort of swelling on the roof of her mouth, and she's a bit lean, and I really like her and want to save her, so what do I do there? It has some puss-like stuff on it. Do I do a daily Iodine swab, to see if it gets better, or what. I don't think that it's a canker, as 1). it on the roof of the mouth, not the bottom, as have been all the pictures of canker I've seen. 2). It doesn't stink.3). there is no affect to the outside of her beak, like no sores or cracking or redness except for in the mouth. What do you figure that could be, and is it recoverable, or is she an unfortunate cull? I'd really hate to if I can avoid it, especially if it's just an injury, or something of the like.
Also, I have a little home hatched pullet that has some sort of swelling on the roof of her mouth, and she's a bit lean, and I really like her and want to save her, so what do I do there? It has some puss-like stuff on it. Do I do a daily Iodine swab, to see if it gets better, or what. I don't think that it's a canker, as 1). it on the roof of the mouth, not the bottom, as have been all the pictures of canker I've seen. 2). It doesn't stink.3). there is no affect to the outside of her beak, like no sores or cracking or redness except for in the mouth. What do you figure that could be, and is it recoverable, or is she an unfortunate cull? I'd really hate to if I can avoid it, especially if it's just an injury, or something of the like.
