Dead Chickens

[wecelli]

Aloha everyone, last week three of my chickens died. I watched the news tonight and saw that chickens are dying on Kauai. Anyone here on Punaweb lost multiple chickens in the last few weeks? Thanks for any info provided.

[terracore]

Sounds like coccidia (coccidiosis). All birds have an amazing ability to conceal illness until its almost too late. The parasite occurs naturally here and they were probably infected through a wildlife vector. If you catch them when they are ill they can usually be treated with medicated feed.

For a sure diagnosis, the state AG lab in Hilo will facilitate a necropsy on poultry for free. Generally they want the bodies refrigerated (never frozen) as soon after death as possible.

[DoryGray]

My neighbor & I (HPP) both lost multiple chickens a couple months ago. No clue why. I called Dept of AG & they said call back if any more die for a necropsy. We haven't lost any more BUT some were very sick & we found an infestation of mites in their nesting boxes. We treated that & chickens are healthy again.

[wecelli]

quote:

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Originally posted by wecelli

Aloha everyone, last week three of my chickens died. I watched the news tonight and saw that chickens are dying on Kauai. Anyone here on Punaweb lost multiple chickens in the last few weeks? Thanks for any info provided.

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9/24/2015 Another dead chicken, now 4 dead in last week.

[wecelli]

quote:

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Originally posted by wecelli

quote:

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Originally posted by wecelli

Aloha everyone, last week three of my chickens died. I watched the news tonight and saw that chickens are dying on Kauai. Anyone here on Punaweb lost multiple chickens in the last few weeks? Thanks for any info provided.

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9/24/2015 Another dead chicken, now 4 dead in last week.

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Mowing lawn 9/24/2015 just found 3 more total dead 7 chickens.

[DoryGray]

Call Kim Kayuna Dept of Ag. 933-3307, 974-6503 to report this.

[wecelli]

quote:

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Originally posted by DoryGray

Call Kim Kayuna Dept of Ag. 933-3307, 974-6503 to report this.

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Thank you, just left message for Dr. Kayuna.

[terracore]

Somebody mentioned bird mites. If they are bad enough they can actually kill your birds. Usually when the mites are that bad you may also find that you're getting bit by something unknown yourself. The mites are really small and you need good vision to see them. Organic growers use diatomaceous earth (throw it on the bird and in their nest boxes) with about a 50% success rate so long as it's kept dry. Non-organic growers use Sevin dust with a near 100% success rate.

The state AG people can probably tell you what is killing your birds but you may lose more (or all) of your flock before then (it can take a week to 10 days) if you're not proactive. Medicated feed and sevin dust aren't going to harm your birds but both are cheap and might save them. Your description of what's happening is a crisis situation and good animal husbandry typically means throwing every possible solution at the problem when the alternative is that your entire flock dies. Both coccidia and bird mites have natural vectors here. Neither you nor your chickens did anything wrong if they have either but without treatment survival rates could be very low.

Other than the state AG lab and Punaweb armchair vet advice your other option is to take a dead and sick animal to a vet. If you go this route make sure you go to a vet that generally only sees livestock. Your average dog/cat vet probably knows less about diagnosing and treating these things than a rancher or farmer. This is not an opinion I have formed, it is something I have heard from dog/cat vets in more than one state.

[terracore]

Forgot to ask if you checked the birds for injuries (they are easily covered by feathers). A family of mongoose moving into the area can decimate a flock in no time. In my experience they eat eggs and chicks but will kill adult chickens without eating them for absolutely no reason. Cats and dogs can do the same thing and to a smaller degree so can hawks.

ETA: dogs and hawks

[lquade]

agreed it has been a very bad year for mites. almost lost a bird, sometimes they get very thin without you realizing it unless you pick them up. her weight was down to a few ounces i think. went through the feathers and being eaten alive. daily DE dust baths and she is slowly coming back to her normal weight. i filled a cat litter box with DE also so they can dust themselves and did their roost and nests also..