Chicken died today, should we have a pm?

[hellymelly]

Much loved pet chicken had to be pts today ( v esp as we lost our dog at Easter). She had a respiratory problem that had been going on for a long time, the vet thinks it was microplasma, I am wondering if it could have been aspergillosis, am not sure of the difference between the two, but want to make sure that it was nothing in her environment that might have led to it, as we have one other and so will need to get her a new mate. The other chicken has always been well ( she is 2, as was the other). The vet asked DH if he wanted a pm done on the Chicken, as sometimes people keeping large flocks like to know what was going on. As we only have two she thought there wouldn't be much point, as we know it would show massive lung inflammation etc.
should we have it done after all? I just don't want to put any new bird at risk and am worrying we might have done or not done something to contribute to her death. Vet says she would have had it when we bought her probably, but I'm worrying!

I did put that into paragraphs, but somehow they have been lost, sorry!

bumping

Am bumping again as we will need to bury her in the morning if not going for a post-mortem.

Haven't really got anything much to say except - very sorry for loss of your chicken.

We've got 4, and we've had them 6 months. They really are great characters and I know I'd miss them if they were gone. You must be feeling very sad.

I don't think I'd have a PM as it sounds like 'one of those things' you couldn't have changed.

I hope your new chook when you get her will settle in ok.

Sorry not to be of much help, but wanted you to have a reply.

Sorry to hear that Helly Aspergillosis usually kills quickly so Myco sounds more likely (particularly if there was a smell) but it could be a number of respiratory diseases. If if was transmittable, then it will have been transmitted by now so I'm not sure that a PM would be helpful. I occasionally have them done if I have several birds die without an obvious cause or if the droppings sample is inconclusive.

All I would do is make sure your husbandry is good - fresh water and appropriate food, dry bedding, regular worming etc

oh thanks Friday. My big worry is if it was actually aspergillosis then it could be down to their bedding (I use wood shavings). And I'm not sure if I need to try and completely disinfect the house. We do scrub it down but only on days when it can properly dry out, not in this rain! I think we need a new one asap as the singleton will be getting stressed.

MissBee I must have cross posted with you. How does myco smell? She did have a dirty looking vent. Her comb was purple, and in spite of the last chance antibiotic which would have meant we couldn't eat her eggs again, ever (or the other one's as we can't tell them apart) she took a turn for the worst some time in the night as she looked terrible this morning, head right back, eyes closed, struggling to breath. She'd been gaspy for a while, and last year had a bad wheezy patch but improved on anti-bs. She saw the vet last week and again yesterday when the first lot hadn't improved her much, then she was given the heavy duty one and steroids, but in spite of eating mealworms last thing yesterday and looking unwell but still greedy, she got so much worse that death was inevitable and so putting her to sleep was the only way forward. Poor chicky. Very pretty wyandotte bantam.

With Myco their nostils have a foul smell but some of these respiratory diseases look very similiar to each other. ABs just suppress Myco - not cure it so if it keeps on coming back

I didn't notice any smell, other than a chickeny sort of one. She didn't have any nasal discharge or anything from the eyes. I am very confused now as I've been reading up online and it says that it is very contagious and that exposed birds that are symptom free remain carriers for life. It also mentions discharges etc. Our vet said it was myco because there was no discharge, and that she couldn't transfer it to our other chicken. Or to us come to that- so now I am not sure what to believe and am quite worried as I don't want our other chicken to be all alone, she might live another 18 years! And we have been eating her eggs too, is that risky? (she hasn't laid for a while though I don't think, but can't be sure )

I've had chickens die of mycoplasma and they never had a purple comb. Purple comb suggests heart problems normally.

All my chickens have had mycoplasma, it's very contagious and it goes through the flock like wildfire. There's not really any mistaking it, sneezing, snotty beak discharge when they sneeze, rattly chest, open beak breathing when they get bad and bubbly eyes. My girls that survived are now all carriers and will be prone to further outbreaks.

And you can still eat the eggs, it's not risky even if your hen is a carrier.

It is a worry about introducing more hens if you have a carrier. Personally if I had only one hen left who I thought was a carrier I'd have her pts and start again. Saying that you could buy new ones who bring it with them or catch it from wild birds.

But it doesn't sound like mycoplasma to me.

It definately sounds like mycoplasma to me. My chickens have had it too. Has your henhouse got good ventilation as this can be a cause of mycoplasma? If you can register with a poultry vet then they can prescribe you antibiotics to make your chickens better. It is given via the water and needs to be replaced every 24hrs. We were adviced to give this medication to our chickens every other week for a month and then leave a couple of weeks then give them more. Eventually they will build antibodies to the mycoplasma and will live quite happily. Our hens are all free from mycoplasma now and are happy and healthy. Forgot to mention that eggs can still be eaten whilst on the medication but not the bird itself (not that i would eat any of my hens). If your hens do have mycoplasma then its best to get them treated as its a horrible painful death for them.

Oh dear am really stuck now,I don't know what to do. DH buried the chicken the night I was posting, so we didn't get the PM done. The farmer we bought the chicken from said he didn't think it sounded all that like myco as she didn't have any discharge etc. but his wife siad it can be hard to tell between respiratory things . She said yes, that we could be putting a new bird at risk, but also that our birdy would be unhappy alone and her advice would be to risk a companion and see how we go, especially as the living chicken is very healthy. (she is a lovely person, she wouldn't be saying that just to flog a chicken). Having read above I am not so sure. Really couldn't bear to have Dotty pts. She is robustly healthy, clever, gorgeous, and the much loved pet of my four year old, it would upset the children so much if we had her put down when she is well.
Our house is well ventilated I would say, we did have the medicine you mention Boothie, but she still got worse, was gaping when she got at all puffed out (walking down steps etc) and her comb would go blue if she exerted herself at all. Will our other one be carrying it for sure? How should I clean the house and ground to try and avoid giving it to a new bird if we do get one?

Boothie did yours not have any sticky discharge either?

Ours didnt have any discharge coming from their noses but were sneezing a lot, rasping and gaping. Maybe you got a diagnosis to late for the chicken that you lost. Dont let it put you off getting more. If you did decide to cull your remaining chicken (although if it was me then i wouldnt for the same reason you mentioned above) then you would have to leave your coop chicken free for two weeks before you restocked. Just put it down to trial and error. Make sure you have good husbandry, feed them well and try not to change their daily routine too much as this can also cause mycoplama to surface. Chickens are creatures of habit and tiny changes can cause stress which then leads to mycoplasma.

since our first three free-rangers got eaten by the fox, we have had the two bantams and kept them in a run unless we are in the garden, when we let them potter about. Their routine hasn't changed, the only thing we did differently was bring the sick chicken inside to our conservatory/lean to at night as the vet said we should over the coule of nights before she was pts. (she was worst in the mornings, reluctant to come out, and the vet thought the cold might be affecting her). She wasn't sneezing at all, just gaping, which she's done for the last year, sometimes more than at other times.She was clearly having problems breathing well. After the steroids her comb brightened slightly but then she deteriorated. She has been back and forth to the vet and had antibiotics on several occasions. DH did think the other chicken was sneezing a little bit earlier this week but I didn't see her and she looks bright as a button as she always does.

Forgot to say that she hadn't laid at all this spring I don't think (hard to tell but my feeling is that the other one was the only one laying, as we have one egg every other day) But then we think she did lay a soft shelled egg, and the vet said that happens with myco -does that sound right? Am really regretting not having the post mortem now. I decided to have it, went to tell DH, and he said "I've just buried her".So that was that.

Just in case I am doing something wrong- they have layers pellet (organic) and oystershell grit, plus treats like mealworms or leftovers (toast, grated cheese, pasta, that sort of thing). They also foraged in the garden, and I do have bird feeders up so they are in contact with wild birds (they would eat spilled seed under the feeder). They have wood shavings for bedding, but no straw as they just removed it all in disgust from the nest boxes.They slept together in a nest box rather than perching,I don't know why. The house they have is generous for two bantams and is wooden, painted inside and out with non-toxic paint. www.oakdene-coops.co.uk in the gallery pics, it is the Surrey coop or very similar.

Hi Helly. I don't know about either of the conditions you mention, but we did have our hen pm'd this time last year, as she was the 2nd one to die in a month. In our case, the vet offered to do it free of charge, as she could feel nodules and wondered if it was TB, and for her own interest was keen to do PM. If it was TB we would not have restocked (we only keep 3) and would have had to do deep cleaning/airing for ages. Turned out it was egg yolk peritonitis, very infected. Probably what did for the first one too, distinctive waddle I realised with hindsight. I think this is a particular problem in spring, as they come back into lay, if they've stopped over winter, and mine were exbats, so quite prolific layers. The ones that died had not started relaying, so don't know if this is possibly what happened with yours? Mine were 2 years old at this point. But they didn't have the discharge you mention, so probably not the same thing.

I was told you shouldn't bury hens... think it's because they are farm animals rather than pets, but not sure... as in it's not legal to bury (though our petsitter buried the first, and we've left it). Should dispose of in wheelie bin or take to vet for disposal. And if they did die of something like TB then you don't want them buried in your garden as the others will still be exposed.

Our remaining exbat was lonely, so we got 2 millefleur pekin bantams, who're gorgeous but nowhere near as good at laying, every other day at best, had a 6 month winter break, and go broody at the drop of a hat.... won't be doing bantams again! But the exbat enjoys having them to trail round after her (and she didn't take a winter break).

It doesn't sound like you've done anything that might have caused it - it's probably just one of those things. I do wonder if there was something going on with her heart though - possibly in combination with something else - a purple comb indicates poor circulation, and breathlessness is often a sign of heart problems too.

With regards to your feeding regime, don't be fooled into believing that the fancier / more expensive feed will be better for them. I had mine on Allen & Page Smallerholder Layers Pellets for a few years, before switching to BOCM Paul's Farmgate Layers Pellets. The eggs improved, both in quantity and in quality (particularly the hardness of the shell), despite the feed being cheaper (and the packaging less nice!). Treats should be just that - fed in moderation (think about how big their crops feel when they're full late at night - there's not a huge amount of space there) and in the late afternoon, so that they have already filled up on the nutritious food.

The reason why they are sleeping in the nestboxes is probably due to the height difference between the perches and the nestboxes not being that big. Chickens tend to go for the highest place, as that's where they feel safest, but (bloody minded animals that they are!) sometimes they can decide that the height difference isn't worth bothering with when it's a matter of a few centimetres. However, it doesn't look like there would be enough space to alter that fact within your current coop, so it may just be one of those things that you learn to live with, with the downside that the eggs are more likely to be dirtied.

With regards to burying them, strictly speaking it is illegal to bury them in your garden. You're meant to have a subscription to DEFRA's service, IIRC, and then pay extra every time you call them out to dispose of a dead animal. There is an exemption for pet animals, but poultry is specifically excluded from that animalhealth.defra.gov.uk/managing-disease/animalbyproducts/fallen-stock-faq.htm Meanwhile, back in the real world . . .

Hello helly, after reading your post i cant think of anything that you have done wrong. Maybe you was just sold a poorly chicken to begin with and nothing you did could have changed the outcome. Our chickens were given tylan antibiotics. The only difference is that we were told that chickens will definately not lay eggs whilst they have mycoplasma so am wondering if yours had something else after all.

well she only layed the once this Spring, and it may not have been her egg, she might not have laid at all. DH did ask the vet if it was ok to bury her and she said yes, had no idea it wasn't legal.
Boomting thanks for the info about feed and perching. I don't give lots of treats or scraps, just little things now and again.
We went to look at possible other chickens today, the breeder has some pekins, a silkie, and some wyandottes , if we want to get a bantam. The other breeds she often has are all tiny chicks (saw two very sweet Poland chicks, with tiny pom poms just beginning).They won't be ready to go until the Summer, and she felt that our chicken would possibly bully a very young one, and that it would be better to get one of the others who are coming up to a year old. The one wyandotte I liked she felt looked less perky than it should and so didn't want us to take that one. I'm not sure I want a Pekin, maybe a silkie? She is black. Are they tricky? We've had the hens for two years now but are still learning about them, and I do worry about getting something wrong, so am appreciating all your help and advice, thankyou all posters.