[hazelize_uk]

Hi, All I hope someone can help and i'll try and keep it brief!

We had 15 Ex Batts at the beginning of March and they had been settling in wonderfully.  They all seemed happy other than the odd spat sorting out the pecking order, but when it came to food etc they were happy trying lots of new things as well as there pellets. They have plenty of room to free range, and are tucked up safe and sound at night.

Anyway on Friday one of the girls seemed off colour,she didnt seem to want to come out of the coop, so we let her stay in thinking she might just feel like some quiet.  :roll:  

By the afternoon she had wandered around a little so we fetched her out into the garden away from the others and tried to offer her  drink and some food. She made a feeble attempt at drinking and stuck her beak in the food not actually eating anything.  

She took just a few steps but kept 'falling asleep'.  she could barely keep her eyes open leaning her beak against the wall and literally nodding off unable to keep her eyes open.

by late afternoon we were more and worried so we used a pipette to try and get some water down her at least and put her in a cat box with straw so that she could rest without being bothered by any of the others.

Sadly Saturday morning she had passed away.  :cry:

Although we were obviously upset we told ourselves that she had had a very happy few months with us that she wouldnt have had otherwise.

Anyway this evening Beatrice another chook seems to be showing similar symptoms.  She didnt come in at bed time so we carried her in and she is usually one of the first up on the perches but tonight she has sat down in the corner with her head against the wall.  she is definately not herself and we really dont know what we can do.

in a nutshell has anyone got any ideas what could cause 'sleepiness' symptoms?

[poultrygeist]

Are their combs and wattles bright red, or as red as they were before ?

Any odd poo (usual question!)

Any gasping or wheezing at all ?

Rob

[hazelize_uk]

Havent noticed any odd poo but with 14 its hard to tell whos is whos!  her breathing seemed quite heavy i havent noticed her wattle looking different and its too dark to check but i will check first thing in the morning.  Ive been wrecking my brain thinking if they have eaten anything different and all i can think is they did have some wilted comfrey as we read it was good for them? could it have caused any ill effects?

[poultrygeist]

I've no idea hazel but there's a few things it could be and the more symptoms you spot the easier it is to narrow down.

Might be wise to isolate the poorly ones in case it's anything infectious if you can.

Hopefully someone with ex-bat experience will offer some advice.

Rob

[GrannieAnnie]

Ex batts do sometimes just die on you as they are so worn out by their stresssful lives, poor loves.

We got 75 year before last, within 1 year, 25 of them died and we were down to about 6 eggs a day, but saying that, I know someone else who had some of her ex batts for another 4 years!

[peggyprice]

Don't think it's likely to have been the comfrey, it certainly is recommended for chickens; have you checked for mites/worms?  There seem to be a lot of mite infestations around at the moment (prob 'cos of the warm, damp weather).  Could have been making your girls gradually more poorly, and would explain the 'spread' - as would a viral infection of course.

Fingers crossed for you.

[scott bell]

Hi sorry to hear you are having problems at the moment.  We have experienced the same problem with one of our chickens.  We had only had them a few days when one of them seems to have no energy would eat very little and drink very little to and would sleep all day.  She was like this for about a week only eating seed.  Someone suggested pouring a drop of olive oil down her throat and rub her chest to see if she was blocked from eating too much grass.  We did and the very next day she was back to life  Not sure if it was the olive oil or whether she had just recovered from a bug!!  But I guess it worth a try!  Hope she recovers soon