C'mon chicken experts! What's wrong with my flock??

[i_am2bz]

Thanks again, BB. Well, Morning update...

After taking a sleeping pill last night & still laying there wide awake (after having a good cry), I got out of bed at 9:30, went out to the shed (in my PJs, mind you), found an empty dog crate, stuffed it with straw, then went got my little zombie chicken. I brought her into my home office, where I'm keeping Miss Lame. (With DH standing on the deck watching me like I'm a crazy person.) That made me feel MUCH better, because it was supposed to be about 30* this morning, & I couldn't stand the thought of her just standing there all night in the cold. By the time I got her settled, she was actually SITTING. Yay!

This morning she looks more alert, & pecked at a little food & water. Miss Lame is giving me the stink eye, like she's mad at me. The two left in the coop seemed okay this morning.

I tried to do a lot reading about Marek's last night (most was not written for laymen, unfortunately), I know it's highly contagious, but if I've quarantined the 2 sick(est), is it actually possible for the other 2 to stay healthy?

And how exactly does one disinfect a wooden structure with a pen with a dirt floor? The prospect seems almost impossible...

 

[justusnak]

Every spring....when I do the "big cleaning" I use Lime. Sprinkle it on the floor...and then put some in a bucket with water, and make a whitewash....for the walls and roost. I will put a little in the nest boxes as well...before adding clean bedding. I have used lime white wash for years in the barn, keeps the smell down and helps disinfect. I sure hope its NOT Meriks...and just spring fever. Good luck with your 2 little hens....I hope they recover quickly.

 

[i_am2bz]

Every spring....when I do the "big cleaning" I use Lime. Sprinkle it on the floor...and then put some in a bucket with water, and make a whitewash....for the walls and roost. I will put a little in the nest boxes as well...before adding clean bedding. I have used lime white wash for years in the barn, keeps the smell down and helps disinfect. I sure hope its NOT Meriks...and just spring fever. Good luck with your 2 little hens....I hope they recover quickly.

Hmmmm. Lime; I can get that in the garden section, right? Any particular concentration? I'm soaking one of the waterers in bleach/water (after scrubbing it), then will make my way thru the other waterers, food bowl, nesting boxes (I use plastic litter boxes inside the cubbies), anything else I can find like that. After I shovel out the litter (guess I'll have to keep the other 2 in the tractor for the day), I'll scrub the floor in there, we put in vinyl over the wood. White-washing...whew, not sure I'll be able to get it all done today.

 

[justusnak]

The lime I get is AG Lime...I get it at the feed store. I use it all over the farm here....hog pens...animal houseing...leach bed(septic)...Im not sure the concentration. Sounds like you have a big job ahead of you...dont over do it!! Take breaks...when you need them. This time if year, we get antsy to be outside, and tend to over do it, and get sick.

 

[MsPony]

*huge hugs* good luck! I'm sorry it got this serious

 

[i_am2bz]

The lime I get is AG Lime...I get it at the feed store. I use it all over the farm here....hog pens...animal houseing...leach bed(septic)...Im not sure the concentration. Sounds like you have a big job ahead of you...dont over do it!! Take breaks...when you need them. This time if year, we get antsy to be outside, and tend to over do it, and get sick.

Thanks justusnak...I actually feel better now that I have "a plan", as horrendous as it sounds.

So, just so I understand, you just sprinkle the lime over the ground? It doesn't hurt the chickens when they go back in?

Also, has anyone ever sprayed bleach/water on the walls in their coop? Just thinking it would be easier than painting with white-wash.

 

[i_am2bz]

*huge hugs* good luck! I'm sorry it got this serious

Thanks, MP. You & me both. I guess if I learn something from it all, it'll be worth it. I'm "cautiously optimistic" that the 2 sickest ones seem a little better today, & cleaning everything thoroughly can't hurt anything, right?

 

[i_am2bz]

One of my girls has passed.

She was one of the "healthy" ones; I had her in the tractor while we cleaned out the coop. She was fine when I left for TSC, when I came back she was dead (within 2 hours).

This does not look good for the others. I'm suspecting it must be Mareks to happen so suddenly. Please say a prayer for my girl.

 

[Marianne]

So sorry to read about your girls..can you give us an update?

I had one that started limping, then couldn't even walk. Since it was nice outside, I'd put her in a wire 'cage' that we fashioned, clipped a towel over for a bit of shade and kept checking. I put her in a cage inside the coop at night.
I did the same thing, feeding cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, everything that you tried. Even washed her feathered fanny a few times as she had the runny poo's. It took a couple weeks or so, but one day she was standing up. She continued to improve to the point of being just fine again.

She was the only one that ever had those symptoms. I was heartbroken a few weeks later when she was a casualty from a racoon attack.

Let us know what all has happened, if you can.