Just last night I noticed one of my leghorn hens was looking very droopy--she waddled around fluffed up and with her rear end dragging. At first I thought that maybe she had an egg stuck, as that's happened before. But since her feathers were all fluffed, I thought that she had caught a chill, so I put her under a light in a small cage. This morning she was dead with a lot of messy greenish feces on her vent feathers. Does anyone have an idea on this, or has it happen to you?

I can't tell you what killed your leghorn, but some diseases do work VERY fast. Your best bet as soon as you notice one acting weird (anything abnormal) is to separate it from the others IMMEDIATELY. Some diseases can spread thru a flock in days.

Do you use any sort of PREVENTIVE medicine? I've found that I have had MUCH fewer medical problems after I started dosing by flock with Terramycin for one or two days every two weeks. It's sold in feed stores in soluble powdered form in small 6.4 oz packet. Put one teaspoon per gallon in their drinking water. If you notice a problem, increase to two teasonns per gallon. I usually have 5 gallon galvanized waterers in the coop but I keep several one gallon plastic waterers just for medication. I remove the regular waterer every other weekend and use the plastic one and fill it as needed. Then on Monday I go back to the 5 gallon and clean water. You might also want to add a vitamin/electrolyte soluble solution to their water on alternating weekends.

Good luck.

Isn't that setting the virus or bacteria, or whatever it is, up to becoming immune? That's why I worry about giving the birds preventetive medication...

I lost two leghorns about a week apart at the same time. I chalk it up to the "Darwin effect." Some birds just can't hack the cold or other stress. Minimize the environmental problems for your birds, but sometimes this happens. Using antibiotics as preventatives is exactly why it is dangerous to eat an egg purchased at the store now. Salmonella is endemic in some of those big production flocks, which is why the "Egg Industry" has had to warn people to vulcanize their eggs before eating them. Use medicine when there is an indication that it is needed, and use the right one. My wife has a lot of recipes using raw eggs, and we don't intend to go without these because a couple of chickens get sick.

When a chicken dies, I always look to environmental problems first. Even if the cause is not enviromental, these problems often contribute to vulnerability to disease. Clean bedding, fresh air, and good feed and water are your best preventive measures. Your instincts are good. Good luck to you.

I'm worried about the long term effects of preventative medication - especially antibiotics. I'm no expert but I've heard & read quite a few reports recently about dangerous bacteria becoming resistant to most currently available medications. It may be a case of science racing nature to come up with new bullets against increasingly resistant microorganisms. The future seems uncertain, but I understand that caring owners want to do all they can for the health of their birds - catch 22 ....

Paul. I have raised pet and show bantams for 50+ years. I rarely use antibiotics, but do use medicated Start and Grow for my chicks and switch to unmedicated when feed bin gets low and the birds are nearing 4 months or so. They are on Start and Grow until after they are laying for a week or so, then 1/2 and 1/2 layer crumbles for a while, then all layer ration. Not only are antibiotics overused, they are totally ineffective for virus infections, but may be most useful for some bacterial infections, and a most often a waste of money and time. They probably should never be used without SURE diagnosis. It is difficult to diagnose poultry problems. Some, like coccidiosis are pretty sure, and where I live--far north, cold winters, many diseases, like pox, common in the south, are never seen. A guess is not good enough. Most individual sick birds will recover if separated, given some TLC, or will die no matter what you do. Autopsy is advised if you prefer to try to treat individual birds, so you may have an idea anyway, if another birds exhibits similar symnptoms. Whole flock illness requires experience to properly treat. Guesses and antibiotics are not good enough. Since few Vets have Poultry disease training, you are fortunate if you have such veterinary help. Cage bird specialists are a good substitute, but any other vet service is a pretty much a waste. They have access to a few more books, maybe, but if you have a good poultry disease book, you will do as well as the vet. . . a GUESS. If you talk to the Poultry Food and Drug suppliers, they will recommend what the huge poultry growers and producers do. For flock disease, eliminate the whole flock!!! This should tell us that treating poultry disease is not a sure science. The old time breeders will have some good solutions, probably as goodor better than most vets to date. Ei. I received some Silkie Bantam chicks from Florida, Some were dead in the box, others had infectious bronchitis (vet diagnosed by necropsy). He had no treatment. Dear old Mabel Weatherall said to smear Vicks vaporub from under the throat down the breast. (They work to clean their breast and so inhale the fumes). My vet sneered at the treatment, but the birds that recovered early, breathed easier and had no residual symptoms (were kept isolated and later given away as pets-and survived to reproduce!) But my Red Silkies died overnight and I was so insulted by the breeder of the chicks (the Blacks had White toes and were supposed to be Show breeding stock--the whites had no topknots) that I gave up Silkies entirely--after 20 years of loving them. Still admire them, but will not own them again! Antibiotics would not have helped. So better not to rush to treat with antibiotics for any "sickness" (a setting hen is often guessed to be sick by new poultry owners). IMHO only. CJR

CJR,
Thanks for your comprehensive reply. I agree with all your statements. It's a bit of a dilemma - but there should be a concern about the overuse of antibiotics. As you've said, such medication is useless against viral infection, & wholesale preventative use has been reportedly proven to foster resistant bacterial strains over a period of time.
This situation is being echoed in humans - some serious bacterial infections are becoming or are already resistant to virtually all currently available antibiotics. Scientists are trying to come up with new drugs & sometimes have to go back to very old drugs which, because they haven't been in use for many years, current bacteria have 'lost' their immunity to it! Sometimes a cocktail of drugs are needed to be effective. This has been attributed to wholesale overuse of these drugs; they are consumed like lollies for all sorts of ailments, often inappropriately.
Anyway, enough doom mongering, keep up the good work CJR (I also like your attitude to life - 'CJR.......' item in 'poultry health'). I'm a chook beginner & have learnt a few things from you already! Regards, Paul.

Just yesterday my brittney got ahold of one of my leghorns. her neck isn't broken but it is wounded and she is also suffering from a broken wing. We brought her in for warmth and just to isolate her from the others. What else should I be doing for her?

I had a similar problem. Brokebeak is a pet that has had a rough life. As a chick he broke his jaw. When the jaw healed he was sissor beaked. He had such a hard time that I doubted that he would make it through the winter. He did! One day I found him with his throat torn. It was bad enough that you could see about 2 inches of tracea. I kept him in over night. Cleaned it with antibacterial soap and left it open to the air. I put him out the next day. I thought for sure he would die of infection. He has more fight and will to live that any chicken I have ever seen. He has a scar on his neck where no feathers grow but other than that is fine. Unless the neck wound is really bad it should heal just fine. Watch for signs of infection. Try and keep it clean. Don't let the other chickens pick on her. I don't know much about broken wings. Maybe someone else has information. You might start a new posting under health to get your answer.