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Keeping hens

trauma boy

Hi, new to boards I was wondering if I could get advice from people who keep hens. I am a novice with hen keeping and purchased 3 two months ago. All going well until today my lovely Rhode Island Red who has being laying regularly was found in distress,lying on the ground eyes closed and difficulty with breathing the only mark on her was a small blood spot behind her ear.. She was clearly distressed and in discomfort. A neighbour did the honourable thing and put her out of her misery humanely. My question is what could be the most likely cause of this. There was no evidence of attack or no feathers or blood besides the small spot. The hens are kept free range on half an acre and well minded.. Could it be an animal? Or a bird or simply the heat. I want to keep hens and am trying to identify the most obvious risks. thanks again

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Rips

If it was an animal it seems like it was something opportunistic (not leaving any trace)

Hawks will take smaller hens, but a Rhode Island would seem a bit large? Unless its an immature hen?

However my friend who keeps hens was telling me recently about a pair of prey birds who have been released in her area (I can't remember now what she called them, big enough to take a lamb anyway)

Edit: They were Red Kites, someone else on boards has spotted them

gozunda

Unfortunately chicken are prone to wide range of diseases and conditions. Without some more definitive information it is hard to give a proper diagnosis tbh.

Watch the rest of the flock for any signs and get a good guide on flock care or use many of the online fowl forums which can be quite useful.

Any noticeable wound where the blood was?

The raptor theory is very far fetched imo.

Birdnuts

Rips wrote: »

If it was an animal it seems like it was something opportunistic (not leaving any trace)

Hawks will take smaller hens, but a Rhode Island would seem a bit large? Unless its an immature hen?

However my friend who keeps hens was telling me recently about a pair of prey birds who have been released in her area (I can't remember now what she called them, big enough to take a lamb anyway)

Edit: They were Red Kites, someone else on boards has spotted them

Red Kites though appearing large weigh barely 2 pounds and are no threat to lambs. They are mainly scavangers and are also very much the farmers friends taking vermin like rodents, small rabbits and young crows depending on the season. It is very unlikely any type of BOP attacked that hen in any case given the details from the OP.

Rips

Birdnuts wrote: »

Red Kites though appearing large weigh barely 2 pounds and are no threat to lambs. They are mainly scavangers and are also very much the farmers friends taking vermin like rodents, small rabbits and young crows. It is very unlikely any type of BOP attacked that hen in any case given the details from the OP.

Yes, impossible to know what happened to the OP's hens, but he/she asked about potential and obvious risks? And I know plenty of people who have lost smaller hens to hawks. (Not specifically Red Kites)

Birdnuts

Rips wrote: »

Yes, impossible to know what happened to the OP's hens, but he/she asked about potential and obvious risks? And I know plenty of people who have lost smaller hens to hawks. (Not specifically Red Kites)

Sure you can loose a small hen to a hawk - but I'd consider that threat well down the list compared to the likes of mink,fox, feral cats etc. To answer the OP's question I reckon that in the absence of any notable injury or feather loss the hen probably succumbed to any number of poultry diseases which are particulary prevalent in this type of hot/humid weather

trauma boy

Thanks for the suggestions. She was 6 months old very healthy and active. She was the boss of the other two a light Sussex and blackrock. Could a disease have killed her that quickly? An hour before she was perfect. The blood spot was small it could have equally been caused by her pecking around the shrubs and fence. If she was attacked would there have been more of a mess?? I do appreciate the help I would like to try and avoid the same faith for the other two.. One last question if I get another one or two to add to the hens I have will there be aggression? Thanks again

loveisdivine

Perhaps it would have been better to have her seen by a vet before making the decision to euthanise. Do you still have the body, perhaps the vets could check it over for anything you may have missed or signs of disease?

trauma boy

I appreciate the suggestion and the decision to euthanise was not made easy she was to distressed and gasping for breath. I don't have the body for a vet to inspect.

dogluver

I trauma boy,

I keep hens and have had a few die on me too. Do you know if any of the other hens were having a peck at her? or it could have been a rodent that may have had a go. Its difficult to say. A combination of that and the heat may have stressed her. I think if you had separated her and cooled her down she might have recovered. Just keep any eye on the rest of your flock and see if they are getting too warm. Make sure they have plenty of water as they drink a lot normally. In this heat they will drink lots more.

Its horrible to see any hen ill. I have joined different chicken forums and they are brilliant for advice. The Poultry pages on facebook is brilliant and I get all my info on there.

Where are you based? if you do want anymore hens I think there is a big rescue in October in Kildare. About 7,000 ex bats are to be rescued in need of good homes. Ex bats are fabulous and are so friendly

trauma boy

Thanks dogluver
We are based in co limerick. I was thinking initially the heat but there are plenty of shaded areas on the site and plenty of fresh water. She was like this over two hours and it was very hard to watch her so distressed. I will check out those sites you mentioned and keep an eye for vermin.. I do appreciate the advice.
Thanks again

Kevhog1988

dogluver wrote: »

I trauma boy,

I keep hens and have had a few die on me too. Do you know if any of the other hens were having a peck at her? or it could have been a rodent that may have had a go. Its difficult to say. A combination of that and the heat may have stressed her. I think if you had separated her and cooled her down she might have recovered. Just keep any eye on the rest of your flock and see if they are getting too warm. Make sure they have plenty of water as they drink a lot normally. In this heat they will drink lots more.

Its horrible to see any hen ill. I have joined different chicken forums and they are brilliant for advice. The Poultry pages on facebook is brilliant and I get all my info on there.

Where are you based? if you do want anymore hens I think there is a big rescue in October in Kildare. About 7,000 ex bats are to be rescued in need of good homes. Ex bats are fabulous and are so friendly

hi could you pm me details??

sadie06

Hi,

I used to keep hens. and we lost a couple for unexplainable reasons, and yes, it was that fast. Both were young hens (one a common brown hen, and one a Plymouth Rock) and both were laying well, and extremely well looked after.

Our Plymouth Rock went first, and we vowed to steer clear of the fancy breeds from then on. She was always very highly strung, but one day, she just wouldn't leave the coop, and we immediately thought she was broody, but she then died overnight.

Our brown hen just sat down one day and never got back up. We called the woman who I had done a hen keeping course with and she arranged for us to pick up an antibiotic from a local vet, to treat for a possible infection, but she deteriorated fast, and despite us nursing her indoors, she died, in distress within 24 hours.

I wish now we had put her out of her misery, so don't feel bad. You made a judgement call, and so did we, and it's hard to say what is the right thing to do in these situations. Most vets don't deal with poultry.

All of our other hens (common brown hens and light sussex) flourished, and laid well and we had no further problems. In my opinion, light sussex are a fantastic breed, very hardy, good layers and lovely to look at.

Forums and groups are a great idea, especially if and when you want to stop keeping hens. You can't just wind down, as you should always have at least three to ensure you don't end up with a lone traumatised hen. We decided we were done when we found ourselves with just two hens, and we found a new home on a farm for the girls through a forum, and they lived out their lives with their first ever boyfriend!

taytobreath

Maybe she ate something bad, there are certain things your not supposed to give hens such as raw potato skins and there are certain plants that are poisonous to them such as tulips

trauma boy

Hi sadie06 thanks for that. Taytobreath thanks also if it was poisoning it must have been accidental. They are on a diet of course meal and don't get treats but maybe she picked up something. Thanks to all of ye for your suggestions. I will keep an eye on them.

Pretzill

It's really hard to say OP but it was likely to be an illness or something stressed her. I used to keep hens and ducks and have seen the damage dobe by mink she wouldn't have a chance and the cut would have been much deeper (they normally decapitate) unlike foxes who would take one and come back for more the mink will destroy all and leave the bodies (yuck I know but that's why I don't keep hens anymore)

A rat wouldn't kill a hen would steal eggs though and any bird of prey would only pick off weak prey or feed on carion it's a fallacy to say they would kill a lamb and the reintroduction of certain birds of prey is being affected by these inaccuracies! I can understand why you put her out of her misery if she was in such difficulties poor thing - We brought a lame duck to the vet once and he was short of laughing at us - didn't know how much meds to give the duck and unfortunately the duck died a slower death as a result. Yes it could be a range of things but hopefully it isn't something that was transmitted to your other hens - keep an eye on them and maybe a small animal vet might be needed.

LisaO

Any birds that show signs of illness are usually very sick by the time you actually see the signs - they are very vulnerable so hide any signs of being unwell. It is quite common for other flock members to peck at a bird that is unwell so this may account for the blood. Any predator attack would certainly leave obvious signs, as stated in previous posts.

It would be no harm to give the house a good clean out & disinfect to protect the remaining hens & maybe give them a tonic to give them a bit of a boost as well - can be added to drinking water or food. Maybe no harm to worm your remaining hens as well, if not carried out before.

As for humanely dispatching the sick hen, I would have done the same - it's something any poultry keeper should be prepared to do if necessary.

Qualitymark

I kept hens for 10 or 12 years and none died for non-obvious reasons; however, if you'd only just acquired the new flock, it's possible they came with existing disease.
Could I suggest that you'll get more informative help in the Smallholding forum, which is full of hen people - it's nested (!) under Soc/Farming and Forestry/Smallholding.