[Maesgwyn]

I have had a few hens that have stopped eating, i have given them anti biotics but can not see anything else wrong with them, bar force feeding or culling I can not think of a solution, any one got any ideas please before i loose any more. They are free range
 

[HesterF]

Sorry to be stupid but do you mean they're then dying? What are their other symptoms (prior to death)? How old are they?

I've got Avian Leukosis in my lot at the moment and one of the symptoms of that is not eating but that's fairly late on, just before they keel over. Before that they slow down a bit, diarrhea and then start to look a bit ruffled and withdrawn. That's generally when I bring them inside and tempt them with corn. They're now all getting dosed with wormer (which they've had via pellets anyway but then they get a full on dose), antiparasitic stuff and antibiotics, just in case it's something else. But so far all to no avail - sadly there's no treatment for Leukosis. The reason I ask about the age is that I gather most mature chickens have developed a natural immunity so it's less likely to be that - all mine are under a year old.

Unfortunately it's hard to diagnose for sure - I had to have post mortem samples from the vet sent off to a lab which doesn't come cheap. But the PM did show lots of tumours which is an indication.

I hope for your sake it's not that but you probably should take a sick hen to the vet to see if there's anything else they could come up with (I suspect stopping eating is a common symptom for most ailments once the chicken gets that weak).

H

[Maesgwyn]

My son has found a recipe to sick birds,
cooked egg yoke, 1 teaspoon codliver oil, very small drizzle of honey, 2 tbs natural yogurt, 2-4 tbs rolled oats, 1 desert spoon of beef cat food (not dog food for some reason) multi vit powder and 2 tbs grated apple, I have given the sickest one two very small meals of this mixture as she is an Ixworth and worth battling for, she is still not eating on her own but I have only just tried, also gave her a dose of anti biotics and will mix in some worming powder when I next feed her. it is now a wait and see.
the hens vary in age but mostly from last years hatching. I did make the mistake of buying in some hens that later turned out sick even though I had isolated them for a week, was told all flocks here in West Wales suffer from this bug, signs are difficulty breathing and sneezing though at the mo none of them are suffering from this, in future I will hatch my own replacements
 

[Marches Farmer]

Maybe the bought-in hens were carrying mycoplasma?  If so Tylan or Baytril may help.

[chrismahon]

Sounds like it could be Mycoplasma to me as well Maesgwyn. In my experience healthy birds fight it off themselves. But if they are suffering in the weather they will be a bit run down and will need a hand, as Marches Farmer suggests. Think Tylan is the treatment for it, but has to be administered early to be effective. Vets usually inject it.