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TOPIC: Animals

• As a consumer, I'm concerned about mad cow disease. Can you give me information?
• Do you have tips for pet care in the heat?
• How can I keep my pet safe during the holiday hoopla?
• How can I keep my pet safe in the dipping outdoor temperatures?
• How can I protect my animals against foot and mouth disease?
• I have a small flock of about 25 chickens. They range in age from 7-10 months. Recently I've had about 8 of them die. The first signs of a problem were blood on the outside of the egg shells. Then I noticed that several of them had bloody areas around the vent and under the tail. All but a couple of those with the symptoms have died. The few that recovered seem to be OK with 1 exception, and that hen no longer lays eggs, and has a very grungy appearance. After death, if you pick up the bird and examine it, the vent is wide open and you can see right down into the center of the bird. The last bird I found I could even see an egg yolk inside the body cavity. Could you give me a best guess as to what might be causing this and what steps I can take to relieve the problem? I noticed on one hen that I lost this week, that in the day or two before she died, she had a white runny diarrhea, didn't seem interested in eating or drinking and shortly before death she seemed to swell and have a puffy appearance. Another is the roosters, one has had all the smaller feathers around the tail pecked out, and has raw looking skin in that area, the other is missing most of the feathering on his breast. Several of the hens have no feathers in the vent area (probably from what you describe) and on the lower back just above the tail. The main thing I was wondering about is the diarrhea...when I noticed that, I did some research online, and kept coming up with pullorum, and I was wondering if that might be a problem. They say it's nearly eradicated, but occasionally shows up in a backyard flock. What are the chances of that, and what other symptoms should I watch for? If it was that, besides getting rid of the flock, what other steps would I need to take to make the coop safe for future use?
• My Jersey bull ate some Wal-Mart plastic bags, what can I do to help him get rid of them?
• Smelling skunk? Tips to achieving olfactory relief
• The recent storms have caused runoff from my animal feeding operation. What should I do?
• What can I do to prevent vole damage in my yard?
• What can I do to protect my animals from West Nile virus?