So we have several chickens. One set is a year old, and another set we bought in May of this year.
(Back story from 2014)
Now last year the girls did fantastic! 2 dozen eggs a day, happy, healthy couldn't ask for a better start! When we got them from Farm and Fleet, they were just a few days old at the time, and did not lose a single bird. My husband, and I got also got 4 Tom Bronze Turkeys, but we got them from Rural King since they were the only ones that had them. The day we got them 2 died just hours after bringing them home. We called Rural King, and they blamed us! To which I called a vet friend of mine, with Rural King on the phone also, and asked "We just got these turkeys maybe 8 hours ago, is there anything I personally could have done that would result in their deaths." I gave her a list of the feeds, supplements, and they're brooder box. She said there is no way I could have killed them in such a short amount of time. Rural King sucked it up, and replaced the 2 turkeys. Guess what, the next day I found the 2 replacements dead as a door nail in the brooder, and the remaining 2 died a few months later!
(Fast forward to this year in May.)
My Buff hen went Broody, sat on her eggs, but they failed to hatch so my husband, and I looked everywhere for chicks so she would be encouraged to broody next year. Well being May around here it's a bit late in the season, and a lot of stores stop selling in May, the ONLY place left was Rural King. *Ugh* but we gave them another shot. We bought 15 Light Bahamas. 2 died a few days after bringing them home, 2 more died a week after that, and 1 developed Marek's, and I hand raised her inside the house until she passed away at 4 months. Since then, I have found 2 more randomly dead overnight. Last week yet another died. I failed to mention that my year old girls completely stopped laying about 2 weeks after we got the chicks.
(Today.)
I do my normal routine get up at 5:30AM get my husbands lunch ready, and see him off to work. Make myself some coffee, and poke around the internet until our 3 year old daughter wakes up, usually around 6:30 - 7. By 7:30 we make our rounds with the animals. First we feed, and water the rabbits, and quail in the garage. Then we head to the backyard to the chicken coop. I come around the corner to see my Barred Rock roo slumped over, head down, and not wanting to walk much, but still peaking at the feed on the ground. As I look into the coop there I see 1 New Hampshire Red hen dead, 1 Barred Rock hen dead, and 1 Light Brahma dead! Upon further inspection I see that over half my flock is greatly sick. For months they have not been worth meat, or eggs, and now they are dropping like flies.
I called my husband in a panic, and starting discussing culling the entire flock, starting fresh next spring with meat birds.
I want to gather some opinions before the final decision. Do you guys think it would just be best to completely start over next year?
(Back story from 2014)
Now last year the girls did fantastic! 2 dozen eggs a day, happy, healthy couldn't ask for a better start! When we got them from Farm and Fleet, they were just a few days old at the time, and did not lose a single bird. My husband, and I got also got 4 Tom Bronze Turkeys, but we got them from Rural King since they were the only ones that had them. The day we got them 2 died just hours after bringing them home. We called Rural King, and they blamed us! To which I called a vet friend of mine, with Rural King on the phone also, and asked "We just got these turkeys maybe 8 hours ago, is there anything I personally could have done that would result in their deaths." I gave her a list of the feeds, supplements, and they're brooder box. She said there is no way I could have killed them in such a short amount of time. Rural King sucked it up, and replaced the 2 turkeys. Guess what, the next day I found the 2 replacements dead as a door nail in the brooder, and the remaining 2 died a few months later!
(Fast forward to this year in May.)
My Buff hen went Broody, sat on her eggs, but they failed to hatch so my husband, and I looked everywhere for chicks so she would be encouraged to broody next year. Well being May around here it's a bit late in the season, and a lot of stores stop selling in May, the ONLY place left was Rural King. *Ugh* but we gave them another shot. We bought 15 Light Bahamas. 2 died a few days after bringing them home, 2 more died a week after that, and 1 developed Marek's, and I hand raised her inside the house until she passed away at 4 months. Since then, I have found 2 more randomly dead overnight. Last week yet another died. I failed to mention that my year old girls completely stopped laying about 2 weeks after we got the chicks.
(Today.)
I do my normal routine get up at 5:30AM get my husbands lunch ready, and see him off to work. Make myself some coffee, and poke around the internet until our 3 year old daughter wakes up, usually around 6:30 - 7. By 7:30 we make our rounds with the animals. First we feed, and water the rabbits, and quail in the garage. Then we head to the backyard to the chicken coop. I come around the corner to see my Barred Rock roo slumped over, head down, and not wanting to walk much, but still peaking at the feed on the ground. As I look into the coop there I see 1 New Hampshire Red hen dead, 1 Barred Rock hen dead, and 1 Light Brahma dead! Upon further inspection I see that over half my flock is greatly sick. For months they have not been worth meat, or eggs, and now they are dropping like flies.
I called my husband in a panic, and starting discussing culling the entire flock, starting fresh next spring with meat birds.
I want to gather some opinions before the final decision. Do you guys think it would just be best to completely start over next year?
