Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

I'm losing a chicken too. 😥 One of my leghorns. She obviously has ascites, which is what killed the last one. I think this batch has a bad genetic history. I got them at Tractor supply a couple years ago. So just a word of warning. It's hard to watch and I'm debating on putting her down. She is still eating and occasionally running around so that is a hard decision to make at this point. Soon enough it will get easier and be the obvious thing to do.

And no, I have no plans to drain it and give her possibly two months. We allow hens to live out their natural lives here, but we don't go beyond that. If it's curable, sure, we'll tend to that. But ascites is always fatal. There is a heart issue or something and it's most likely genetic. Only happening in the leghorns from Tractor Supply. Everyone else is healthy as all get out. :weeRunning around and doing what they do.
 
I'm losing a chicken too. 😥 One of my leghorns. She obviously has ascites, which is what killed the last one. I think this batch has a bad genetic history. I got them at Tractor supply a couple years ago. So just a word of warning. It's hard to watch and I'm debating on putting her down. She is still eating and occasionally running around so that is a hard decision to make at this point. Soon enough it will get easier and be the obvious thing to do.

And no, I have no plans to drain it and give her possibly two months. We allow hens to live out their natural lives here, but we don't go beyond that. If it's curable, sure, we'll tend to that. But ascites is always fatal. There is a heart issue or something and it's most likely genetic. Only happening in the leghorns from Tractor Supply. Everyone else is healthy as all get out. :weeRunning around and doing what they do.
Dang, sorry your leghorn is sick. It seems that all the layer chicks sold at farm stores have been bred with only one thing in mind... laying lots and lots of eggs.

Mine seem to have been very healthy so far except for the one sudden death due to, I think, internal laying. One may have an off-day every once in a while, and it doesn't worry me much as long as she recovers quickly.

As many eggs as mine are putting out, I wouldn't be surprised if they start having reproductive issues in a year or two. If/when I get replacement chickens in the future I'm going to look for some true heritage breed birds that haven't been bred to be production layers.
 
Dang, sorry your leghorn is sick. It seems that all the layer chicks sold at farm stores have been bred with only one thing in mind... laying lots and lots of eggs.

Mine seem to have been very healthy so far except for the one sudden death due to, I think, internal laying. One may have an off-day every once in a while, and it doesn't worry me much as long as she recovers quickly.

As many eggs as mine are putting out, I wouldn't be surprised if they start having reproductive issues in a year or two. If/when I get replacement chickens in the future I'm going to look for some true heritage breed birds that haven't been bred to be production layers.
That is a really good idea, and if you find any, let me know where. I have always gotten my chicks from Wilco and they have always been healthy and lived long lives. I have 3 Australorps from there that are 7 or 8 years old now. I only bought these 4 leghorns at Tractor Supply and will never buy there again. This year I bought the last three Buff Orpingtons they had at the Farm Store. I think they hatch their own there, but I'm not 100% positive about that. So, we'll see how they do. I would love to find a good stock to buy from but everyone I know buys from Wilco or each other, which ultimately means Wilco, right?
 

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