Chickens randomly dying

[Birdgrl1221]

Hi everyone, this is my first flock so please take it easy on me.

I was raised with game chickens so I am not brand new to the chicken world, but this is the first time I am on my own with a flock.

I also raise parrots for a living so I do know a bit about the anatomy of birds and symptoms of some things.

I have 9 laying hens, 4 large roosters, and about a dozen or more silkies/frizzles.

I am losing about one chicken a month and I’m unsure why.
They free range during the day on half an acre that is fenced in, and at night are secured inside a very nice coop with electricity so they have what they need in the summer and winter as far as climate does.

I am not losing any to predators, only health issues.

My chickens are also all young. My 4 laying hens just reaching laying age, my others are soon to start laying, and the roosters are about the same age, so all around 1 year or less.

On a daily basis I feed:

laying crumbles
Cracked corn
Turmeric
Red pepper flakes
Leftover bird seed/pellets from my parrots (all very healthy)
Table scraps
Meal worms
*grit and oyster shells are always accessible*

Coops are cleaned weekly, they are only in the coop at night and have access to fresh water while in the coop at night.

I have noticed random liquid poop on the cement pad in front of the coop, not sure which chickens it is coming from.

Recently I treated for coccidia, and have treated for worms with safeguard pellets about 3 months ago.

Liquid poop still persists. I know it is coming from some of my younger chickens and not my hens that are producing eggs. They have separate stalls that they sleep in and the poop in my laying hen pen is always solid.

Usually the chickens will appear fine until about 3 days before they die.

I have noticed the weight on a few of my chickens is less than the others, also combs are not as red on those with the lesser weight. Keel bone very pronounced.It’s like they just get really light, and slowly go down hill… no other symptoms. They still free range until about the day before then I find them dead in the coop the next morning. It’s about one chicken a month. So far I have lost about 5 chickens. The others appear to be thriving, red combs, good weight, keel bone not super pronounced. I have noticed all of my chickens do have a keel bone that is noticeable. Was wondering if that is normal? I raise parrots and I know they have a keel bone and similar anatomy and it’s normal to feel the keel bone but it should not be sunken in.. on some of my chickens they are not pronounced but on some it is very pronounced and I’m just not sure what to do at this point.. any tips would be helpful.

I am not taking all 30+ chickens to the vet, should I take one and run a few tests? If so what should I test for??

should I worm again?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry you're having trouble.

It would be a good idea to take a sampling of the poop to your vet for a fecal float to see if worms are part of the problem.
If they are, then deworm them using Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or Albendazole (Valbazen).

To treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworm - Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.
--OR--
Valbazen dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days.

I'd cut out or severely limit the extras in the feed to see if they improve. Provide a nutritionally balanced poultry feed. Your birds are roaming, so picking up goodies already. Scratch/Corn and seeds are extras that may dilute the protein content they are getting or excess can sometimes cause problems like Fatty Liver Disease.

If you lose another, sending the body for necropsy can be helpful in gathering information about what's causing decline. You can find your state lab in the link below.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Following. Sorry you are having this problem.

 

[nuthatched]

X2, worm again with the proper dosage and cut out all the junk food.

 

[Loving my girls]

I would agree, it sounds you are ticking all the boxes with a beautiful gold pen but the only thing I would suggest is give a simple base food with none of the yummy and, theoretically, healthy extras and see how it goes when you clean them out what do you use ? I use water with apple cider vinegar or just plain water. I wash the floor with the same (mine is Lino).
Are use using straw ? If so can you change it for new and treated straw, like sold for Guinea pigs in plastic bags ?
Another idea, can you check for external mites, round the vent for white cotton buds and between the feathers and round the eyes for black spots ?
How big is your hen house ? If it’s too small stress can do weird things to a hen shrug ?
I will follow this and try to come up with other things to try to help
Hugz

 

[Loving my girls]

Hi again,
Another thing I would do is stop free ranging them for a while till I see a change.
Hugz

 

[MrIgmo]

Maybe you have too many roosters and not enough hens, that can really exhaust them from what I've read. Roosters are rough on the hens. Might try separating them if you can. Also check and see if something is trying to break into the hen house at night, if there are racoons or something climbing all over it all night that can really stress them out and be a source of reoccurring worms from their scat being all over the place in the morning. My dog got parasites from the possums that are in excessive numbers in my neighborhood. Had to remedy that situation. Luckily possums are easy to run off. So are skunks. You can get them to avoid your property by harassing them and they remember.

 

[Kiki]

Hi everyone, this is my first flock so please take it easy on me.

I was raised with game chickens so I am not brand new to the chicken world, but this is the first time I am on my own with a flock.

I also raise parrots for a living so I do know a bit about the anatomy of birds and symptoms of some things.

I have 9 laying hens, 4 large roosters, and about a dozen or more silkies/frizzles.

I am losing about one chicken a month and I’m unsure why.
They free range during the day on half an acre that is fenced in, and at night are secured inside a very nice coop with electricity so they have what they need in the summer and winter as far as climate does.

I am not losing any to predators, only health issues.

My chickens are also all young. My 4 laying hens just reaching laying age, my others are soon to start laying, and the roosters are about the same age, so all around 1 year or less.

On a daily basis I feed:

laying crumbles
Cracked corn
Turmeric
Red pepper flakes
Leftover bird seed/pellets from my parrots (all very healthy)
Table scraps
Meal worms
*grit and oyster shells are always accessible*

Coops are cleaned weekly, they are only in the coop at night and have access to fresh water while in the coop at night.

I have noticed random liquid poop on the cement pad in front of the coop, not sure which chickens it is coming from.

Recently I treated for coccidia, and have treated for worms with safeguard pellets about 3 months ago.

Liquid poop still persists. I know it is coming from some of my younger chickens and not my hens that are producing eggs. They have separate stalls that they sleep in and the poop in my laying hen pen is always solid.

Usually the chickens will appear fine until about 3 days before they die.

I have noticed the weight on a few of my chickens is less than the others, also combs are not as red on those with the lesser weight. Keel bone very pronounced.It’s like they just get really light, and slowly go down hill… no other symptoms. They still free range until about the day before then I find them dead in the coop the next morning. It’s about one chicken a month. So far I have lost about 5 chickens. The others appear to be thriving, red combs, good weight, keel bone not super pronounced. I have noticed all of my chickens do have a keel bone that is noticeable. Was wondering if that is normal? I raise parrots and I know they have a keel bone and similar anatomy and it’s normal to feel the keel bone but it should not be sunken in.. on some of my chickens they are not pronounced but on some it is very pronounced and I’m just not sure what to do at this point.. any tips would be helpful.

I am not taking all 30+ chickens to the vet, should I take one and run a few tests? If so what should I test for??

should I worm again?

Highly recommend stop feeding all of the treats and only feed the layer crumbles.... So you can be sure the birds are getting a proper balance to diet.