Please help! 2nd girl dead this a.m. Why are they sick???!!

[4myHennyPenny]

Two weeks ago we found our favorite girl, Henrietta, dead (6 mo. old BO just getting ready to lay). She hadn't seemed ill at all and we have no idea why she died. Our best guess after I posted earlier was Sudden Death Syndrome or maybe that she was eggbound with her first egg.

Six days later, I thought Sage was sick. She wasn't really able to walk, so I pulled her out and put her in a hospital crate. The next morning, she laid her first egg and seemed just fine after that. She's shown no signs of illness, lethargy, not eating, etc since then. She hasn't laid another egg that we can find, but we knew it could be a while between first eggs.

Just now, my husband found her dead as well. Both she and Henrietta were in the coop, no possibility of a predator killing them. They hadn't gotten too cold. A week after Henny died, we moved all of the girls into their new coop, so I don't think it's something in the coop that's killing them either.

I'm so upset right now. Feel like a real crappy chicken momma that I let this happen to another one. And I'm so worried that I'm just going to keep losing the rest of my girls.

Please, someone help me figure out what's gone wrong! I can't keep going through the heartache of losing them and can't bear the thought of telling my little girl that another one has died.

We have no extra money at all, so I don't know how we'd pay for a vet right now. But if that's what I need to do, please tell me and I'll beg and borrow from family to pay for it.

 

[silkiechicken]

Hmm, two dying at point of lay, and one "getting sick" prior to laying and then improving a bit after laying one... I wonder if they have a genetic problem with their reproductive system or if they are too "fat" (from too many corn treats) so eggs are getting stuck and the egg system not working right. Could very well be a sickness too but that is odd that it is only your recently laying pullets.

On ocassion, pullets do just fall over and die at point of lay as I've had three do the same. As for vet, doubt they will be able to tell anything from a live bird, but a necropsy of the dead one may or may not say more.

Maybe someone else can tell you more or have better ideas.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Oh I'm so sorry. I lost one and it was just awful. Could they have eaten anything? Any poison plants around?

Where in CO are you located. If it's really close, maybe I can come have a look around and see what I can find out.

 

[4myHennyPenny]

Sage, the one who died this morning, is the same one we thought was sick right before she laid her first egg. Turns out that the behavior we thought was her being sick is typical of some first-time layers (squatting down a lot, leaning to one side and stretching a leg--all trying to pass the first egg). So I don't think that she was actually sick last week. It's just my inexperience and not recognizing the signs of laying.

They're not overly fat at all. The only plants in the run are just grass and a bit of moss in the grass (same things they dine on all summer long). Coop & run are new, but we were very careful not to leave anything dangerous (screws, etc) and no toxic materials were used.

I'm just so distraught right now!! My two loveliest, sweetest girls are gone! I can't stop crying and worrying about what I've done wrong.

Sage was just fine yesterday and last night. She'd been happily scratching about with the rest of them. Others seem fine today too, but I obviously am missing something, so what do I know.

 

[AussieSharon]

I don't have any answers, just wanted to say I am so very sorry for your losses.

 

[silkiechicken]

Sometimes they just die, but two have two do that in one flock at such close proximity is really odd, how many birds do you have? Anything odd with their poo? What type of feed are they getting?

 

[chickbea]

Are you supplying plenty of calcium to them? They may be out of balance what with coming into lay.

Do you have a major university near you? Sometimes they will do no or low cost necropsies, especially of poultry.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Can you brood your own chicks? If I have a good hatch, you are welcome to come get a couple of little chickies to replace your girls. These are BO's and Barred rocks and BO/BR mixes. They are due on the 24th

 

[LoneCowboy]

Oh yeah, what Chickbea says. My girls are porking down the calcium right now. I've never seen anything like it.

 

[4myHennyPenny]

LoneCowboy, thanks so much for the offer. I'm actually very near you. I have to leave for work in 30 minutes and was supposed to go out of town directly from there for the weekend to see family (dh was staying home to take care of things while I was away). Now don't know what to do.

Is this just some freakish coincidence? Or is there some disease that's spreading among my girls?

If Sage had already laid one egg, she should have been able to lay a second without becoming egg bound, right?

What am I missing??!! If another dies and it's something I could have prevented, I don't know how I'd handle it.