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

[4myHennyPenny]

I've been giving them oyster shell (mixed in with feed and also set out).

I've been mixing their feed myself for the past 3 plus months with all organic grains: corn, wheat, kamut, millet, amaranth, barley, oats, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, dulse flakes, kelp, lentils, split peas, alfalfa (when I have it)... there may be some others I can't recall off the top of my head. They also get scrambled eggs and/or mealworms a couple times a week, and treats a few times a week (tomatoes, greens, etc). Absolutely only thing new was a few alfalfa sprouts yesterday evening that I'd had leftover from a sandwich.

I only had 5 girls, all are about 6 1/2 months now (or were). 1 BO (gone), 2 Ameraucana/EE (one gone), 2 BR. All had been healthy to this point, no illnesses anywhere along the way that I knew of.

Poo has seemed normal, as far as I know. Usually pretty well formed greenish and sometimes with a bit of brown at the end of the poo (this bit--the brownishgreen at the end of the poo--is usually runnier and stinkier than the rest).

 

[LoneCowboy]

Well, go ahead and go on your trip. There isn't much you can do if they do get sick anyway. I don't know of any bird Drs. around here. Make sure they are getting calcium.

Yes they can become egg bound even after the first egg. I had some girls prolapes a little after they'd laid a few eggs. you just never know.

I'll hope for a good hatch of pullets, and you can come pick a couple after they hatch. Hope we can tell what sex they are

 

[4myHennyPenny]

I've been mixing in a good cup of oyster shell in their feed (this is maybe 5% of their feed). They have it out as well, but I noticed they haven't really gone after it since being in their run with a lot more room (they're too busy digging up the remnants of grass).

Do I need to somehow get them to eat more? Is there something more than the oyster shell that I should give them? I know in addition to affecting the shells that Ca++ can affect the muscles as well. Is it possible that they weren't getting enough and this caused a heart attack or something?

One of the BRs laid her first egg yesterday. We didn't see it because she ate it, but we found yolk splatter. After reading about egg eaters, I realized her egg probably cracked before she ate it, due to a thin shell or something. (Sage's only egg had a solid, but Not terribly thick shell.)

LoneCowboy, thank you so much for the offer of a couple chicks. I will certainly think about that a lot this weekend. I took time off in the summer to raise the others. Need to be sure that I could devote the same attention right now to any new ones. But I definitely appreciate your thoughtfulness and will let you know.

Edited to read: Sage's first egg had a solid but NOT terribly thick shell.

 

[4myHennyPenny]

Thank you all so much for your support and ideas about what might be happening. I'm trying to accept that there might not be anything else I can do, so I'm keeping my plans to visit family this weekend. If you do think of anything else, though, please let me know and I'll check replies on Monday.

LoneCowboy, I'll let you know early next week what we've decided on new chicks for now. DD's bday is next week, so the timing might work out well for her to have a couple new girls for her birthday. Thank you again for your gracious offer.

You're all terrific--I love this site!