2 dead chickens in two weeks...

[Christine Wilson]

I am not sure what is happening. We have had two deaths in two weeks in two chickens that seemed perfectly healthy. The first one, a buff Orpington died sometime in the mornng after being let out and after laying an egg. I didn't really examine her but I know that she had something going on on her head...losing feathers, and I don't think they were being pecked off. There were three chickens that had the same thing going on on their heads. This morning I found the second one (Black Austrolorpe) dead when I went to open the door to let them out. She had fallen off the roost when she died. She also had the head thing going on. I had my husband examine her head and her belly to see if it was was soft or hard. It was soft. But he said that when he brushed her chest feathers backwards, there weren't any. He said her chest was bare of feathers. I think they are a year old today. The ventilation in their coop is good ("It is as dry as a popcorn fart" my husband said! Where did he ever get that expression???) Just not sure what to do. She was perfectly fine yesterday. Laid an egg. She was the smallest of our flock, has been since day one. We have one more with the problem with "balding". Could that be something? I guess I can"t say they were perfectly healthy...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss.

There's really no way to know what is happening unless you have a necropsy.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

You mention bald places, no feathers? How much space do your have in your coop/run (sqft of each), do you have a rooster? Any lice/mites? What do you feed?
Where are you located in the world?

If you have any photos of your hens, coop/run, housing, etc. that may be helpful.

 

[Christine Wilson]

I'm sorry for your loss.

There's really no way to know what is happening unless you have a necropsy.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

You mention bald places, no feathers? How much space do your have in your coop/run (sqft of each), do you have a rooster? Any lice/mites? What do you feed?
Where are you located in the world?

If you have any photos of your hens, coop/run, housing, etc. that may be helpful.

I'm sorry for your loss.

There's really no way to know what is happening unless you have a necropsy.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

You mention bald places, no feathers? How much space do your have in your coop/run (sqft of each), do you have a rooster? Any lice/mites? What do you feed?
Where are you located in the world?

If you have any photos of your hens, coop/run, housing, etc. that may be helpful.

We live in East Texas. The days are getting longer and warmer. I don't know the dimensions of the run (it is big and we let them out a lot) the coop is 4X8 and has good ventilation. We now have 13 chickens. We are wondering if it could be bad genetics since we got them from a huge mail order farm?
Who does necropsies? We are newbies at this...I will try to get some pictures. downloaded.
Some people I know that have chickens say "Chickens just die..." like it is to be expected. That doesn't seem right to me...

Thanks for replying...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

coop is 4X8 and has good ventilation. We now have 13 chickens.

You can look up your state lab here. I think Texas A&M does them and there's a few labs in your state. Best bet is to call the closest one and ask how they want a bird shipped or brought to them.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

4x8 coop for 13 birds is a bit tight. That give about 2.5sqft per bird. Some do ok in close quarters while others need more space. A good "rule of thumb" is to provide 4sqft per bird in a coop and 10sqft per bird run space.
Being in smaller spaces, they can start to pick at one another, plucking out feathers, etc.