3 hens died over 2 1/2 years. Is this normal?

[New Chicken Farmer]

Hello,

We're a new chicken raising family looking for a little insight. We have a small flock (12) hens which we started about 2 1/2 years ago. Over that time, we've had 3 hens die. Two were happy and healthy one day, and died the next. One began to show signs of sickness (paralysis on one side), and died two days later. They have a very large clean coop, great feed, access to calcium and the outdoors daily. I can't see anything in their environment that would cause this many deaths, and am starting to worry that there may be a disease or something causing it. Is it normal to loose 3 young-ish chickens in 2 1/2 years?

 

[Farm Up North]

My first flock, I think out of 19 chickens I lost 4 or 5 within 2 years. It's kind of luck of the draw, really. They're not particularly hardy animals once something goes wrong internally. I had one that had ovarian cancer, which I knew because she just dropped dead one day without warning and I opened her up to make sure it was not a disease that took her out. One was internally laying, and the other 3 started pooping what I call the "death poop", where it's yellowish like egg white and runny.
I have noticed much fewer casualties with my second flock, and I swear it's because I switched to All Flock instead of layer feed. Some ladies are egg-laying duds, and if they eat calcium they don't use, it can cause health issues.

 

[azygous]

It is not normal to lose multiple young birds like this, and the symptoms you report could point to an avian virus as the culprit.

There are two main viruses that are all too common in our backyard flocks. One is Marek's and most have heard of it and know the symptoms to watch for. But the other one is even more common, yet less known. It's called lymphoid leucosis or avian leucosis. Both can cause lameness before they kill.

The best way to determine if you have a virus of this nature in your flock is the send a recently dead bird to your state lab for testing. Another method is a blood test on a live chicken you or your vet can do and then send the sample to a pathology lab for diagnosis.

There are, of course, other causes of lameness and death. But, when multiple deaths occur, it's a better bet it's from an avian virus.

 

[Mrs. K]

I humbly disagree with Azygous, a respected poster. I do not think that it is an unusual occurrence. We all tend to give advice from our own coop, but in reality, there are huge differences between ours and other's coops.

If you got started with just hatchery based chickens, I myself, have done so most of the time, I have found that a 3-4 year old chicken, is getting some age on her, and it is not uncommon for them to slip away at any time after 2. Sometimes you get birds that live a lot longer, but often times you don't.

If you think about it, people don't all live to the same age.

Personally, if you have (and it sounds like you do) given them a good life, and they did not suffer long periods of time, well, we should all be as lucky.

Often times there are posts on here about IMO incredibly long lived chickens. And people can feel guilty, if theirs do not live that long. Sometimes I wonder, if the climate has an affect? But I am pretty sure genetics do have an affect. Sometimes good old mutts, live a long life, sometimes they don't.

As long as their basic needs are met, that is what you have to do, then I just accept the lives I get. As my darling granddaughter says, "Oh that is too bad,...but now we can get chicks.

Mrs K

 

[SourRoses]

I agree with @Mrs. K

Over the span of 2 1/2 years, losing three birds is not unusual. It's a pretty good rate, actually. Three deaths in a month would signal a problem.

Chickens are both incredibly hardy and impossibly delicate. It seems like a contradiction, but we are looking at things from the perspective of mammals. Bird physiology prioritizes different things. So stuff that would bother us, a cat or a dog, can sometimes have little effect on a bird. And things that we just shrug off can be a death sentence for birds. One example of that is pronounced fear.
But I think of those disaster movies where the earth has been radically changed in some way, and what animal tends to show up as proof of life but birds. There's a reason for that, not just cinema but based on reality. They are different.

When hard moments come, I try to remind myself... As keepers, we don't have the power of life and death. We can only do our best to cover all the bases, and monitor for health condition. Some will just happen to have better success and they may assume that checking all the boxes will guarantee a result. But life is not like that. It's not even handed. Being a farmer of any sort (even a micro one, lol) teaches you that control is an illusion. Or as they say, "Having livestock means having dead stock". The best we can do is limit that. And life goes on.

 

[Anon112]

Losing three chickens in 2 1/2 years sounds pretty good to me. How spaced apart were their deaths?

I'll never forget finding my Vera, the first chick I ever hatched from an egg, dead in the run. Her sister, Prudence, had died a few months earlier from a cancerous mass. I just came in the run one day and Vera was there dead. No signs or symptoms.

Like others have said, losing several in a month would be a sign for serious concern. Through breeding, we end up asking a lot of chicken reproductive systems, and so reproductive issues crop up. Viruses can spread quickly, and sometimes you don't even know they have a virus because most of them just handle it on their own and one weaker bird dies.

There are some things you can do for peace of mind, such as a few times a year taking poop samples to a lab to screen for parasites. You can periodically weigh your chickens and/or feel them over for weight loss.

There are also just good times and bad times. I've lost 4 chickens since October: one to a cancer, two to rat attacks, and one to a hawk attack. But in the eight months prior to October, I hadn't lost any.

I'm sorry for your losses, but it doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong or have any very serious cause for concern.

 

[AshVau22]

What breeds do you have? I've noticed a lot of production breeds seem to have a lot more reproductive problems and cancer. Just my observation.
I've only lost one chicken so far to reproductive issues a Sapphire Gem excellent layer till she was about 1 1/2 Hawks are my biggest problems.
My neighbor's 1st flock was all RIR most passed away around 2 1/2- 3 and I think 2 lived to be almost 5. Her second flock was a mixed flock they are around 5 years old.

 

[New Chicken Farmer]

Losing three chickens in 2 1/2 years sounds pretty good to me. How spaced apart were their deaths?

I'll never forget finding my Vera, the first chick I ever hatched from an egg, dead in the run. Her sister, Prudence, had died a few months earlier from a cancerous mass. I just came in the run one day and Vera was there dead. No signs or symptoms.

Like others have said, losing several in a month would be a sign for serious concern. Through breeding, we end up asking a lot of chicken reproductive systems, and so reproductive issues crop up. Viruses can spread quickly, and sometimes you don't even know they have a virus because most of them just handle it on their own and one weaker bird dies.

There are some things you can do for peace of mind, such as a few times a year taking poop samples to a lab to screen for parasites. You can periodically weigh your chickens and/or feel them over for weight loss.

There are also just good times and bad times. I've lost 4 chickens since October: one to a cancer, two to rat attacks, and one to a hawk attack. But in the eight months prior to October, I hadn't lost any.

I'm sorry for your losses, but it doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong or have any very serious cause for concern.

We lost the first one about 2 years ago, and think she was egg bound. The second one happened over the summer. This was the one that starting limping one day and died two days later. The third one died at the beginning of this week. No symptoms- happy one day and dead the next.

 

[New Chicken Farmer]

What breeds do you have? I've noticed a lot of production breeds seem to have a lot more reproductive problems and cancer. Just my observation.
I've only lost one chicken so far to reproductive issues a Sapphire Gem excellent layer till she was about 1 1/2 Hawks are my biggest problems.
My neighbor's 1st flock was all RIR most passed away around 2 1/2- 3 and I think 2 lived to be almost 5. Her second flock was a mixed flock they are around 5 years old.

We have a mixed flock- mostly easter eggers. The one that died over the summer was a turkey neck and the one that died most recently was a silkie.

 

[Anon112]

We lost the first one about 2 years ago, and think she was egg bound. The second one happened over the summer. This was the one that starting limping one day and died two days later. The third one died at the beginning of this week. No symptoms- happy one day and dead the next.

That's really spread out. Obviously it's hard not knowing the cause, but it doesn't sound like there's a persistent threat to your flock.