M Blance
In the Brooder
Hi, I have had 2 Leghorns and 2 Orpingtons die over the last 3 months. At first I thought they were moulting, they had feather loss and looked scruffy and it was Autumn, they seemed to be eating although not as much as usual, were a little quieter than normal, I thought it was all due to the fact they were moulting. When each one became obviously not good and I could pick them up I took them out of the run and isolated, turns out they were wasting away, way too thin. I took the fist and last one to the vet as soon as I caught them, vet put the fist one down, but could not say what may have gone wrong, the last one had an autopsy, vet said she could find nothing obvious but was surprised that all the muscle was gone but not all the fat, the chicken poo was as it should be, not runny or discoloured, usually when sick they apparently use all their fat first but this was the only odd thing the vet could comment on. These girls were purchased a year ago at the age of 3 months all together. Can any one give me any advice, I have 25 more chickens that all look great at the moment.