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- #181
Chopper923
Songster
Thank you for checking in on me, @TropicalChickies and @Allsfairinloveandbugs . I apologize for just dropping off of here, especially after all of the time you all have spent in trying to help me. I am still in awe in the support I have found here. 
I've had a hard time even opening this site just because I knew I should post an update, but my heart has been broken over and over again. I ended up losing Bonk and the other pullet who was lame a few days after my last post. I truly think Bonk was on the mends... She was keeping better balance, walking to her food and water, and sitting upright for the most part. In fact, I was feeling like I would be able to move her in with the others in a day or so. However, one evening, the family and I were out in the barn, and I heard some unusual squawking. I started my way to the coop, and one of my dogs ran on ahead of me. By the time I got to the coop, I found my dog had Bonk's head in his mouth! 
I don't know how that happened, but I am wondering if the squawking was her in panic because she had somehow managing to stick her head through the dog kennel wires? There is no way my dog could have gotten to her otherwise. I got my dog away from her, and I carefully removed her head from between the wires, which was no easy task. (Seriously, how did she do that to begin with?!?) She was still alive but barely. I cried and cradled her until my husband took her from me and told me he had to end her suffering. I told him to take the pullet, too, since she definitely was not improving. Honk (my girl, after all her and I had been thru with her dang crop issues) was in the kennel with these two when this happened. (I would put her in there occasionally because Honk & Bonk were very close, needless to say.). I moved Honk back to her box in the coop where she likes to sleep at night. I did not sleep well that night. It kept playing over and over in my head. And, of course, there's the guilt of how I let that happen. The next day, it seemed Honk was not wanting to eat or drink. I even tried urging her with mealworms, and nothing. I took her outside and held her on my lap to see if she was just out of sorts. She just kept closing her eyes. I set her on the ground, and she took a few steps, and then sat down. So I picked her up and put her in the dreadful dog kennel with her own food and water. I didn't want anyone pecking at her while I ran recycling and garbage to the dump. I was only gone about 45 minutes. When I got home, my kids seemed to be acting secretively. I went out to check on her before I went into the house, and my daughter stopped me, and hugged me. She told me Honk had died. 
My kids are so amazing. They were trying to figure out how to deal with this in a way that would be easier for me to handle. I said goodbye to Honk, and they took her out to the field to bury her along the others. It took me a bit to get over that. I think we lost another pullet since then, and I currently have one who is lame. My husband will do what needs to be done tonight. So 8 out of 10 from the group of lavenders and what I am guessing Easter Eggers(?) are gone. The 2 that we have left are doing VERY well. In fact, the one is my daughter's favorite,and she has her trained to jump up onto a perch and then onto her arm. Lol. The other one is gray, but she doesn't look like the other lavenders. I will post a picture. We have lost many pullets, but I no longer keep count. They are at POL now, so I imagine we will see more decline before winter gets here. I do have one from our original young chicks, Alice, (it was the group of seven 1- to 2-month-old we got in March, where 3 ended up being roosters 
) who seemed quiet and standing off by herself two days ago. Yesterday my daughter mentioned how pale her comb was. It is still pale today, and she is just not herself. I have read that birds can go thru a slight molt around 9-10 months of age which can cause a pale comb, but of course there's all of the other crap it could be. I am going to give her some extra protein (tuna?) and some nutridrench, and I will closely monitor her. We did just get done with their monthly maintenance of denagard, and I have not heard ANY sneezing, so that has been good. Nova (the adult lavender who was attacked by the dog, and then went thru molting, and I struggled with trying to figure out if she was eggbound) is doing AMAZING! She is looking beautiful and she might be laying eggs again. She definitely has her confidence back, too. I guess there's not much else to update on. Again, I am sorry to be away for so long, and you are all very much appreciated!
(1st pix is Alice; 2nd are Mazie and Kelly - from the group of lavenders who passed... Any ideas on their breed?)
I've had a hard time even opening this site just because I knew I should post an update, but my heart has been broken over and over again. I ended up losing Bonk and the other pullet who was lame a few days after my last post. I truly think Bonk was on the mends... She was keeping better balance, walking to her food and water, and sitting upright for the most part. In fact, I was feeling like I would be able to move her in with the others in a day or so. However, one evening, the family and I were out in the barn, and I heard some unusual squawking. I started my way to the coop, and one of my dogs ran on ahead of me. By the time I got to the coop, I found my dog had Bonk's head in his mouth! I don't know how that happened, but I am wondering if the squawking was her in panic because she had somehow managing to stick her head through the dog kennel wires? There is no way my dog could have gotten to her otherwise. I got my dog away from her, and I carefully removed her head from between the wires, which was no easy task. (Seriously, how did she do that to begin with?!?) She was still alive but barely. I cried and cradled her until my husband took her from me and told me he had to end her suffering. I told him to take the pullet, too, since she definitely was not improving. Honk (my girl, after all her and I had been thru with her dang crop issues) was in the kennel with these two when this happened. (I would put her in there occasionally because Honk & Bonk were very close, needless to say.). I moved Honk back to her box in the coop where she likes to sleep at night. I did not sleep well that night. It kept playing over and over in my head. And, of course, there's the guilt of how I let that happen. The next day, it seemed Honk was not wanting to eat or drink. I even tried urging her with mealworms, and nothing. I took her outside and held her on my lap to see if she was just out of sorts. She just kept closing her eyes. I set her on the ground, and she took a few steps, and then sat down. So I picked her up and put her in the dreadful dog kennel with her own food and water. I didn't want anyone pecking at her while I ran recycling and garbage to the dump. I was only gone about 45 minutes. When I got home, my kids seemed to be acting secretively. I went out to check on her before I went into the house, and my daughter stopped me, and hugged me. She told me Honk had died. My kids are so amazing. They were trying to figure out how to deal with this in a way that would be easier for me to handle. I said goodbye to Honk, and they took her out to the field to bury her along the others. It took me a bit to get over that. I think we lost another pullet since then, and I currently have one who is lame. My husband will do what needs to be done tonight. So 8 out of 10 from the group of lavenders and what I am guessing Easter Eggers(?) are gone. The 2 that we have left are doing VERY well. In fact, the one is my daughter's favorite,and she has her trained to jump up onto a perch and then onto her arm. Lol. The other one is gray, but she doesn't look like the other lavenders. I will post a picture. We have lost many pullets, but I no longer keep count. They are at POL now, so I imagine we will see more decline before winter gets here. I do have one from our original young chicks, Alice, (it was the group of seven 1- to 2-month-old we got in March, where 3 ended up being roosters ) who seemed quiet and standing off by herself two days ago. Yesterday my daughter mentioned how pale her comb was. It is still pale today, and she is just not herself. I have read that birds can go thru a slight molt around 9-10 months of age which can cause a pale comb, but of course there's all of the other crap it could be. I am going to give her some extra protein (tuna?) and some nutridrench, and I will closely monitor her. We did just get done with their monthly maintenance of denagard, and I have not heard ANY sneezing, so that has been good. Nova (the adult lavender who was attacked by the dog, and then went thru molting, and I struggled with trying to figure out if she was eggbound) is doing AMAZING! She is looking beautiful and she might be laying eggs again. She definitely has her confidence back, too. I guess there's not much else to update on. Again, I am sorry to be away for so long, and you are all very much appreciated! (1st pix is Alice; 2nd are Mazie and Kelly - from the group of lavenders who passed... Any ideas on their breed?)
I wish you could have had another necropsy done on one of your older pullets that passed away. The excessive losses you have experienced are far beyond not normal, even more so after all you have done to try and save them. I am also sorry your dog got to Bonk after she was on the mend.
BTW, I never can think of enough good names for all my chicks/chickens. I currently have over 30 new pullets hatched this year, plus too many cockerels I am trying to justify keeping. None have names yet. I love the names Bonk, Honk and Chonk, and will choose 3 to give those names to. Those names make me smile, and are also a small way to honor your pullets' memories.
Got to leave it to kids to get creative sometimes! Lol. We also have one named ShawShank because she was an escape artist when she was little. And my son named another GodSpeed because she was lightning quick to not let anyone pick her up. She's not like that anymore... She's gotten pretty good about being held. We have not named any of the pullets. Probably a good thing with how things are going. 
Lacing, straight combs, white skin... so much to take in to consideration when figuring the breeds out. I could have sworn that Kelly was the same as your Australorp! I did zoom in on her feet, and it's not the best lighting to see the color, so I will try to get a better picture tomorrow. I do not know if Kelly or Maizy are purebred. We think Maizy has been laying the light green eggs, but I cannot be 100%. There are 10 nesting boxes, and most of the eggs are found in the same 3 boxes. Today I saw 2 hens in the same spot while a third seemed to be impatiently waiting her turn. Lol. 
None of it is your fault, you are doing the best you can, and truly you've had some terrible luck to have gotten chickens with so many diseases, bacterias -- and coccidiosis too. Geez. 
. I lost 8 out of 10 of one group (mostly young lavenders), and I have been dealing with losing a Leghorn pullet here and there after they start becoming lame. Alice is from our original group of six adults and seven 1 or 2-month-olds from a local person. We did lose a young rooster suddenly from this particular group a few months back....prior to the necropsy. 
