broken hearted

[bkorpington]

i purchased 6 bk orpington baby chicks in may. One was injurded in back yard and died.
3 got sick one at a time, would not eat, could only stand one side, would just fall over. Put each one away from others, not picked on. 2 left now one has developed what looks maybe like a hump, white poop on rear and today she is not roosting. I can't figure what is going wrong. never had chicken in back yard before. let them out everyday. buy store food and put veg scraps out but will only eat grapes. any ideas of what is wrong? they are so pretty and fat.

 

[chicknmania]

That is so sad but where did you buy your chicks? Definitely start with wherever you bought them, and see what is going on. It is not anything you are doing, at least it doesn't sound like it. Contact wherever you bought them from, describe the symptoms your chicks have, and see if any others from the source are having problems and if the owner can give you any information.

Please don't give up on your babies. They should be in a warm place, if they are not. It's ok I think at this point to keep them together, as they've already been exposed to each other anyway and they will keep each other company. When you say store bought food, what are you feeding them?

 

[bkorpington]

she is on pellets and eats in the yard. the first ones were couple months old. the last one died a few months ago, she was a grown hen. they will be a year old in May, if they live that long. I think itis intestinal, can't figure the hump that appear on their backs. they are really beautiful hens.

 

[chicknmania]

Well, for starters you can also have a fecal test done. Most vets will do it for you. It costs around 15.00 here. That will tell you a lot. You can also have a necropsy done, but they need to have died within twenty four hours or so. Most illnesses, in my experience, start because the bird is weakened by a parasite infestation of some kind.

 

[donrae]

My first though is you have Marek's disease. The leg paralysis is pretty classic

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq