Chickens Acting Weird

[Ellanora]

Hi!! I just created an account because I got chickens!! They are about a month old. I had 6 chickens. They spent there first night in the coop last night and 2 of them died ;(. My Ameracana took a blow to her head. I don't think it bled to bad. It is a small wound and I can't tell how deep it is. She has been acting odd though. She isn't very fast anymore and is always kind of dazed. At one point she just sat down on the ground and than the other. Sometimes she looks like she is about to fall asleep. I don't know if this is trauma or something very serious! I really scared because I love that chicken so much! Please help!!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Sylver Queen]

Hi. Sorry about your losses! Try putting specific symptoms in the title of your thread to let people know what kind of emergency this is. ("Two chicks died, another ailing" for example.) Hopefully your other chickens will be all right, but if there's still something going on that could threaten their health, maybe someone here can help.

I haven't had much personal experience with chickens being sick, or whatever is going on with yours, but could a predator have gotten into the house and killed the two and injured the Ameraucana? Are they showing symptoms like labored, raspy breathing? Could their house be too hot or not have enough ventilation?

I love my chickens too, and I hope the best for yours. : )

 

[emmaie892000]

Was the cause of death of the two obvious? Were there any symptoms?
Also it sounds like the one with the head injury may have some kind of trauma. Where could she have gotten this injury? You need to make sure the others are safe to prevent other problems.
Keep us updated on her condition.

 

[Ellanora]

The Chickens are doing better and I think that the amerucana will be alright. I still feel horrible and the chickens I think do too. They are a lot slower than they used to be and I think they miss having 5 other chicks around instead of just 3. But otherwise I think they will be okay. I am also wondering if adding new chickens will make them more happy again, or if it will make them go crazy. And to answer your question, some animal got to them during the night.

 

[emmaie892000]

Try to find how the predator got in, to ensure it doesn't happen again. Getting other chicks shouldn't cause any severe problems, although you'll want to keep them separated until the new ones are old enough to mingle. A huge age gap isn't good for the younger ones if they get picked on. Of course, the pecking order may have to be sorted out again, but that's just normal chicken stuff