Chickens dying at alarming rate.

[Penfarms]

Bare with me as I am no chicken expert by any means. I assist my dad with his chickens. He has raised chickens for years. This year has been a terrible year. Within the last few weeks we were losing a chicken a week and now we’re losing them every few days. Today I went down when he said he found one that had passed and one didn’t look to great. I noticed on the chicken that was soon going to pass, her comb that is usually bright red was pale pink and dry. Her legs which are usually yellow had went white. But the weird thing about this is. There is no indication they are going to pass until we find them gone or right before this happens. This is the first time I had seen the pale comb and legs discolored and then she passed. The day before. The flock appeared completely fine. It completely blows our minds. The entire flock is less than a year old. Then I have another one, my sweet Maggie. Same flock. Just suddenly stopped walking. When I was able I moved her in the house with me. She eats. She drinks. She lays. She just doesn’t walk unless I assist her.

Plz help

 

[16 and me]

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this! I don't have any answers but I am hoping someone answers you soon!

 

[The Chick Addict]

@Eggcessive
@aart
@Wyorp Rock
@azygous

 

[azygous]

We need your location. It can tell us so much .

What are these chickens fed? What is the water source?

Are there any farm machinery leaking fluids onto the soil in the vicinity of the chickens?

Has there been any recent use of insecticides? Painting? Auto repair?

Is a heat source used? What is it?

 

[gtaus]

Welcome to the BYC forums. Too bad it is under such bad circumstances. I hope someone here might be able to help.

Recommend you put your geographic location on your member icon. It helps people to understand where you are and what weather you might be dealing with.

Considering your father has raised chickens for a number of years, I would consider your situation concerning. Has anything changed recently? New feed? Clean water? Housing adequate?

I hope you can correct the problem before you suffer more losses.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. It could be a number of things that is killing your chickens. It sounds like possible mite infestation or an infectious disease. Knowing your location and more details would help. Are they having any diarrhea or unusual poops? Are all having issues standing or walking when sick? Check their skin for any mites, and be aware that some mites only come on at night, hiding in the coop during the day. Do they stand puffed up and hunched? Are they eating and drinking? Look for a bead odor, moisture or mold in the bottom of your feed container. What do they eat? If one dies keep the body cold, not frozen and send to your state vet right away for a necropsy. They can rule out avian influenza, coccidiosis, Mareks, and many other diseases. Call them today before any more losses and get details about what to do. Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[aart]

@Penfarms some good questions have been asked, we need answers to those before even attempting to diagnose and offer solutions.

Location(climate), feed, housing, etc.

Also do you have daily access to these birds or are they in another location?

 

[Penfarms]

I am in North Carolina. I see these birds everyday. They use a heat lamp on really cold nights. They do go outside during the day and back in the coop at night. My dad collects their eggs twice a day. I go down every morning when I would go take care of Maggie before I moved her in with me. All of them appear completely fine until they aren’t fine and it’s weird. They will all be running around completely fine, eating, drinking, all socializing, and as stated before my dad is down there twice a day. And always reports anything weird to me

 

[gtaus]

What breed of chickens do you have? Is there any common loss rate among a particular breed if you have multiple breeds?

I live in northern Minnesota and made sure I got chickens that were listed as cold hardy birds. I don't think you get the cold weather in North Carolina like I do in Minnesota, but the breed of chickens that are dying might provide some clues.

Maybe not.

 

[gtaus]

They use a heat lamp on really cold nights.

I know "really cold nights" are probably relative to where you live. Where I live, we got down to -19F last night and I don't have any heat lamps in my coup. I have never lost a chicken due to cold weather in the 4+ years I have been keeping laying hens. We get a stretch of cold weather of -35F to -40F for a short week every year. So far, I have not had any losses due to cold temperatures with no additional heat in the coop.

I am not saying that using a heat lamp is causing any problems for you, but I wonder if having extra heat on some nights, and not on others, could possibly upset the chicken's natural ability to keep themselves warm? Seems like a variable to consider since you mentioned it.

Along those lines, a coop needs good ventilation, but should not be drafty. My coop was designed to have the ventilation above the head of the chickens when they sleep on their roosting bar at night. There are no drafts coming up from underneath them as they sleep. Drafts coming from underneath the chickens can negatively affect their ability to trap warm air in their feathers against their bodies to keep them warm. That would cause extra stress on the birds.

I don't know if any of that helps. But sometimes it pays to ensure the basics are considered first. Best wishes.