Chickens dying :(

[spunko2010]

Hi all, I am new here (and new to hens in general).

I rescued 3x ex-battery Rhode Island Red hybrids in June this year. Unfortunately one of them didn't last more than a couple of days and I had to have her put down as she had internal injuries, however the other 2 were like best friends. They re-grew their feathers and were really healthy, or so I thought.

Then a few months ago I noticed that one of my hens had anal/backside bleeding, and her comb was pale. I couldn't see any evidence of egg binding, and eventually decided with Google's help that she had some sort of soft shell issue. I didn't take her to the vet, instead I gave her lots of calcium and a few baths in epsom salts, and she made a complete recovery within a day or so (or so I thought), and was back to her self.

About 2 weeks ago, the other of my ex-batts died in the night. A few days before, she had some sort of bleeding out her backside (similar to the other one) but only very minor, I sprayed gentian and antibacterial spray on the 'wound' and it cleared up over night, gave her a epsom salts bath too, and she looked and acted normal from then on. I wondered if it was old age, as she would have been about 2 or 2.5 years old?

Then... last week I bought two more non-rescue pullets and had been slowly introducing them (they are Suffolk and Leghorn hybrids). STUPIDLY yesterday I forgot to separate them from the ex-batt and went to work, I got home 6 hours later and the ex-batt was sitting in the dark and cold, with legs splayed I picked her up and noticed she felt really thin, I don't know if the two new chickens attacked her but I separated them again, and put her to bed. This morning I went out and she was dead in the nest box, must have died in the night - I feel really guilty

Does anyone know what cause of her death might be? I cannot see any signs of bleeding or anything, but her comb was really pale again. I gave her food and water before putting her in bed, and it was about 12 C last night so not too cold.

Just to clarify I have been feeding them 80% layers, 10% oyster shell and grit (they dont like the oyster shell though), and 10% corn/scratch. I let them free range 2-3 days a week and make sure they have water. Am I doing something wrong? I really want to know why they both died within a week of each other so it doesn't happen again, I am a lot more upset than I thought I would be. Really hope I gave them a decent retirement and they didn't suffer too much

 

[spunko2010]

The other thing I should mention is that their eggs were quite pale. I thought this was lack of calcium so I gave them liquid calcium in the drinks but this didn't seem to have any effect. The layers mix I gave them is "complete" i.e. it says it has enough calcium etc.

 

[ChickenGirl555]

When you say you introduce your new chickens, you haven't said you quarantine them....Are you just immediately introducing them? The new birds could hold illness or bacteria you don't know Is there, and end up in a loss. I have a feeling that if you didn't quarantine the new guys, your old chickens could have died of a sickness brought by them. I don't know which sickness, and maybe somebody can help pinpoint the disease for me, but this is what I learned/know.

 

[spunko2010]

Well I quarantined them completely for 4 or 5 days with no access to the ex-battery. I then added the ex-battery hen for 20 minutes or so into their pen, on the 6th day. Can a disease kill them that quickly?

 

[ChickenGirl555]

Hmmm I'm not sure. Once again injury/disease is not my strong area, but I heard once somebody (professional) said, "The longer the quarantine the better". I don't know if the disease didn't have time to die, or really how It works. The most I can do is to bring @drumstick diva or @sourland into this.

 

[sourland]

It's a kind thing you are doing giving these birds a chance at 'the good life'. That being said, I doubt that your husbandry practices are at fault. It is frequently the nature of such high production birds to develop a myriad of problems around 2.5 to 3 years of age. I would guess that the causes of death have been the genetics of the birds involved.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like from their past crowded homes, some may have been vent pecking, which can lead to injuries and cannibalism. Ex-battery hens can also be more likely to get coccidiosis since they have been caged or overcrowded, and not used to soil. Taking birds from multiple sources without a quarantine period of at least a month is risky. You should be commended for adopting them, but keep them separated for a quarantine period. You can try getting some fresh droppings checked by a vet clinic for worms, coccidiosis, and it is alway good to feel crops for problems, check for egg binding, and look for mites and lice. Sorry about your chickens.

 

[JedJackson]

I agree with sourland on this. Battery hens often don't live for long after they've been rescued, for many reasons. It's a really nice thing you've done to give them a time of happiness in their short lives.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Hi all, I am new here (and new to hens in general)....
Does anyone know what cause of her death might be? I cannot see any signs of bleeding or anything, but her comb was really pale again. I gave her food and water before putting her in bed, and it was about 12 C last night so not too cold.

Just to clarify I have been feeding them 80% layers, 10% oyster shell and grit (they dont like the oyster shell though), and 10% corn/scratch. I let them free range 2-3 days a week and make sure they have water. Am I doing something wrong? I really want to know why they both died within a week of each other so it doesn't happen again, I am a lot more upset than I thought I would be. Really hope I gave them a decent retirement and they didn't suffer too much

Aside from what others have said, the only way to know for sure is to have a necropsy and lab work done. Virtually every state, province and most countries have a poultry lab to do that. Where do you live?

I'm sorry you had those losses to damper your enthusiasm.
The one thing I noticed is your feeding regimen. Layer feed is already 4% calcium and about the right amount for birds regularly building egg shells. OS is about 95% calcium carbonate.
Calcium carbonate is 40% elemental calcium.
If I read that right and 10% of their feed is oyster shell, essentially you are making their feed intake nearly 8% calcium, twice what is recommended for active layers and much more than birds not building shells can assimilate.
Battery hens have been fed a high calcium diet (4%) since they were about 4 months old. Many have damaged kidneys as a result so upping that intake to birds that may not be laying currently could put them over the top.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I also noticed the very high calcium.

If you are mixing the oyster shell in the feed you should stop. Oyster shell in a separate dish allows the ones needing it to get it and those not needing it aren't forced to take it.
Grit should be done the same way. You don't want crops that are just fill of rocks and calcium.

So sad that they seem to have been to spent to recover well.