Chickens laying too soon; 2 dead already - Please Help

[Sonoran Silkies]

Jetto, you really need to start your own thread. That said, if she is eggbound, you should be able to feel the egg in her abdomen.

 

[jetto]

Sorry I thought it sounded like my bird was doing the same type of thing. I'll post elsewhere. Kristi

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

It does sound like your bird is having a laying issue. I don't believe that is the case for the birds in this thread, although that was the initial diagnosis.

 

[theFox]

cap_118,

How long have you been feeding the wheat?

You could have a case of Vomitoxin, seems the 2009 wheat crop had just about ideal conditions for the fungus that produces it. There were major fungal issues with a number of crops. I experienced what amounted to a total wipe out of tomatoes by late blight (as well as some folks lost their spuds), the wild blueberry barrens were hit with another fungus that causes leaf drop, those fields won't produce any next year, and last a number of tree species also got blasted with fungal infections, most of them will survive provided we don't get a multi-year stretch of the same conditions.

You need your feed checked.

 

[hawtchick]

That was my first thought.....It's gotta be mold in the food or some sort of accidental poisoning.
This is so sad!

 

[Orphy]

One, maybe two could maybe be an egg laying issue. But when it looks like your whole flock is having this problem then it would have to be something else. have you consulted the vet again? maybe they will rethink the problem when they see more are dieing.

 

[cap_118]

Quote:
All of the chicken came from http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html. Except for the promised "free rare chicken" not being sent and them being shipped with a spider that killed one right off the bat, there have been no problems - until now.

 

[cap_118]

Quote:
The food is kept in the house. We use Suncoast Bedding pine shavings for bedding and the chickens are dusted for parasites and wormed regularly.

 

[cap_118]

Quote:
I have been feeding wheat since we lost the 2nd chicken, so about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. It does seem like the last few chickens to die have something wrong with them other than laying problems. The last three to die were found in a lethargic state after laying an egg, and remained that way until they passed away 4 - 10 hours later. I am planning to stop the wheat for a few days to see if that will help, since it is obviously not keeping them from laying.

 

[cap_118]

Quote:
Your situation does sound similar to the last few chickens I have lost. We find them not moving, eating, drinking, etc. and they are unusually easy to pickup. They just lay there until they die some hours later. I hope you have better luck than I have had. Please let me know what you find out about your chicken.