We have leghorn and araucouna hens together since birth, July. They were vaccinated, 25 Araucounas and 8 leghorns. They have all just started laying, but the araucounas are all of a sudden dying. The bodies show no signs of stress, except for the rear area has been pecked out. In the morning they are fine but then at night there will be two or three dead hens. None of the leghorns are dying and they are pecking out the araucounas, so not sure what type of disease would just hit one breed. Before they are dying they are having their bottoms pecked and it is fairly nasty. We have two other established coops of hens that are so far not showing any signs of sickness, just the Araucounas. Has anybody heard of such a thing. We are about to lose all of the arauconas that we just brought along. Please help. Thanks, Michelle Ridley
Welcome to BYC. Do they have enough room in their coop and run? Are they getting outside to free range? I would separate the leghorns if they are vent pecking. Vent pecking is very dangerous, can lead to cannibaliztion, but also may be a cause of salpingitis later on. Boredom, too little room, and being fed too little protein in the diet may be a cause of vent pecking. Make sure they are getting 15http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/99/mycoplasma-synoviae-infection-ms-infectious-synovitis6-20% protein (while limiting scratch or snacks to less than 10% of the diet. There are anti-pick lotions available, but I think separating the bullies is really necessary.