Desperate for others opinion on my run of chicken deaths - long post

[AmyJane725]

Hormone implants won't help prevent cancer, and might increase the risk for some types of cancer. There's likely no actual data on improved longevity or health in hens, as this is so totally off label!
It's just tough to loose birds who aren't really old!
Mary

It really is so senseless and tragic. It's horrible there's really nothing we can do about it. I don't want anything to happen to my babies. I love them so much.

 

[Folly's place]

It might be a good idea to pick birds from rare breeds! Check the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, and Henderson's Poultry Breeds chart, and some hatchery catalogs, and pick some that fit with your climate and look interesting! It's not all about buff Orphingtons and other popular breeds, look further. That's what got me interested in Chanteclers, for example.
Rant over...
Mary

 

[microchick]

Perhaps birds like the Cubalya and the original Game Fowl are close enough to wild that they are by nature hardier. Also consider Egyptian Fayoumi. I bought 5 this spring to add to my flock. Marek's resistant, disese resistant, parasite resistant. Once again a breed of birds that is so close to being a wild chicken that their hardiness hasn't been bred out of them.

 

[loftygoals]

Hey there,

So sorry for your losses. My chickens are beloved pets, so I totally get where you're coming from. I'll be devastated when something happens to mine eventually, even if it's old age.

Now, I'm just throwing this out there, but since you're a vet you'd have much easier access than the rest of us, so you might use that to your advantage. Hens that have chronic reproductive problems can be given hormone implants to stop they from laying eggs. Might this be a useful option for the rest of your girls? I'd have mine spayed all together if it wasn't so dangerous for them (and bank-breaking for me). I think the implants are the next best thing. You won't have eggs anymore, but if they're not laying they can't lay internally or anything either I don't think. I don't know if it would help with reproductive tract infections. Maybe you could answer that for me actually?

 

[loftygoals]

Sorry I meant to reply to the above question, not just quote it.

Hormone implants are spendy, about 235.00 (my cost) and have to be repeated every 6 months. They don't prevent cancer and really aren't practical. But believe me, I did look into it. I actually tried to spay my duck that was having reproductive issues. She died during anesthesia. As has been pointed out in this thread, putting these guys under anesthesia is very risky, and I will never try it again.

I am going to look into the bantam and more rare breeds in my next chicken shopping spree.

 

[Folly's place]

I've anesthetized several of my chickens, and one pet cockatiel, for a very few minutes with gas anesthesia, and it went fine. Once I tried longer, when my hen's wounds were worse than anticipated, and she died. She wasn't going to survive her injuries, but still a futile effort.
Mary