Flock concerns

[twoangels35]

I'm fairly new at this.... We started our flock about 10 months ago...they had been fine until the last few weeks. The odd thing is I was planning to downsize and have half of them processed...not even two days later the first one died! Unfortunately, she was one of my leghorns that I planned to keep. I have (had) 3 of that breed that had been laying an egg every.day for about the past 7 months...some of the eggs were more than jumbo size. When I found her, she was on the top in the nesting box...her bottom was bloody and there was a blood covered egg underneath her :-( I researched the situation and decided it was possible she died from a prolapse...2 days later a second leghorn was found on the floor which I assumed was from the same reason...I did notice this time that her insides from her bottom were basically cleaned out...and a Wyandotte and New Hampshire Red were near her pecking...which I assumed they ate the prolapsed area and was concerned they ate her intestines too...about 2 days later...the Wyandotte was found...then last night the New Hampshire Red died :-( I'm concerned about the eggs...because I normally collect the eggs clumped together, so I don't know who laid which ones...the other hens and roosters seem fine...any thoughts? The only thing I have done differently in the past 2 months is I started giving them scratch grains as well as their normal feed...

 

[PrairieChickens]

It could be a serious illness. If it was just the first chicken, I would have considered it bad stock and par for the course, but four chickens from different breeds dying so close together raises a lot of warning flags for me. If possible, send one of the bodies to a lab to have it tested for illness. Otherwise, you may lose your whole flock and never know why.

 

[twoangels35]

Thank you...I did read about doing that...I've wormed them as directed...so I really have no idea...they have been in their molting stage...how long does this normally last...and can they be more susceptible to illness during this time?

 

[PrairieChickens]

Molts vary depending on the individual. It usually takes a few weeks from start to finish. It's possible that molting could make them more susceptible, since more energy is being directed at regrowing feathers, but I'm not a vet so I can't say for sure.

 

[twoangels35]

I have a few Wyandottes that started losing their feathers 2 months ago...I bought them aprons at first...but the other chickens freaked out when they had them on...so I took them off...they still don't have all their feather growth back... initially I thought maybe there was a mite issue and treated the coop and flock...still clueless though