Heartbroken newbie

[howertop]

Hello! So glad I found this site. I have never owned chickens before. I had 2 wyondottes,{Lucy and ethel} and an australope{Lizzie} They aren't a year old yet. I got them as babies and kept them in our questroom till they were old enough to go in the coop. I love them dearly. Yesterday Lucy died. She was just sitting there and I thought she was going to do a dirt bath, well she died. She was fine an hour before. I noticed Lizzie has been taking along tme laying her egg lately. Maybe Lucy was eggbound. Lucy and Lizzie were both a little overweight. Now I'm so scared something will happen too Lizzie and ethel. We let them have free riehn over the back yard and they seem happy and healthy, Ethel and Lucy were buddies so it seems like ethel has been searching for Lucy all day. We want to get a couple teenagers in the spring so there wont be a danger of either one of them being alone. Well, I'm glad to meet all of you and hope I can do right by these chickens!!

 

[Kessel23]

She could have been egg bound but i'm not sure.

 

[howertop]

She could have been egg bound but i'm not sure.

I'm almost afraid to take my eyes off Lizzie and Ethel now, I have to relax!

 

[N F C]

I'm sorry you lost your girl Lucy. Chickens are real good about hiding illness and injury so sometimes it isn't apparent there's a problem until it's too late.

Make yourself at home here and always feel free to ask questions...everyone is here to help each other. One thing about adding new birds, be sure to read up on isolation and integration first. Chickens don't take kindly to change and adding to the flock is a big change for them.

Best of luck with Lizzie and Ethel.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. I wish you the best of luck with your future additions.

 

[howertop]

Thank you so much. I am concerned about Ethel, they were such buddies. We want to get teenagers in the spring so that ethel and Lizzies don't have a chance of being alone. I raised them from babies and got so attached. Ill read up on how to best introduce them. Thank you again.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome to BYC. I am so sorry to hear that it is in such sad circumstances that you join our community.

There is a disease called Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome which can affect overweight birds and causes the liver to rupture and haemorrhage which causes quite sudden death. Carrying too much fat can also cause laying issues like prolapse and egg binding, so it is important to assess their diet and make changes if they are overweight. It is easy for chickens to become fat without us even realising, because those feathers hide a lot but it is even more of a health risk in chickens than it is with humans.

What do you currently feed them, including regular feed, scratch, corn, bread, treats etc?
We all know how much chickens enjoy treats and it is easy to slowly increase the amount we give them without even realising it, so at times like this, it is good to re-evaluate that and cut right back and choose healthier treats instead of the high calorie carbohydrates that are so easy to indulge them with.

 

[m1chelle1]

Welcome! Bienvenidos!!! So sorry to hear about your baby. Hope the others will be fine.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome and sorry for your loss.

Fat chickens don't live long. Please limit treats or completely stop feeding them. Have you ever wormed your girls?

 

[Plip]

I'm so sorry that happened. Those aren't fun days.

Glad you're here, though. Welcome to BYC.