i started with eight standard breed brahma pullets. they are about four months old now. they went from the brooder into the coop a month ago. all has been fine. they have about three inches of pine shavings inside the coop and have a feed dish and a gallon waterer in there. about a week ago i went out there to lock them up for the night after they had been outside all day pecking around the coop. one of them was dead. no wounds, no appearant injuries, missing or ruffled feathers. just flattened out and stiff as a board. i have kept them in the coop all week because i had wondered if my dog had been playing too rough with them or something. my lab is very docile and doesn't even look at them but i wasn't around so i didn't rule that out. the next day all the birds appeared kind of lathargic but wanted to eat. i notice they had feed stuck around their mouth area and where stretching out there necks as they were eating as if they were trying to get the food down. i thought they might have inpacted crop or something as their crops were full and hard. i gave them water and took away their food. tonight i went out there to check on them and i have another dead bird in the same condition as the first dead bird. they keep scratching around the waterer and it fills with shavings to the point of were they can't get water. i am going to hang the waterer tommorrow so they don't get shavings in the waterer anymore. i feed them medicated flock raiser and they have pine shavings not cedar. what is going on here? my guess is they aren't getting enough water. oh, also they are standard breed birds but they are the size of small bantams. they are now four months old. i know brahmas are slow growers but shouldn't they be bigger by now?
