Orange Chicken 22
In the Brooder
- Jul 23, 2020
- 25
- 12
- 46
About two months ago, I got about a dozen new chickens, a mix of australorp pullets and Red sexlink hens( actual ages unknown). Within the first two weeks, three australorp pullets had died. Two looked like they had just died in the middle of the night while sleeping on their roosting bars and fallen on the ground. The third had looked lethargic the day before, and had died by the next morning.
In the past two weeks, I have had two more australorp pullets and a red sexlink hen die. Again, one pullet died in the middle of the night, for seemingly no reason. The other pullet was a little lethargic, and was laying on the floor of the coop the next day, alive but doing very poorly. I had tried to get some food and water in her, but she was too weak to take it. I left her under a heat lamp so she would be at least be a little more comfortable and she died later on that day. The red sexlink was fine yesterday, but this morning I found her laying on her side in the coop, with her head tightly curled forward. After I picked her up, she started shaking her head back and forth. I also put her under the heat lamp and she died within an hour.
I hadn't noticed any other symptoms in these birds. I went back and re-examined the sexlink, and she seemed perfectly normal. Normal comb and eyes, no sign of diarrhea or weird poop, normal skin and feathers, normal weight.
A few weeks ago I noticed two of my original hens sneezing, but they are fine now. Only chickens from that new group have died. My ducks are also unaffected.
The new group was not isolated from the rest of the flock, which I now regret. Only one of the hens from the original flock is vaccinated for Marek's that I am 100% sure of, the rest I don't know.
They are free range on an acre, and usually don't sleep in the actual coop unless it rains. They usually sleep out in a chicken wire covered run. They are fed 18% layer pellets. The weather in my area has been ranging from 40s and 50s during the day and 20s and 30s at night.
I need help identifying what this may be, and what, if anything, I can do about it. Please let me know if there is any additional information I can give to help narrow it down.
In the past two weeks, I have had two more australorp pullets and a red sexlink hen die. Again, one pullet died in the middle of the night, for seemingly no reason. The other pullet was a little lethargic, and was laying on the floor of the coop the next day, alive but doing very poorly. I had tried to get some food and water in her, but she was too weak to take it. I left her under a heat lamp so she would be at least be a little more comfortable and she died later on that day. The red sexlink was fine yesterday, but this morning I found her laying on her side in the coop, with her head tightly curled forward. After I picked her up, she started shaking her head back and forth. I also put her under the heat lamp and she died within an hour.
I hadn't noticed any other symptoms in these birds. I went back and re-examined the sexlink, and she seemed perfectly normal. Normal comb and eyes, no sign of diarrhea or weird poop, normal skin and feathers, normal weight.
A few weeks ago I noticed two of my original hens sneezing, but they are fine now. Only chickens from that new group have died. My ducks are also unaffected.
The new group was not isolated from the rest of the flock, which I now regret. Only one of the hens from the original flock is vaccinated for Marek's that I am 100% sure of, the rest I don't know.
They are free range on an acre, and usually don't sleep in the actual coop unless it rains. They usually sleep out in a chicken wire covered run. They are fed 18% layer pellets. The weather in my area has been ranging from 40s and 50s during the day and 20s and 30s at night.
I need help identifying what this may be, and what, if anything, I can do about it. Please let me know if there is any additional information I can give to help narrow it down.
