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I happened upon this thread and was hoping maybe I could get some info/advice. We are new chicken owner this year and not doing too well :( We started with 8 (lost one chick in the spring/early summer), a couple weeks ago one pullet got an eye infection that got worse despite treatment and when I had her out on the deck to keep an eye on her she squeezed through the gate and the dog got her. OK a chick and the dog....ok. Moving on, Friday my Jubilee Orp hen died! she had been a bit lethargic the day before but I just assumed she was hot orsimply more friendly than the rooster/polish/rhodebar pullets. She never did anything out of the ordinary other than stick closer to the coop during "free range time". I was/am really bummed :( I noticed the next day that one of my other pullets (cinnamon queen) was acting the same way?! stayed in the coop more than the others and was sitting more, that sort of thing. Again, nothing else I could notice. I thought maybe coccidiosis so I treat their water hoping to stop it before I lost anymore, but today I found her in the coop, dead. SOOOOOO my question is: am I doing something wrong? Or just bad luck?

They eat medicated feed, get scraps out of the garden and get out for some free range time each evening. I have the coop over cement (husband insisted) and I used to have some pine shavings on the ground there but it was difficult to keep clean so I don't have any currently. I spray the cement down each weekend to keep it clean and just stared spreading some DE to keep flies down. The run is connected to the coop so they can go back and forth and it is over dirt. We've had quite a bit of rain the past 2 weeks and its definitely moist dirt right now. Not muddy but not anywhere near dry. The chickens have access to plenty of dirt for dust baths. Plenty of water...shade...everything I can think of they need.

The coop itself we bought from a woman who used it for a summer but kept losing chicken to a predator. I didn't disinfect it when we got it but it was pretty clean. I keep pine shavings in it and clean the poop out each day or every two days at worst. I've taken all the bedding out twice already this summer.

I checked the dead birds for mites and didn't see mites or anything else. They look perfectly healthy and were eating and doing all normal things until a day or two before dying. No trouble breathing, no foul smells.

I'm trying to check poops more closely but I don't know exactly what I'm looking for? I've looked at some posts and I don't see anything really weird...maybe i'm not picking up on something though?

I would love if someone with more experience could tell me if I'm missing something? doing something wrong? I am down to 4 birds. Only other thing i can think to mention is my 3 year old likes to hold the chickens when she's out with me. It usually isn't much but always ends up holding the ones that die bc they don't apparently have the energy to run off (i'm putting two and two together at this point, at first I just thought they were the more friendly birds). My daughter isn't sick though and doesn't go anywhere besides grandma and grandpas house and they don't have any animals.

ANY helpful info or advice would really, really be appreciated! thanks
 
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I have not a clue it has happened to me before though
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Sometimes you just go through a rotten spell. It can be quite aggravating and discouraging. Several years ago, I just had a month in which I lost 3 hens, just dead. Kind of scares you.

Until you really know what you have going on, or things quit dying, you might want to discourage your daughter from handling them, there are some diseases that will cross over, and we would not want her sick.

A couple of things to check, is the coop DRY. Sounds like the leaks are taken care of, but sometimes when the leaks are stopped, the ventilation is impaired. Chickens need a dry coop. I would put more bedding on the floor, throw scratch on top of it, and let them work it up, I would not recommend washing the coop floor once a week.

Keep a vigilant eye out, and remove anything questionable immediately. But really, my problem just went away. I never was too sure what happened, but sometimes chickens die.

Mrs K
 
they might just be roos, or aggressive hens. don't wear nail polish around them (if you wear polish) and don't carry heavy things around them either. don't try to look afraid, and don't run away/back down from them either. they have to know who's boss. a good squirt of vinegar and water mixed together to the face when they peck could also work. i know it sounds harsh, but they have to learn. also, try not to run around them/make quick movements. you might also want to try getting a roo to help calm them down so they can know their man has their backs. if you do, make sure to get a tame rooster.
and never, never, get physical with them, even if they do something awful. that will make it worse. once i knew someone who pushed their roo of his perch when he pecked her for the first time. the roo stared at her as if he had never truly seen her before. and that left a very strong impression on the poor roo. they are like sponges. they soak up memories, and then they make out what you are off of that.
hope this helps!
~Marie
 
bmill88 said:
My 3 chickens used to be more docile, they would let you pet them. But now as they have gotten older they are a bit more aggressive and want to try to peck me when I try to pet them. They are 15 weeks old as of Saturday and they are barred rocks, which are know. To being friendlier chickens. How to I train them to be friendlier like they used to be?
Click to expand...
here is some advice for that...
they might just be roos, or aggressive hens. don't wear nail polish around them (if you wear polish) and don't carry heavy things around them either. don't try to look afraid, and don't run away/back down from them either. they have to know who's boss. a good squirt of vinegar and water mixed together to the face when they peck could also work. i know it sounds harsh, but they have to learn. also, try not to run around them/make quick movements. you might also want to try getting a roo to help calm them down so they can know their man has their backs. if you do, make sure to get a tame rooster.
and never, never, get physical with them, even if they do something awful. that will make it worse. once i knew someone who pushed their roo of his perch when he pecked her for the first time. the roo stared at her as if he had never truly seen her before. and that left a very strong impression on the poor roo. they are like sponges. they soak up memories, and then they make out what you are off of that.
~Marie
 
BlixbabyFarm said:
I happened upon this thread and was hoping maybe I could get some info/advice. We are new chicken owner this year and not doing too well :( We started with 8 (lost one chick in the spring/early summer), a couple weeks ago one pullet got an eye infection that got worse despite treatment and when I had her out on the deck to keep an eye on her she squeezed through the gate and the dog got her. OK a chick and the dog....ok. Moving on, Friday my Jubilee Orp hen died! she had been a bit lethargic the day before but I just assumed she was hot orsimply more friendly than the rooster/polish/rhodebar pullets. She never did anything out of the ordinary other than stick closer to the coop during "free range time". I was/am really bummed :( I noticed the next day that one of my other pullets (cinnamon queen) was acting the same way?! stayed in the coop more than the others and was sitting more, that sort of thing. Again, nothing else I could notice. I thought maybe coccidiosis so I treat their water hoping to stop it before I lost anymore, but today I found her in the coop, dead. SOOOOOO my question is: am I doing something wrong? Or just bad luck?

They eat medicated feed, get scraps out of the garden and get out for some free range time each evening. I have the coop over cement (husband insisted) and I used to have some pine shavings on the ground there but it was difficult to keep clean so I don't have any currently. I spray the cement down each weekend to keep it clean and just stared spreading some DE to keep flies down. The run  is connected to the coop so they can go back and forth and it is over dirt. We've had quite a bit of rain the past 2 weeks and its definitely moist dirt right now. Not muddy but not anywhere near dry. The chickens have access to plenty of dirt for dust baths. Plenty of water...shade...everything I can think of they need. 

The coop itself we bought from a woman who used it for a summer but kept losing chicken to a predator. I didn't disinfect it when we got it but it was pretty clean. I keep pine shavings in it and clean the poop out each day or every two days at worst. I've taken all the bedding out twice already this summer. 

I checked the dead birds for mites and didn't see mites or anything else. They look perfectly healthy and were eating and doing all normal things until a day or two before dying. No trouble breathing, no foul smells. 

I'm trying to check poops more closely but I don't know exactly what  I'm looking for? I've looked at some posts and I don't see anything really weird...maybe i'm not picking up on something though? 

I would love if someone with more experience could tell me if I'm missing something? doing something wrong? I am down to 4 birds. Only other thing i can think to mention is my 3 year old likes to hold the chickens when she's out with me. It usually isn't much but always ends up holding the ones that die bc they don't apparently have the energy to run off (i'm putting two and two together at this point, at first I just thought they were the more friendly birds). My daughter isn't sick though and doesn't go anywhere besides grandma and grandpas house and they don't have any animals. 

ANY helpful info or advice would really, really be appreciated! thanks
Click to expand...


I too had the same thing happen last year. My pullets were in an outdoor coop area. For the most part it stayed damp, muddy. I watched for bumblefoot, treated them for worms with pig swig & wazine, then with corid for coccidiosis. They kept dying. One at a time. I treated them with antibiotics after they continued to die. I lost more than 1/2 of those pullets. After I thought it was taking a turn around, fowl pox went thru my main flock, not housed with them. Then I noticed heavy breathing in some of them, sneezing, coughing, and some had mucus. I have over 100 chickens. I am by no means a veterinarian or chicken expert, but I did a lot of research and ultimately came to the conclusion that my chickens had contracted MG. Mycoplasma Gillisepticum. It was determined they had contracted this from an Easter Egger I bought at a chicken swap. This is ultimately when they all started getting sick. I culled her and a few more sick ones. I stopped pumping meds to them and gave them electrolytes, moved them out of the previous spot to a dryer spot, Sundays I gave them ACV in small amounts in their water, and Thursdays gave them bleach in small amounts in their water. I sanitized everything.

Checking their poop is the best clue you can get. Check out the "poop chart" from the Chicken Chic. I'll try to post a link for you.
 
thank you for the info! Ok so I haven't introduced any new birds since I got my chicks to begin with. I actually did check out the chicken chic poo chart and yeah, everything looks good. The remaining 4 are looking good still. I've read about ACV used in their water, but not the bleach? What does it do? How do you know it doesn't do any damage? just wondering. And again, thank you for the insight!!!
 

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