Hens dying off - unknown cause

[TmnAmbr]

Hello. We successfully raised a flock of chickens for several years a few years ago and then had difficulties with neighbor dogs coming over and killing them all off. This spring we decided to get some more and we built a stable house and a large covered run for them. I LOVE to have free-range chickens, but at this point would prefer they be safe and alive.

We got our day-old chicks in early March from a reputable mail-order. We moved the chicks into their house with heat lamps in early April. We live in VA by the way and have Rhode Island Reds, 2 roosters and started with 24 hens. All was well and everyone was happy, then in June we noticed a hen who was suddenly not moving around much, seemed weak and the next day was dead. There did not seem to be a swollen stomach, messy vent or blocked crop... no reason I could easily see for the death. In the last 2 months we have lost 6 hens, one at a time - laying down and weak one day and then dead the next.

We are feeding food for layers from the farm store, have 2 large waterers that are sprayed down and given fresh water every day. The chickens move in and out of the house and run as they will. They are 19 weeks old now and we have not yet found any eggs from the hens. We throw some grit in the run once a week or so.

I am so sad to see our flock dwindling and have no idea why? Any ideas?

Thank you.

 

[Luvin Life]

I'm sorry about your hens. Are your waterers made out of metal? Any other symtoms ?

 

[TmnAmbr]

No, the waterers are plastic - no other symptoms that I can find.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Maybe the veterans will come to the rescue. If not, you migh PM threehorses.

 

[mypicklebird]

Things I would think about---
1) toxin
2) infectious viral/bacterial
3) infectious parasitic
4) trauma
5) environmental

toxins: plants, farm chemicals, intentional poisoning, spoiled food/water (walk your site and look for things, ask neighbors, look up unknown plants, examine food & water)

infectious viral/bacterial: many! best to leave these to specialists- send next deceased bird to state lab for testing- most states will do this for free to low cost if you ship them the bird. consider culling the day they are 'weak', not waiting for finding the bird dead. Many infectious organisms will cause upper respiratory symptoms- but not all. If you say what state you are in- we can probably get you the lab info.

infectious parasitic: internal and external. external are usually easy to find- lots of lice/mites around feather bases. red mites live off the bird in the coop- look for them at night with a flash light. These guys kill via causing anemia. Lots of ways to kill these bloodsuckers. internal- get a fecal done at a vets, or just deworm.

trauma: can anything get in?

environmental: heat, cold, ect. Is your area above 90 degrees? Heat stress/exhaustion can weaken and kill.

 

[LynneP]

Did you phone the providers to see if any of the chicks you received might have imported a disease?

 

[dlhunicorn]

In addition to the comments from mypickle:
were the chicks vaccinated? if they were (and your older birds were not) then that might be the problem....
Is the water source tap or well water? If well you mgiht get it tested (there are guidelines online to help you interpret the results)
Have you ever wormed your birds?
Without a necropsy you wont know what the problem is.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

What does their poop look like?

 

[threehorses]

Along with all the good questions above, I'd add to answer these questions please:

Since your birds have a run, that mostly reduces the likelihood of compost piles, access to manure, stagnant water, algea, or areas under pens where chicken manure sits. If I'm incorrect, please let me know.

I'd also feed a grower, not a layer feed, until you see their combs start to enlarge and redden. Grower provides some nutrients and less calcium for a more appropriate feed for birds under 18 weeks of age. Did you just recently start with the laying feed? Or were they eating grower before?

You say you're feeding grit - I would try feeding it in a container (like a cheap kitty feeding bowl from the dollar store) rather than on the ground to reduce the chances of parasite infestation or picking up stuff from the dirt.

What is your flooring/bedding? Are you using straws, shavings, sand, dirt? Is there any chance that any feed got wet or humid, or dropped into the bedding possibly to be picked up later?

Have you examined all the birds thoroughly to rule out a mite infestation? This one is tricky as mites only feed at night, so you have to check the birds several times over a couple of weeks and hope to catch them. Alternately you could just treat for them, but that also requires treating the wood - not just the birds/bedding. If you do find some, use permethrin dust on the birds, and spray at 10% permethrin or goat lice spray with permethrin only) on the woods, especially the eyes in the wood, cracks, joints, and 3' off the ground. Birds would be retreated in 7 days with dust.

If you feel the hens, do they feel of good weight, or a little light? Feel all your birds tomorrow and let us know.

Have you ever wormed them?
Any other signs of anything like odd droppings, pasty vent, weird breathing, etc?

I'd definitely recommend getting a necropsy done if you lose another. Call ahead to your state ag college for extensions to see if there's a place near you that will do it at state extension prices. That way you have the information ahead of time, before the bird dies, to know whether they want a live or dead bird as places differ in their requirements.

 

[TmnAmbr]

Mypickle - thank you for your thoughts. I had considered most of the things you mentioned, but will spend some more time investigating their quarters. Do you have a dewormer you recommend? I have never had to do that, but sounds like something to try since I can't find any other causes. I am in VA and it has been a mild summer with lots of rain.

Lynne - I think I will check with the providers for any known causes.

dlhunicorn - No, the chicks were not vaccinated. All of the birds that I have now are the same age, we had none left from our previous chickens. They are getting well water - the same that we use to wash in (we drink filtered)... it has been tested for the usual minerals, etc but not a full bacteria test, will consider that.

Sonoran - I went out and checked the house and run this evening, the poop that I saw all looked within the "normal" range according to the pics on this forum (what a great resource!). There were a couple that were reddish colored, but not bloody - will watch that, but otherwise was comfortable with all the droppings I saw.

We do have the waterers both elevated, but they still tend to get dirty with straw and poo - that is the only thing that I would like to improve on, but not sure how? They are hanging and we clean them out daily - maybe we should go out twice a day, or raise them??? The house and run looked good, all the chickens looked happy and healthy. I dunno!

Thank you for all of your input, please let me know if you think of anything else to check into...