is it time to give up on chicken raising...HELP frustrated with deaths

Don't give up! Where did you get your chicks from? Could they possible all have come from the same place? It could be all related or like you said it could all be different isolated incidents. Vets can be hit or miss when it comes to poultry. If you find a good avian vet that has a passion for poultry and knowledge consider yourself very lucky! I just got done posting this to another post that I only have 1 bird out of my original flock. Hawk, Dog, Internal Layer, you name it! Don't beat yourself up! Keep going and keep learning as you go.

 

Quote:what kind of plants do you have?? some are not good for chickens maybe start there find out what plants they could be eating...

 

I don't know, I'm so sorry you are going through this. I think what I would do is contact the online avian vet. I didn't do the tabulations but it does seem like 3 were probably injuries. (hen that got lost, little one and roo) Check your math for overcrowding (4 square feet per bird inside, 10 square feet per bird outside). Sometimes these things happen and there is nothing you can do. The others were somewhat similar with a very quick decline and fluffed up lethargic. I can't remember his name but I need to contact him too so I will post it here if I find it. From the research I did earlier I think it is 25$ per case. I don't know if you can email/talk multiple times about the same problem for that one 25$ payment or not.

Don't give up, you've kept 22 alive and well! I would call the vet though as the unexplained deaths keep happening. Could there possibly be toxic plants around?

 

Your state may have services that will perform the autopsies free of charge. I would look into that (I've seen people who have posted today that have done this). You need to start by finding out what is killing them. What are their living conditions? How much space do they have? It must be so hard not knowing what to do. Hang in there.

 

I'm feeling the same way. Just lost my second hen of four I've raised - one died at 6 mos, this one at 15 mos, both unexplained deaths.

Not sure if I should add to the flock or just give up - 50 per cent loss is not a good track record.

I don't know about you but I became very attached to mine and it's very traumatic to lose them. With a small flock they are much more like pets than livestock ...

 

You've only had birds a little while, so don't go getting discouraged just yet. You say that the birds all came from the same place and you got them at 2-3 mo.

Did you get them from a hatchery or a private individual? If a private breeder or just somebody selling chicks, its possible they weren't fed the appropriate feeds when young and are now suffering from organ failures as they age.

Have you cut open one of these birds and just visualized the internal organs? Sometimes you can get a clue as to what is going on by looking at these...even if you have never looked at something like this before, you can see if the heart has a clot or bruising, the liver is orange and mushy, examine the crop for any extra fluid or soured foods, the gizzard for any metal that may be leaching into their system, or if they have a huge worm load in the intestines.

Sometimes they just die and you can't tell why. Sometimes you can if you are curious enough to do your own necropsy.

Whatever the reason, it doesn't sound like one single illness that is taking your flock, so maybe getting rid of this flock and starting over and order from a good hatchery and get some day old chicks. Chicks are fun and a learning experience and any mistakes that are made are all your own and not inherited from someone else.

 

Oh no! Don't give up!

Let's just say this: sometimes it takes a little while to get your chicken groove.

Keep learning and keep working, and you will get it. When i first got chickens, i had no idea what i was doing, and i lost every single one to predators over a period of about 6 months. I was very sad, and i considered giving up on chickens, but i got over how sad i was, and i realized that i kept looking out the window and missing seeing my chickens in the yard, i decided to try again. Right now, i have about 60 chickens, of several ages, and my chicken groove is much better than it used to be. There will always be losses - some you just can't explain, but the biggest part is fun and fulfilling.

As to your situation, i agree with Beekissed - you might have inherited some problems.

But more than that, it sounds like you might have lost several to coccidiosis. If that's what got them, they are encountering a different strain or strains of cocci protozoa in your soil than they encountered in their previous home. If this is the case, they will usually get sick between 2 and 4 weeks after they are introduced to the ground at your house. If this is consistent, it sounds like it might be prudent to give new birds a round of Corid at about the 2 weeks mark after coming to your home. I know you don't like chemicals, and i don't either, but Corid is the exception for me. And if they are dying from cocci, maybe you'll want to make an exception there also.

It sounded like several more were injured somehow - maybe predators? I will tell you how i pretty much solved the predator problem at my house: a good dog. I have never been a "dog person," but i found that when i have outside dogs ranging my property, i don't have predator problems. When i don't have dogs outside, i have predator problems. It can be work (and time) to find and train a dog to protect your property without also being a threat to your chickens, but once you have that beautiful balance, it was all SO worth it. Everyone's situation is different, but that's a thought. It sure helped me.

Hope you don't give up.

 

No, it isn't necessary to have bloody stool when it's cocci. However, i would not normally suspect cocci once they have gotten through the first initial break out in the first month of living at your house.

Keep reading and learning and researching. It will start coming to you. Look into crop issues also, and try to get up the courage for a kitchen necropsy in case you have another unexplained death.

I have had one or two sudden deaths that appear to be from internal laying or peritonitis. There isn't much you can do if their egg-laying machinery gets messed up.