Loosing hope

[Nakulik]

I’m loosing hope in my dream of keeping chickens. I’ve been going for three years. First year I lost one to some sort of respiratory problem (no vets or labs in my area to confirm) second year I lost all six of my new chicks to cocci while on medicated feed (I had them shipped out for necropsy) and now one, or maybe more, of my chickens are displaying signs of internal laying which as I understand will result in death. I clean my coop thoroughly every day as well as my waterer and feeder I feed good quality feed and give water soluble prebiotics three times a week. My coop is ventilated but not draughty and my run is predator and pest proof covered and with a sunken skirt of wire and rat traps on three foot spacing around the perimeter. The run is well drained on sandy/stoney ground. I don’t know what more I can do. I’m at my wits end. If regular chicken keeping were like this then there wouldn’t be eggs or meat on the shelves. What do I do? How do I continue after constant failures ? Not a single person I know who has chickens has this many issues.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

I'm sorry to hear this
@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock

 

[WingItRanch]

I'm so sorry. I will say I had a moment when I thought about giving up in my first year. I had 3 1-day-old chicks die unexpectedly when I was so very careful and did so much research before finally getting them. Then when I thought I had finally made it past the chick stage, I lost 2 pullets without any signs of illness a month apart. I recently lost another one to a reproductive issue. It can be so disheartening.

All I can tell you is that I'm glad I pushed forward and didn't give up. I now have a healthy, happy, productive flock. And through the bad stuff, it was still worth it to me to have chickens.

There's an old saying about getting a dog... "it's a one way ticket to the worst day of your life." As a dog lover, I can relate. But a better counter phrase is “'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

 

[Nakulik]

I'm so sorry. I will say I had a moment when I thought about giving up in my first year. I had 3 1-day-old chicks die unexpectedly when I was so very careful and did so much research before finally getting them. Then when I thought I had finally made it past the chick stage, I lost 2 pullets without any signs of illness a month apart. I recently lost another one to a reproductive issue. It can be so disheartening.

All I can tell you is that I'm glad I pushed forward and didn't give up. I now have a healthy, happy, productive flock. And through the bad stuff, it was still worth it to me to have chickens.

There's an old saying about getting a dog... "it's a one way ticket to the worst day of your life." As a dog lover, I can relate. But a better counter phrase is “'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Unfortunately with no vet service and no access to drugs in Canada it’s the worst day of my life rather frequently. Even when I wrongly suspect something and they turn out fine it’s a near miss on disaster as there’s nothing that I can do but sit and wait generally.

 

[MaryJanet]

I’m loosing hope in my dream of keeping chickens. I’ve been going for three years. First year I lost one to some sort of respiratory problem (no vets or labs in my area to confirm) second year I lost all six of my new chicks to cocci while on medicated feed (I had them shipped out for necropsy) and now one, or maybe more, of my chickens are displaying signs of internal laying which as I understand will result in death. I clean my coop thoroughly every day as well as my waterer and feeder I feed good quality feed and give water soluble prebiotics three times a week. My coop is ventilated but not draughty and my run is predator and pest proof covered and with a sunken skirt of wire and rat traps on three foot spacing around the perimeter. The run is well drained on sandy/stoney ground. I don’t know what more I can do. I’m at my wits end. If regular chicken keeping were like this then there wouldn’t be eggs or meat on the shelves. What do I do? How do I continue after constant failures ? Not a single person I know who has chickens has this many issues.

These are not failures.

Here is my list of chickens who lost their lives since I started keeping them a few years. ago.

• Dora, Alice and Nigella were killed by a fox
• Sandy, Joyce and Christa died of reproductive disorders
• Lorna failed to flourish
• Janet died of a long term bacterial infection
• Two chicks died before they were out of their shells

That's 10 dead.

Right now, I'm getting ready to say goodbye to Edie because it seems she has EYP.

One dying.

Four youngsters seem to be OK. Four hens seem to be OK.

Eight surviving.

My dead chickens are also not failures. Apart from the chicks, these chickens had wonderful lives.

I don't know why people pretend all their chickens live long and healthy lives when it's simply not true.

It seems to me that you have provided a safe environment for your chickens and that shows me you care about them. You're posting here and that also shous you care about them.

Keep going. For every little life that thrives, there may be one dead, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't thank for all you've done for them and for the wonderful, if short, lives they lead.

 

[Nakulik]

I don’t think it’s a particularly wonderful life if it ends in pain and suffering

 

[WoDia]

@Nakulik I’m sorry to hear that you’re having flock issues, but don’t give up. Unfortunately, losses happen for many reasons. Sometimes, it can happen a lot at once, and that’s pretty stressful. You’re still new to this, so please reach out to the BYC community with every question you have. There will always be someone here to help you.

It sounds as if your coop and run setups are good. But still thoroughly check their environment and what they’re consuming. Occasionally, we do miss things. A loss won’t always be any fault of yours. It could be genetic. It could be a result of conditions a chicken lives in prior to coming to live with your flock. It can be many issues out of your control. Don’t give up. Chicken-keeping is a constant learning process, and we all get better at it as time goes by.

A bit of advice— keep Corid, or something similar, on hand for when/if coccidiosis shows up again with any future chicks. I think that Amazon Canada, etc, does offer it. Immediate treatment after the first signs can save them all. Our members can help you with dosages for Corid and other medications. I randomly looked this up for you to see.

Please list all symptoms your hens are experiencing, so the BYC community can help you help your hens.

Again, I’m very sorry you’re going through this. It will get better.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I’m loosing hope in my dream of keeping chickens. I’ve been going for three years. First year I lost one to some sort of respiratory problem (no vets or labs in my area to confirm) second year I lost all six of my new chicks to cocci while on medicated feed (I had them shipped out for necropsy) and now one, or maybe more, of my chickens are displaying signs of internal laying which as I understand will result in death. I clean my coop thoroughly every day as well as my waterer and feeder I feed good quality feed and give water soluble prebiotics three times a week. My coop is ventilated but not draughty and my run is predator and pest proof covered and with a sunken skirt of wire and rat traps on three foot spacing around the perimeter. The run is well drained on sandy/stoney ground. I don’t know what more I can do. I’m at my wits end. If regular chicken keeping were like this then there wouldn’t be eggs or meat on the shelves. What do I do? How do I continue after constant failures ? Not a single person I know who has chickens has this many issues.

Welcome To BYC

What symptoms are you seeing for internal laying?

What do you feed, including treats?

How old are the ones with symptoms?

It can be harder if you live in a area where you have no access to medications, hopefully you can search and be able to source medications from the U.S. to have on hand in the future.
Often, symptoms can be treated short term with medications, but unfortunately, a lot of conditions and illnesses that affect laying hens are chronic, so you still lose hens.

Unfortunately with no vet service and no access to drugs in Canada it’s the worst day of my life rather frequently.

 

[Nakulik]

I saw some poops that looked clear and yellow tinted with scrambled egg looking stuff in the middle. Looked identical to pictures on the net. Birds are otherwise healthy looking though. However now one of my hens has its neck feathers being pecked out by the others. I sanitized it and put on some iodine then put some stop pick on to deter the other birds from continuing, the kept on plucking her feathers still. I can’t isolate her entirely because last time I did that upon returning the bird was killed by pecking. I have her in a large Rubbermaid tote with holes drilled with water and feed inside the main coop. Hoping for a good result but rather worried. Also while preparing this I had to put all four birds in my shed and I’m worried they might have ate some rat poop in there and I just compounded my issues

 

[Nakulik]

And when you say it gets better when around does that start because I have only had death failures and pain so far for three years