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The ducks don't spend any time with the chickens except at night. The first dead chick was found under a laying box, not flattened. The other two that were flattened, one was next to the ramp going into the barn, the other was in the barn. Aric was out there all day fixing the small coop and didn't see or hear anything. Our dogs stay mostly inside. When outside the two Toy Poodles go straight into a large fenced run and the other one is chained up. There were no bites, tears, gashes or anything on them. Just dead.
Strange. I wonder why they are "flattened".
I agree with Olive Hill that they do look like LF that have not done well. Even with several feeders they could still be chased away. I provided a feeding station for my teenagers in a location that was not easy for my mature laying hens to get to.
My coop is full up otherwise I would be interested in your little girls. Have you though of providing a drench or extra protein for them? Cooked egg (I use goose/turkey eggs and reject chicken eggs), black oilers, bolonga? I give mine bolonga as a protein/fat treat to make up for the lack of bugs in their area. I can get Bar S brand at Meijers for a buck a pound. Just a teaspoon per bird. I wouldnt give up on them. They are already in your coop so if you are worried of them bring in a bug, well its already there.
Chickflick has a BR that was a bit slow in growing. We though Sabrina also was going to be a bantum. One day she "sprouted" lol. Not the biggest BR but a nice size.
We have been giving them extra protein like eggs. The other day we picked up some dry cat food for the layers because it's very cheap and read it's one of the best things to use. We'll see how that goes. They have never acted sick or lethargic at all, so I don't think that's it. I guess I'll give them a little while longer.
Still MUST get rid of the two broilers though. ASAP!
