Mortality ratio in a flock.??

[woodmort]

I've got news for you--everything dies eventually. As far as chickens are concerned if you have a fairly large flock, it is easy to miss a malady that can be fatal to individual birds. Chickens are not social animals, if there is a flock member that is weak, the rest may turn on it and harass it to death. While I give my birds the best of care--for chickens--they certainly aren't pets so if one has the sniffles, I'll probably not notice and, if I did, not take it to the vet. If I do notice a health problem, I'll treat it as best I can, if the bird does not respond then it is too bad. I also practice bio-security to try to keep any diseases to a minimum--has worked so far <knock on wood>. That being said, I do lose an occasional bird to unexplained death--generally a 2-year or older bird, usually in either the coldest part of the winter or hottest part of the summer--probably because of some internal cause that is made worse by the weather.

BTW, considering the amount of inbreeding that occurs in most chicken breeds it is not surprising that unexplained deaths will happen, eventually bad genes are going to be passed on and lead to problems.

 

[Lesa]

DH Brian here...

I agree, chickens die we all do. They spit out 1 or 2 eggs every other day so with a productive rate like that the mortality rate would be normally high in comparison or we would have nothing but chickens consuming all the food on the planet. So if you want them as a pet treat them like a pet or if you just want some eggs or meat for your own consumption then treat them like a chicken. Bear in mind all pets die too. A good share of them are euthanized for lack of a caretaker.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Reviving this thread to see if there might be any additional thoughts.

I purchased four day-old hatchery chicks from our feed store in June, 2009. I'm not exaggerating too much by saying there are many humans who have received less solicitous care than these chickens. Coop is kept meticulously clean and is Ft. Knox safe. Chickens are allowed two to three hours a day of free-range time. Since I interact with them frequently throughout each day, I notice any notable change in behavior pretty quickly, although, yes, I'm aware that as a species they generally mask illness.

Of the four, one (a Delaware) died precipitously at age 6 months - she seemed fine in the morning and I found her dead in the afternoon.

A second (Light Brahma) died at fifteen months - over a period of weeks she started moving slower and slower, favoring a leg, then not moving at all and finally refusing food and water and then died. She was taken to the vet several times over this period of time and all communicable/infectious disease processes were ruled out. A possible hip problem was the only clue we were given.

The third (an EE) was diagnosed with internal laying and egg yolk peritonitis at age 2. We've kept her going with Lupron shots but in the past few weeks she has presented with the same leg-favoring symptoms as the LB and she, too, now, has stopped moving and is pretty much refusing food. More trips to the vet than I can count; she has been diagnosed with a degenerative hip condition - the vet said her hip is completely "dissolved".

The fourth hen of the group, a Buff Orpington, is thus far still healthy. I knock on wood as I write that. That's a 75% loss.

Reading the foregoing responses that indicate very low flock mortality is very demoralizing given my experience. I cannot imagine what I am doing wrong. Do hatcheries have "bad batches"? Is there any plausible explanation for this poor track record?

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

I see in your signature that you have other chickens, so if they're healthy and content, I think it was just a run of bad luck. Especially the internal laying - I had one die from that as well, and don't think you can prevent it in a single bird.

Good luck to you and your Buff Orpington!

 

[Oregon Blues]

I don't expect to lose any birds. In 42 years, I had one 6 month old Cornish Cross hen drown and one two-day-old duckling die in shipping.

I'd better, by golly, not lose a bird to predators.

I'm not counting the ones who went to the freezer. I had 100% deaths in a box of 25 ducklings who all got butchered and frozen.

Sometimes birds just die of something that we can't see. They never die of nothing. I hear about a lot of deaths here on BYC that are caused by poor animal husbandry. In fact, sometimes I am surprised that more of them don't die. They are pretty darn tough.

My birds do not get royal heir treatment. They have safe housing, a quality diet, and I check them a minimum of 3 times a day, looking at overall condition, eyes, breathing, and the state of their poop. I also watch them long enough to make sure nobody is limping and nobody is losing weight.

Are you counting eggs lost in the incubator? I lost a couple of dozen when the power was off for 5 days in the middle of the winter. I don't count that as a bird problem.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

In my experience with all animals there is a Murphy's Law that says if it is a kid's pet, it dies. If it is a 4H project, it dies -- usually in the most absurd way possible. if you fuss and fret over your animals, they will die when your back is turned.
I think the best way to preserve them is benign neglect. Don't let them think they are very important to you and they live a long time.
Once in a while a lucky one who is your very favorite will escape from Murphy and live a long healthy life. You will cry extra hard when it finally leaves you.

Seriously? There is a reason hens' clutches are large. Nature doesn't expect them all to survive. I try to take Mother Nature seriously.

 

[lolita117]

I've lost 9 in the last nine months (I've only had them for 9 months). All to dogs

. 4 was in one lick this past December. I only had a flock of 37, so 9 is 24%. That seems like a lot to me when I put it in percentages. Maybe when I expand my flock to 60+ if the average is still 1 per month I'll be okay. I haven't lost a chick I've raised and I haven't lost any to anything other than 2 different domestic dogs.