My birds are dying!

[keljonma]

I agree I don't think one day's worth of layer could kill them. I know that if it is a hot day, my birds will not drink their water if it is warm. This can cause a serious case of dehydration if the temps are high.

I think the with total picture, it could have happened.
-of the added calcium putting a strain on the kidneys
-with the high temps that the birds may not have been used to
-if they aren't drinking warm/hot water, they are getting dehydrated.

Does that mean it did?...... who knows.

I usually add ice cubes to the waterers if I'm going to be gone for an extended period of time and the temps are high. And I make sure the waterers are in a covered spot so they are shaded all day. And by the way, make sure your birds have plenty of shade and lots of cool breezes when the temps are elevated.

Good luck and please keep us posted if you find any others with problems.

regards,
keljonma

 

[allen wranch]

I still wonder about the food issue. It may not have been the feed, but something they picked up in the yard that was toxic.

So sorry you lost them.

 

[iopele]

I've been reading Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (really, really excellent book, btw) and it says that in young chicks, layer feed can do irreparable damage to the kidneys from the first feeding. I'm not sure it'd make them die that fast, though--I'm a nurse and I know that humans, at least, take longer than a day or two to die from kidney failure. I think the others are right with the dehydration guess. I'm so sorry.

 

[keljonma]

HOT WEATHER TIPS

Going through my notes, I found these tips to help your birds through hot weather.

Young birds usually succumb first to heat and high humidity. Clean, fresh, cool water is best to prevent dehydration, but providing electrolytes during heat wave may be beneficial.

Good ventilation is extremely important. Chickens don't have sweat glands; they use rapid respiration to cool themselves.

If possible, use multiple waterers with ice and change them every 2 to 3 hours. Keep waterers out of the sun.

Fill plastic soda bottles with water and freeze them. Then set them where the birds tend to rest. Set the frozen bottles around these areas. Also put some in the hen house at night. If your windows have screens, set a frozen bottle in the sill to cool any incoming breezes.

Have shady areas in the pen or coop or yard. An old piece of plywood on some old saw horses or even old umbrellas stuck in the ground in several places. You just want anything to make shade.

If you ever find a hen with heat stroke get her into someplace cool immediately. Dampen her down but don't plunge her into icy water because the shock will kill her.

KJ (Kim) Theodore has some great information about flock care in general here... http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/contents.htm
and heat prostration specifically here... http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page1.htm

regards,
keljonma