My chickens don't seem to live long?

[mrserv0n]

Ive had chickens for 3 years now. I just lost one today. A 2 year old wyandotte. It was happy 100% yesterday and this morning for about 5 minutes then within 5 minutes it appeared to have a heart attack and died in my kitchen where I had her comforted.

So I have one chicken thats lived 3 years all my others have died. Three to hawks, One I took to the vet and had put down, it turned out it got led poisoning. Ive seen at least 3 of them just die overnight and be fine the day before.

My chickens I only keep about 7 at a time are raised from chicks and treated like gold. They walk the yard the entire day. Have a super nice coop and garage. Complete freedom to do what they want.

I see all these forums of chickens living 10-15+ years. If I treat my chickens so kind and give them more attention and care then a standard farm by far why do they die so young?

 

[WildBilly]

good question. i am sorry your birds die so young mrserv0n, i don't know if they liv 10-15 years because i've only had em six months. Unfortunately, the heart attack is veryy strange? at 3 oh my gosh, poor thing should have lived more than 3 years, i feel bad for you and i hope i don't experience this with my 6 monthers when they get to 3 years of age. i heard many chickens don't live the 10 years, i actually don't think this is uncommon. i guess its better to enjoy them for every day. and hope for the best.

 

[salt and pepper]

There really is no answer to this. Predators will get your birds at one time or another. Do you get the chicks from the same place? Heart problems are genetic, and if you get birds from a flock prone to this, so will yours. 10-15 years is rare. The average free range hen, who lives a normal life can live up to 5-6 year no problem, but after that, they'll be prone to more issues. I'm sorry you have been having so much trouble.

 

[dawg53]

I agree with what everyone has said here. There are many factors involved; their stress levels, the type of feed they eat (including human food,) external and internal parasites, environmental issues and of course predators. Also exposure to other chickens not of your flock and wild birds... all need to be considered. Think about each of these factors and re-evaluate, make changes as necessary if warranted for the betterment of your chickens.

 

[Kilsharion]

I agree with what everyone has said here. There are many factors involved; their stress levels, the type of feed they eat (including human food,) external and internal parasites, environmental issues and of course predators. Also exposure to other chickens not of your flock and wild birds... all need to be considered. Think about each of these factors and re-evaluate, make changes as necessary if warranted for the betterment of your chickens.

Excess protein, excess fat, excess salt, deficient absorbable calcium....all of these factor in. You have to regulate what your chickens eat, just like you have to regulate what you and your family eats.

Chickens have a very specific set of nutrients that they must have in order to survive for a good long while. Their digestive system is not like ours, and as such there are certain factors that must be taken into account. Especially when it comes to ensuring they get all the amino acids, micro and macro nutrients they need and the vitamins they need (especially calcium).

If it is dietary, what you will generally see is that they appear healthy and content and just keel over. Their pooh won't be problematic. You won't necessarily see any odd behaviour. Just, one minute alive, the next dead. They can die of liver failure quite easily due to constant excess proteins. And, a deficit of digestible calcium can kill them in roughly the same way. Just because they have calcium available does not mean they are absorbing it. If they have a diet that is running a deficit on certain vitamins (D in particular) and are not outside a good portion of the day, they can fail to fully absorb the calcium they are ingesting (same goes for humans, btw).

There are all sorts of things that could be causing it. Diet, however, is very high on the list of suspects when you have apparently totally healthy, well loved birds just falling over dead at such a young age.

 

[mrserv0n]

Thanks for all the good answers guys. I know my chickens are beyond spoiled and I know I probably throw them corn too often and other bad treats. I am going to change their diet to something more strict. I found a much better organic food source from a farm about 90 min away. Right now they eat outside most of the time but their grain is Tractor supply garbage. Hopefully my 3 year old lives to be 15.

 

[dawg53]

Quote: Thank you for putting this info out, I already know all this. Additionally excess protein can cause gout.

 

[PNWChicky]

So after reading this post and the replies; i have a question regarding feeding chickens and making sure they have all the proper nutrients in the right amounts. If you feed your chickens a feed formulated for their age and lifestyle shouldn't that about cover it? I'm asking just because when mine are big enough to leave the brooder and go off their starter feed i'm wanting to keep them healthy. Thanks

 

[realsis]

if you want to learn more about nutrition and carrying for the birds there is a excellent internet radio show called the chicken whisper. he comes on weekdays at noon EASTERN time. its a live show. he has special guests and answers questions. you can even listen to the archived shows . like today's topic was nutrition.just look up chicken whisper radio show online.I think you will like it! he is a wealth of information! I personality love to listen to his show and special guests. like I mentioned the shows are archived so you can listen if you miss the show at your- convince! look up todays brodcast in the archive on nutrition. it's a great show!

 

[dawg53]

So after reading this post and the replies; i have a question regarding feeding chickens and making sure they have all the proper nutrients in the right amounts. If you feed your chickens a feed formulated for their age and lifestyle shouldn't that about cover it? I'm asking just because when mine are big enough to leave the brooder and go off their starter feed i'm wanting to keep them healthy. Thanks

You can post your feed questions in this section of the forum:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/12/feeding-watering-your-flock