My chickens keep dying

[rastadbaby]

Help! I live in phoenix where it is hot. I have them in the shade with water and I give them ice pretty regularly. All my chickens (hens) are about 1 1/2 years old. In the last 3 months I have lost 3 of the 6. I'm sure one died from heat but the other two, I'm not sure. Now the last three chickens are "depressed"? Is that possible? They are still laying but when I try to let them out in the yard they don't want to come out, they have decreased their eating amount and barely make any noise. I am sure that one that died was the "boss". How do I know if they all died from heat or if my chickens are at risk for something else? If it was just heat, how to I help my chickens perk back up. I miss there crazy personalities.

 

[Suzie]

When did you last de-worm them with a product such as Safeguard or Panacur ?

When were they last treated with a lice/mites product such as Sevin Dust or Permethryn ?

Loss of appetite could be for one of the above reasons
...are their combs bright? What is their poop like?

 

[welasharon]

The usual first things to check for are...do they have mites or lice? Do they need to be wormed? Are there any other symptoms? What does their poop look like?

 

[rastadbaby]

No worms that I see or mites. I have never de-wormed them. I first of all didn't know I have to do it. Thought it was only if needed. I only have 3 now.

 

[welasharon]

Are they underweight? You usually can't see the worms by eye. If they have lost weight worming them is a safe bet. If you could get their feces tested by a vet you could know for sure but most just worm on either a regular basis or if birds look/feel thin. As per post #2 I use safeguard. It's a horse wormer. I use the paste and put a pea sized bit in the mouth. THen in 10 days do it again.

 

[rastadbaby]

I would say they are underweight. In Arizona I was told because it is hot, they eat less so it's normal for them to loose weight. I just acquired 2 other chickens from someone who had to get rid of them and then realized how little mine our! I added DE to their feed and sprinkled in their hen house. How long does it take before I can tell a difference. All of the original chickens are about 16 months old. One of them, a brown leghorn, is very thin, and her feathers have been falling out for a couple of months but thought she was molting because she stopped laying eggs. I feel so bad for her. She just seems sad, depressed and doesn't even want to come out of the coop. She doesn't even sleep on the roost. I caught her sleeping in the nesting box the last week. I bought Wazine (piperazine). Do I just put it in their water? This was the only kind of dewormer I could find at my feed store. Do I treat the whole group? Can I still use their eggs with piperzine? Or should I just go get the safeguard at the horse feed store? Thanks again for your help.

 

[TinyBirds]

what about early in the morning when it's not hot? do they have any interest in coming out into the yard then? can you put a picture of them and your yard or else even a video? it's hard to figure out what might be the problem without seeing for myself more of their situation. if one goes broody they will just stay in the nestbox all the time so I wonder if that's a possiblity. I've had even non-broody breeds go broody before.

 

[rastadbaby]

Here is a link to one of them. She has been missing the feathers on her back for about 4-6 months because another one of the chickens was pecking her. (That chicken has since died) She is still laying her green eggs.

This is the one I am worried about. (The leghorn) Her comb looks pale? (I am really new to this) she is very thin to me and has stopped laying about 3-4 months ago and hasn't started. My little Mia made a cameo but I think she is ok.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Now that we have added 2 others to the coop and am so nervous.

 

[TinyBirds]

Here is a link to one of them. She has been missing the feathers on her back for about 4-6 months because another one of the chickens was pecking her. (That chicken has since died) She is still laying her green eggs.

This is the one I am worried about. (The leghorn) Her comb looks pale? (I am really new to this) she is very thin to me and has stopped laying about 3-4 months ago and hasn't started. My little Mia made a cameo but I think she is ok.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Now that we have added 2 others to the coop and am so nervous.

you're right, the first one seems fine to me. the 2nd one has her comb looking too pale so maybe has worms in addition to the heat/molting which is stressful to the birds and can also cause the combs to be pale. I would treat for worms. Here's a link with more info on worming with valbazen:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/401475/worming-with-valbazen
just be careful not to overdose on wormers since even the wormer medication can kill them when their system is already stressed. you could look into natural treatments like garlic and pepper if you want to try that first.

 

[rastadbaby]

Do I deworm just the one that looks sick or all of them? Is the wormer I got ok or should I try something different?