Official BYC Poll: What Are The Top Causes of Death in Your Backyard Flock?

[Egg Snatcher]

Mine usually die of predators when I rarely let them out ore I find them dead in the coop. Chicks, sometimes other moms kill them, weak, won't eat, or even mom hatches way to many and can't keep all of them warm.

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

My situation is kind of unusual in that when moving cross country, the new buyers of the house loved how friendly my chickens were and asked if they could keep them. Because this would have been safer for the chickens and moving the whole flock hundreds of miles away, it just wasn't feasible to take them. They all aged between 4-7 years of age and I like to think that a year later that some are still kicking, but I honestly don't know My new flock has been completely free range for almost a year and I have had absolutely no losses, other than one freak case of fly strike.

 

[kerbotx]

Egg-laying issues. I realize that might fit other categories, but it's an important distinction to me, when there's a history of egg problems over time.

 

[micstrachan]

In my five years of keeping chickens and a total of 17 birds, I’ve lost four as follows:
• Egg yolk peritonitis at one year old.
• Unknown cause of death with Marek’s-like symptoms at the tender young age of 2 weeks.
• Egg yolk peritonitis at 3 years.
• Fatty liver hemorrhage at 3 years (still kicking myself for that).

My current flock of 13 seems healthy, though one has a laying disorder that’s being treated with hormones, another has trouble with egg shells, and one laid a couple eggs after a really bad winter molt and then stopped again.

We have most U.S. predators (except bear and weasel), but so far have not suffered any losses there. It’s mostly the darn egg laying killing them.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Mine all died but 1.. kept dying of unknown causes, one day ok next day not. I think it was genetic problems, possibly overbreeding from the lady I got them all from (she had alot of chickens and they did not look to be kept in good condition, I was ignorant back then). One old hen survived from that lot and still going strong. (I got a rooster and hatched more)

 

[Quailobsessed]

I have hardly ever lost mine to predators. It's usually been to diseases or old age. I've lost some due to injuries as well.

 

[mamajos]

We have culled our older flock (4 yrs old), because the egg laying amount went way down. We are in the city, so we are limited on how many we can have here (4). We enjoy them as pets, but like eggs too. So we get new ones every few years, culling the older ones. If we have a favorite, we keep it.
We have had no predator attacks, and a couple died of reproductive issues.

 

[bill3607]

I lost 3 to a "very" large snake when they were a few weeks old. I Had just put them in the coop the day before. Caught the snake still in the coop digesting 2. Killed him and then found 1 other dead but not swallowed. Not sure if the snake killed this one or if killed in the panic that there must have been. The other 17 were so scared they stayed in a corner huddled up for 3 days. Have not lost any others to anything.

 

[PioneerChicks]

• Predators. Not any recently, but this used to be my major cause.
• Poor nutrition, though it wasn't really my fault. Some of my older hens didn't adjust well to a feed change and I lost several to eggbinding. It was a devastating period. But now my flock is tougher and I don't expect any more problems with this!
• I've had a couple die of unknown causes, mostly chicks.
• Other: random things. I've had one for from a board falling on top of her, another from being stuck under a bin, and a few other things. Nothing recently though.

I lost several to poisoning from eating large amounts of Virginia Creeper berries a few years ago, but I have been much more careful since and no more harm from that has happened. One of two have died from heat.

To sum it up, chicken keeping is a skill, and you get smarter and better as you go. Mistakes happen, and you move on.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I've been keeping chickens for 3 years now. I've only lost one chicken so far (knock on wood) to salpingitis. She was a lovely rescue hen who likely had it even before I rescued her, but I should have seen it sooner. I might have been able to get the infection under control if I had.

The necropsy said it was from an unchecked e coli infection that traveled upward into her system from her cloaca. So now I am extra cautious with my flock. I sanitize their waterers daily and their feeders every few days (whenever they need refilling). I also change the nesting material out every 2 weeks and add clean bedding to the coop and run weekly.

I don't know that doing all of that will prevent similar deaths in my remaining flock, but it certainly couldn't hurt.

Edited to add: I lost 3 chicks to shipping stress. Two arrived dead, and the third only lasted a few hours. I didn't really consider them part of my flock, so I don't usually count those losses the same way, but I suppose I should.