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

[Bigtom Turkey]

Hey, I am on day 5 of my first hatch!

 

[Duckberry]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Thank you. It's actually helping being able to share with people who don't think I'm crazy for bringing a duck inside and letting her swim in my bathtub. They are a part of our family as much as the humans, cats, and rabbits are!

 

[BDutch]

I'm saying old age because mine have died after 8 years of age usually of Kidney failure.

@theoldchick I’m curious about this. Did you feed all flock or feed for laying hens? Because there is a lot of discussion about the Calcium in the feed for laying hens. Some people say it does no harm. Others say it’s not safe . Not for chicks and not for roosters and older hens that stop laying.

 

[feather13]

Oh my! I'm so sorry! Luckily the strain I've seen here wasn't the terribly contagious one, just individual infections. But I am hatching my first eggs soon. On day 9 in the incubator. Do you or anyone know if there is an way to vaccinate chicks myself?

We've never hatched our own, but I found this tutorial on how to administer the vaccine: https://backyardpoultry.iamcountrys...inister-the-mareks-vaccine-to-poultry-chicks/. There's a lot of debate on BYC and elsewhere on whether to vaccine or not. It was a tough decision for us, but so far, so good.

Good luck with your hatchlings! We've never hatched our own, but it looks like so much fun. Please keep us posted on how the hatching goes, whether you vaccinate, and if Marek's rears its ugly head again in your flock (I hope it doesn't).

 

[feather13]

Thank you. It's actually helping being able to share with people who don't think I'm crazy for bringing a duck inside and letting her swim in my bathtub. They are a part of our family as much as the humans, cats, and rabbits are!

My parents always let our ducks inside to swim around a kid's plastic pool. If it were up to my kids, all thirteen of our chickens would be running around our house all the time . They are the best pets we've ever had and fun members of our family.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Oh my! I'm so sorry! Luckily the strain I've seen here wasn't the terribly contagious one, just individual infections. But I am hatching my first eggs soon. On day 9 in the incubator. Do you or anyone know if there is an way to vaccinate chicks myself?

Unfortunately, I doubt that’s the case. Your other chickens very likely carry and spread the disease, they’re just not affected by it themselves. Once a chicken is exposed to Marek’s it will carry the disease for life, whether or not it shows symptoms.

 

[WallacetheKhakiCampbell]

Unfortunately, I doubt that’s the case. Your other chickens very likely carry and spread the disease, they’re just not affected by it themselves. Once a chicken is exposed to Marek’s it will carry the disease for life, whether or not it shows symptoms.

Okay, well thank you for the information!

 

[Sally Winter-Swink]

I lost three to a black snake (he ate one), and more recently I lost five to a dog. Both the snake and the dog met their fate at the hands of my husband's shotgun! (The dog was a stray, probably dropped off as people do that around here.)

 

[my21chickens]

I have only had 1 chicken die in my flock. Her name was egglintine a hawk took her.

 

[oellian]

A buzzard? Are you sure? I thought that they were strictly carrion-eaters. A hawk, maybe?