Periodic loss of chickens due to illness

[timot1949]

I started my backyard flock 5 years ago. I have had as many as 38 chickens and currently have 20 hens and two roosters, one of which is being sold. I have had a mix of at least of 15 different breeds. I live in Northern Lower Michigan in Leelanau County so the chickens are in the coop for 4 months. My coop is clean, I use food grade diatomaceous earth in nest boxes, spread it on the floor on the wood chips I use under the roosts and put it in their food. They are fed a good organic feed, scratch grains and table scraps. They have a 150x250 foot yard and in the summer they are allowed to free range. They produce good eggs and appear to be healthy birds. They are under a stand of trees and i have a couple of dogs so I have not lost any to predators other than one to a hawk last fall.

I say they are healthy but my concern is I periodically will lose one to some sort of illness. The main symptoms are that they become listless and stay apart from the other chickens. After we notice this it is usually about a week and they die. We have tried separating them and taking them inside in a cage and feeding them but we have never been able to save one. They are typically 3-4 years old when this happens. It does not appear to be anything contagious as it never happens to more than one bird. Over the last 3 years I have lost 7-8 chickens due to this same type of illness. I say the same type of illness but I cannot say for sure. The symptoms may be the same for several types of diseases. I just lost an ISA Brown this morning. We noticed her listless behavior over the weekend. I have noticed anything else as far as discharges or anything like that. I do not believe I have lost any to this illness when they are inside the coop during the worst part of winter.

I know this is vague but has anybody any ideas?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[wychick]

This spring I have lost 3 hens from illness and your description fits with what I have been experiencing. Two were older hens and the third was a year old. They become lethargic, stand in one place most of the day with their feathers puffed up. They don't seem to eat or drink much. Within a few days to a week they die. I separate them in a small cage and give them special attention but they seem to die soon after.

I am also looking for answers before it happens to anyone else. I have had chickens for 6 years and never had a problem with illness before now.

 

[timot1949]

What you describe is exactly what happens to mine. Like you said we have separated them and given special attention but the result is always the same. they die within a week. By the time we notice they are sick, it is too late to save them. With the one that died earlier in the week, the day before she showed any symptoms she was interacting with the other chickens and all appeared normal.

 

[Kikiriki]

Is it seasonal? If they do not get sick through the winter, then get sick through the growing months, it could be a toxic plant...

If it happens in the winter, too, it could be they are eating dried matter... Since it does not spread to the rest of the flock, it seems like it is probably not bacterial or viral, so I would be checking what they eat.

Also, feeds and hay or straw can carry the aspergillas fungus. An infection occurs when it is inhaled. A chicken (or person) with a less hardy immune system is more susceptible to allowing it to grow in their lungs. It will spread throughout organs, as cancer does, because once it has a foothold it suppresses the immune system. I believe it produces toxins that cause death.

 

[timot1949]

Thank you for the feedback. It gives me a couple of things to check out, espeicially the straw that we use in the nest boxes.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would also think about coccidiosis because they don't always have bloody diarrhea. Corid for 5 days would not be harmful if you suspect that. Then I would examine crops in the morning to make sure they are empty, and not suffering from impacted or sour crop. The DE you use has to be food grade, or it can be dangerous. I feel like it doesn't do much anyway, and that wood ash is better, safer, and cheaper for controlling lice and mites. It is best in dust bathing areas though.