Please help... I've lost half of my flock

[lovesgliders]

I started this spring with 15 Silkies (chicks) and I am now down to 8. Not a single one has been lost to predators.

They all just either drop dead, or sit in a corner of the coop for a few days and then drop dead. Not a mark on them. I am positive it's not predators.

I am stumped. We never lose a bunch at once; rather we lose about one a month.

My remaining 8 are healthy and active but so were the others before they dropped dead.

What can I do? I do not think it is the feed as I changed suppliers, worrying about that very thing. Is there some disease that would cause this?

I wrote off the first 3-4 losses as a normal part of chicken keeping, but now I feel like it's getting ridiculous. I am going to have to order new chicks in the spring. But if it's a disease I don't want to spread it to them.

Thank you for any and all advice.

 

[nurse_turtle]

Read up on Cocci and Worms. Give vitamins and worm your flock...

 

[jerseygirl1]

Quote:
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[OregonChickenGal]

Check them for mites/lice also.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

I agree with the previous posters. Check for lice/mites, worm your flock and get some vitamins in them, might also be a good
idea to dust them too as a preventive measure. I am so sorry for you loss, I wish you the best
for your and your flock.

Keep us posted on their progress.

 

[lovesgliders]

I do not think it's cocci, as there is no blood in the droppings and also, this flock has been all together for 8 months. Seems to me they'd all be infected by now and either dead or immune, not one getting sick every month. Unless it is hard to spread (but that is not the impression I've gotten from my brief research).

Thank you for the tip on worming. I will for sure worm them. I had no idea you had to worm chickens. I have a dozen chicken keeping friends and not one of them worm their birds or ever mentioned it to me.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

There will NOT always be blood in the droppings. I found this out recently when several of mine died but had no blood in the poop. I was thinking something else too, until Seminolewind said to treat for cocci, which I did right away. The sick ones got better and I didn't lose anymore. So, you may want to go ahead and treat them for cocci anyway. There are several different symptoms they can display which can throw you off.

 

[Konza]

I can sympathize. I just lost my last roo this morning, and I have no idea what's going on. The last four hens are pretty perky and have been wormed a few days ago, but if I lose one more chicken I'm going to see if the ag college can run some tests for me. I'm with you, I have to buy a new batch next spring but I don't want to put them in an infected coop.

And to think we made it through that 110+ heat this summer without a hitch.

 

[georgeandmildredgoose]

when i was having problems with my flock i asked my vet to send some samples to the lab. he sacrificed an ill-ish looking hen, and we got the samples that way. it wasn't ideal and i found it quite sad, but, we got a positive mg result. so at least we know what we are dealing with, and in our case how to treat the remaining hens.
imo its was the right way to move forward, and save the rest of the flock.
hope things get better for you.