DogAndCat36
Crowing
My chickens are around a year old and I have been thinking about getting more chicks for this year but I am a bit nervous. I know that each time you raise a batch of chicks some of them might die at a young age. Last year ago I had a little EE that was my favorite. I think that it was a boy and his name was Dragon. After letting the chicks live in the coop (they were feathered and outside-ready of course) for about two weeks or so, Dragon started to not grow. He stayed a smallish size and he would arch his neck upwards and let out a horrid weazy breath with his eyes closed and then he would drop his head. I checked his throat and it seemed odd, his tongue was in the far back of his throat and you could see all the way down his throat (I don't know if this is natural). Sometimes when I picked him up, he would all of a sudden jump straight upwards and then fall on the floor and flop like a dead chicken (maybe a seizure). This lasted for about a week and on his second last day of living, he was being excessively affectionate towards me. He would follow me everywhere and would mournfully chuck if I did not give him attention and when I went inside, he would sit on the porch and scream until I came back out. The next day my sister let the chickens out of the coop (I accidentally overslept, my alarm clock died) and when I woke up and looked out the glass, slide door, I found him, still, about a few feet from the coop door. When I went to his body it was still a bit warm and he was lying in a resting position. I handled with his body and checked with my sister, she said that she let the chickens out and when Dragon stepped out of the coop, he sat in the sunlight instantly and she left. I did not know about this website at that time and I did not think about separating him from the others, none of them got sick. Maybe deformation killed him? I used hay bales that my family harvested ourselves in the coop and they are clean. I need help with this because I do not want to risk another case like this. Also, I got him from Tractor Supply, just saying this if it would help.
