Top Hat Trouble!!!!

[Mississippi Farm Chick]

I live in Mississippi, it is usually very hot and humid in the summer and very mild in the winter. I raise Cochin Bantams, Silkies, Seramas, and Silver-Laced Wyandottes. I have no problem with these at all. My sister-in-law and I share our coops and responsibilities. She really wanted to raise Polish. We have done everything we can do and can not raise these chickens!!!! Our coops are warm and dry. Our chickens are spoiled rotten, but the Polish drop off like flies. They will be perfect one day, sickly acting the next, and then dead the day after. They are in their own pens and they are very sanitary. What are we doing wrong? My other chickens are always healthy. I have gotten the Polish from a variety of different breeders and hatcheries. So, I know they didn't come from an unkept environment. Are they not good chickens to have in such a high humidity? It is 70 here one day and below freezing the next. Is it our climate? Are there any more Southerners on here that raise these chickens? Are you having trouble with them also? What are we doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance!!!!!!!

 

[Georgia Boy 1970]

I also raise polish. I always tell people that I know that wants to raise them that they have to be pampered. We have had a lot of rain the last few weeks plus cold. It took a toll on some of my polish. I put them in a pen that was closed up to keep the draft out and hung heat lamps. This has helped me. I raise the buff laced and blue. Looking to add other color varieties of the polish. Hope this helps.

 

[Vcomb]

Its hard to say for certain, so I will have to ask you questions so that I can help you solve your riddle.

How often do you check the birds for lice and mites? how often are they wormed? are you trimming the crests and beards? could you describe the housing for your Polish? Is there anything you can think of that is stressing them, such as dogs trying to paw them through the wire or another breed intimidating them. I don't think it is your weather as mine live in weather extremes much like yours, including high humidity.

 

[Mississippi Farm Chick]

Thank you so much for the post. I check the birds weekly for lice and mites. I have never found any. They are wormed on a regular basis. Their pen is an enclosed 10x10 storage shed. It has a dirt floor which is covered in pine shavings and cleaned out on a weekly basis. My dog goes in the pen whenever I do but the chickens never seem to even notice him. I have never trimmed their crests and beards (UhOh). Is that a major problem?

I'm not sure if this will help, but what they usually do is act completely fine, eat and drink well, and then within a couple of days they will start to sit with their heads ducked under their wings for a day or two, get better for a couple of days, and then I will walk into the coop and they will just be laying there dead. I have changed food brands, given them antibiotics in their water, put vitamins in their water, and given them shots of antibiotics.

I can raise them until they are 4 or 5 months old and then this happens.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Sorry about your chickens

Some possibilities:
What are you feeding them? If you feed them layer feed too early the additional calcium will harm their kidneys.
Are they getting bullied by the others at all? Polish cannot see as well and they tend to get bullied. Any marks or wounds on them?
What does their poo look like? Any diarrhea? or blood in it?
Do their crests get wet when they drink? Chilling can occur if that happens and it can weaken their immune system.
Are they vaccinated against Mareks? Doesn't sound like Mareks but their age is close to when you see it.

Perhaps you can have an autopsy doen to figure this out?

 

[Vcomb]

Quote:
It could be you might need to do the trimming. At that age sometimes the crest and beard outgrows the bird's body and while they can kind of memorize where food and water are it isn't always enough. When you pick up the bodies do they feel thin? There could also be the possibility that they might be getting crop bound. The wet crest can cause chills also. If they don't get enough access to natural sunlight that can cause problems for them too. If you wish to do so, pm me a list of the people and places you got your birds from, that may help us solve some of this riddle.

 

[Mississippi Farm Chick]

I am feeding them chick starter. The ones that I purchased from the hatchery (Welp) I had vaccinated against Mareks. No marks, no wounds. They are all very friendly, even to each other. I did have a larger rooster that kept trying to breed my younger hens, but he was moved to another pen. I have been very puzzled by this. Out of 35 we have 7 left. I guess it just frustrates me so bad because I try so hard. My other chickens are all super healthy, if I ever lose a chicken it is usually from some type of predator when they are free-ranging. I quit letting them free range after I lost the first ones, because I thought maybe they were getting into something. But, that was months ago and we have lost a lot of chickens since then.

This is my first encounter with some type of illness. But I am starting to think my problem maybe with their crests. Two posts have asked me about their crests. I didn't know I was supposed to keep it trimmed. Will it cause them to act this way? How early am I supposed to start trimming it?

 

[reesepoultry]

I have never lost any of my polish. I actually think of them to be a very hardy chicken. I have never trimmed mine. I really don't think that is your problem.
I would check for mites though on your poultry as that can kill them fast if they have many on them, as they suck alot of there blood and make them anemic in no time and then they die. I hope you figure your problem out.

 

[becky3086]

Well, I am here in GA. I don't pamper my Polish and I have only lost one. Some of the pens are right out in the rain, no heat lamps, no pretty warm coops. I feed them laying mash from the time they are allowed to go outside (when they outgrow the tub brooder). It's been wet, then freezing, then wet again. Mine aren't having problems. I'd say that no matter how sanitary you are, disease can get in from all sorts of ways and you obviously have some sort of serious problem there.
What do the dead chickens look like?

 

[Mississippi Farm Chick]

Well, I know for certain they don't have mites. I have checked, my sister-in-law has checked, we didn't trust ourselves so we had two farmers check. No mites. They honestly look like they have just killed over from a heart attack or something. There is no evidence of anything except being lethargic a few days before. They are usually acting fine the day before they die. I thought there might have been something in our coop so, we just built another coop. I put some of my other chickens in their old coop a few months ago and have had no problem with any of them. I honestly just don't know! I don't think it's bad feed. My others eat the same food.