Two Dead in A Week

[O.Wendell Douglas]

I am at a loss on what is happening with our flock. We have had the 19 chickens we currently have since April and they were doing great. They are out and about through the day in a "aviary" of sorts that we built and then they have a protected coop for the night. Last week after we'd been gone for a couple of days, we went to check on the chickens (who we had let go in and out while we were gone) and one of them was dead in the run. We weren't sure what had happened as the chicken had been pecked on quite a bit and didn't have much meat left on the side that was up. We assumed that an animal had gotten to her since no one else seemed hurt. (We have several cats that would love to have a chicken dinner.) Then today we found another one that died sometime today after I let them out of the coop. She had an egg about half-way out so now I am wondering if this is what happened to the one last week. Yesterday we watched one lay an egg and she became very unresponsive while she was laying...I actually thought she had died, too.

How can we help make sure we don't lose anymore chickens? Are we feeding them the wrong thing? (We feed them fancy scratch and egg-layer feed.) Is it not warm enough in the coop anymore? It has been in the 50s at night recently and some days it didn't get above 65...today it's in the 80s again though. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[O.Wendell Douglas]

Sorry I didn't include what kind of chickens were losing. We have Buff Orpingtons, Black Sexlink, Silver Sexlink, Barred Rock and White Leghorn (I think...my husband is the mastermind of all the types, I just take care of them!). The first one was a barred rock and today's was a White Leghorn. The others all seem to be fine, but we found another egg with quite a bit of blood on it, too. Any advice at all is greatly appreciated!

 

[welasharon]

Just to get started. What are their ages? Have you checked them over for lice and mites? How is their poo? Have they just started to lay? How much scratch are they eating?
sharon

 

[O.Wendell Douglas]

Quote:
We got them as babies in April so that makes them about 5 months old. We are getting about 6-8 eggs a day, but I am not sure which chickens are laying regularly. (I am curious how you guys can keep track of all that - I have a house full of kids and my parents to take care of so I don't get to watch the chickens nearly as much as I think others do.) We have been getting eggs for over a month though. I have not checked them for mites/lice yet, but maybe my husband has. We combine the scratch and feed in a continuous feeder for them and they eat about 40 lbs a every two weeks between the 19 of them. I am sorry I don't have more specific answers, but with the questions listed maybe I can get more specific answers! Thanks for helping.

 

[welasharon]

Well scratch feed is about as nutritious as candy. Is it half and half you think? Less scratch? Sometimes you can lose a hen when they first start laying but it would be odd to be more than the random one. Check for bugs. Check to see if they are too skinny. See if you can stand and observe them out and about some to see if you can spot any issues. Oh, and look at the poo.
sharon