We have chickens dying!!!!

[ajaldridge]

I have had three of my sons chickens die at this point. We feed them crushed insoluable granite, corn scratch feed, and pellets. The first two that died were his Americaunas, his favorites. They had feathers missing from their rears where one of the other chickens were pecking at them. The last one that died was one of the black and white chickens, not sure what kind that is right off hand. She was not missing any feathers. When she died I noticed the where the eggs come out was wide open and bloody. Poop seems to be fine, its like it always is. We got them as chicks in spring, around May I think, and they have been laying fine so far. I noticed an egg that had blood smeared on it when the last chicken died as well. Nothing has changed and there is no way they could have gotten into something that could have poisoned them. Any ideas what is causing this? I looked at the chickens good tonight, the five that are left, and all seem normal except for a white chicken. She's missing a few feathers and has a naked rear end, you can see this when you hold her upside down. I have pics on my cell that I could send to a cell phone if someone wants to see I just have no way to put them on the computer. Please let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions!!! My son is Autistic and devestated that his chickens are dying so young.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

Could you have rats or some other small preditor nipping them in the butt and opening a wound that then gets picked on?

Other thought would be to check them over for mites/lice they can go at the vent area.

 

[slackwater]

I'm guessing that they are picking at each other. When I've had birds that were overcrowded, bored, or protein-deficient, they have killed each other doing this. Sometimes one bird does it out of habit (I cull them if I can find them), other times it is one of the reasons listed above. I'd evaluate their diet (is it varied enough?), how many birds you have in how much area, etc.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I also just had chickens that were picking at each other. It was several of the larger ones picking on the smaller ones so I had to move the smaller ones. If bacteria gets into an open wound wound, you have trouble.

 

[lowcountrypoultry]

I found a way to help my chickens when I had them to stop picking on each other, I would supplement their diet with crickets, and worms. Mostly crickets though, It gives them something to do, and is a pleasure to watch the chickens run around and enjoy chasing them.

I would get 25-30 from my local bait store, this was for my flock of about 15

 

[Organics North]

Stop the candy.. I mean corn scratch. Just give them high quality 17% protein or better pellets.. If you want to treat them use a can of salmon or tuna.

I think they are picking on one another? They need protein and space. The corn scratch is just empty calories for the chickens.
ON

 

[ajaldridge]

I showed a picture the feed and seed store where I got them at, I had to get more pellets anyway. He said it looks like prolapse, but I just want to be sure. I, finally, got the name of a vet who sees chickens, its about an hour away but if I need to bring Ollie I can. They were closed today so I'll call first thing in the morning. Meanwhile Ollie got brought inside for a warm soak in the sink which seemed to help a bit and I put neosporin on the wounds on his backside. Poor little Ollie was eating up the extra attention and I couldn't resist letting her walk around the kitchen. She went straight to my son started pecking at him, which she does when she wants attention. Naturally he put his dinosaurs away and starts petting her and singing "Rocking Robin" to her which he has always done since we got them. What else can I do if it is prolapse??? I'll work on posting pictures tonight, I'm at work right now so it's a bit difficult.

 

[ajaldridge]

I must have had a long night at work, I can't figure out how to get the pictures to upload. I'll work on that later this afternoon.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Quote:
I am by far no expert, but that's what I thought - how big is the coop and how many chickens in there - this usually (And I say USUALLY) they do this when they are cramped.

 

[ajaldridge]

We are down to five chickens, and While the coop they sleep in isn't big at all I let them out in the mornings when I get home from work. I work nights and I can hear them from my bedroom. They generally hang out in the front yard catching grasshoppers and all kinds of yummy bugs. We are in the process of building a bigger coop, hopefully it will be done this weekend, as well as a fenced in area for the chickens so we won't have to worry about keeping them locked up tight on the porch at night. We have foxes, bobcats, and coyotes to worry about getting the chickens. I live in the country surrounded by cow pastures and I absolutely love it, however late at night my room tends to sound more like a rain forrest from all the frogs.