What Am I Doing Wrong??

[FireGal]

I am about to give up on this, y’all. I am trying so hard, but apparently failing. My girls are dying. One by one, every month or so, I lose another one.
I started in February with four EE’s and three Mosaics. In April I got two Dominiques. They are all gone. In August I got six more girls. I’m losing another one today.
I lost one to a fox, so that I understand. The others I don’t. They are doing fine and then literally overnight they just... aren’t. I lost one a few weeks ago. She was a bit lethargic the night before but the weather had gotten colder. I was concerned but not panicked. She was dead the next morning.
This morning I am losing another one. She was fine yesterday. This morning she keeps falling over.
My coop is clean. They are protected. Fresh food. Clean water.
I just wanted eggs and entertainment

I am not entertained. It hurts my heart to lose them, and I have read and researched. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I am not entertained. It hurts my heart to lose them, and I have read and researched. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong.

So sorry.

What is the source you are getting them from, what is their age, what are you feeding on a regular basis?

Getting a necropsy might give you answers and is highly recommended since you are having repeat deaths... Links to help...
How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy

State poultry labs

This morning I am losing another one. She was fine yesterday. This morning she keeps falling over.

Is she eating and drinking? In the lay box, in a corner, or with the flock? Crop full, empty, hard, squishy? How are droppings color and consistency? Has she laid any eggs?

Easiest suspicions... Marek's, coccidiosis. Without more information though it can be difficult to discern cause. Are you seeing any sneezing or hearing wheezing? Any change in pupils or iris of the eye?

Hang in there, it isn't supposed to be this hard!

 

[FortCluck]

I would send in the next to pass away for a necropsy then you'll know exactly what is happening to your chickens.

I'm sorry for your losses

 

[springvalley123]

Is it possible that in addition to the one being lost to a fox attack, that others had internal injuries, that led to infections/damage that they just "held on" for varying amounts of time? Or off-gassing by whatever the coop is made of, and some just are more sensitive, or stay inside and are more exposed to it than others? I definitely agree with the idea of a necropsy, If done now, it could point you in the right direction and hopefully restore your confidence in your ability to keep chickens. Sorry about your losses, and best of luck going forward.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You have 2 labs. IMO, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is the way to go.
https://aaes.uark.edu/technical-services/veterinary-diagnostic-lab/
https://www.aad.arkansas.gov/veterinary-diagnostic-lab
If you call them, they will likely send you a FedEx label for shipping if your aren't close.

You didn't say what kind of feed they've been eating since you got them.
By that I mean, was it starter, grower, all flock, layer or something else?

Describe the ventilation in the building in detail.
Don't be concerned about cold for healthy birds but a sick bird may need to be brought somewhere warm.

 

[Don 27]

I am about to give up on this, y’all. I am trying so hard, but apparently failing. My girls are dying. One by one, every month or so, I lose another one.
I started in February with four EE’s and three Mosaics. In April I got two Dominiques. They are all gone. In August I got six more girls. I’m losing another one today.
I lost one to a fox, so that I understand. The others I don’t. They are doing fine and then literally overnight they just... aren’t. I lost one a few weeks ago. She was a bit lethargic the night before but the weather had gotten colder. I was concerned but not panicked. She was dead the next morning.
This morning I am losing another one. She was fine yesterday. This morning she keeps falling over.
My coop is clean. They are protected. Fresh food. Clean water.
I just wanted eggs and entertainment

I am not entertained. It hurts my heart to lose them, and I have read and researched. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong.

Well this is a bit complicated I'm a little confused sounds like predators to me it there any noticeable damage the the chickens. I don't think it's wether related unless you have a vary sensitive breed. I have never lost a bird to bad wether. Not saying it can't happen but I live in a cold climate. One year we had minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit wether. All birds lived with minimal frost bite. Sounds
Like a possible disease my old flock had a respiratory disease that killed some of the birds. After I got rid of that flock and disinfected the coop and added new birds. Where did you get your birds? Sorry I don't mean to scare you im just bran storming .

 

[CindyinSD]

Some things to consider... Where did you get your chickens? Where did you get the coop? Used or new? If you built it, did you use recycled lumber? Where did you get it and recycled from what? How long have you lived on your property? Did previous owners keep chickens? Do you use any cleaning chemicals when you clean up after them?

Have you paid much attention to what they eat from your land? Do you grow or have growing anything that might poison them?

Usually chickens are pretty durable. They don’t tend to eat poisonous plants or suffer from any kind of bedding unless it’s moldy or saturated with waste. They need a dry place to sleep, out of the wind, some feed that isn’t moldy: seeds, bugs, organic non-gmo super-expensive or the cheapest stuff you can find, leftovers, compost pile, sweepings from the bakery floor—they’re chickens. They’ve been surviving for thousands and thousands of years on stuff their often struggling families couldn’t eat.

Sometimes they do just up and die for no discernible reason, but not all of them. Something is going on here and it doesn’t seem to be anything you’re doing or not doing, so don’t kick yourself. I would send any future casualties to the lab. Hopefully they can give you some light on this mystery.

I’m real sorry this is happening to you. Sometimes life just sucks. It’s not fair—ever. You just pick up your broken bits and soldier on. I’d hate to see you give up on keeping chickens, because they’re ordinarily such a blessing. Best thing is to get that necropsy done. Figure out the problem, then you can figure out your next steps.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They mainly have pine shavings with a little hay on top in the coop. There is some hay in their fenced in yard because we have had a lot of rain and part of their yard is muddy

Straw and hay are two different things that shouldn't be confused.
Straw is for bedding. Hay is for feeding cattle, horses, sheep, goats and other grazing animals in winter but shouldn't be used for bedding. In any moist environment, hay will mold and aflatoxins produced can quickly kill chickens.

Straw is made from the dried stalks of cereal grasses like wheat, oats, rye, barley and others after the grains are harvested. The stalks are then baled.
Hay is made by cutting green grasses and legumes like alfalfa, ladino and clover, drying it in the sun and then baling.
If hay is baled before completely dry, it will mold. It has to be cut, dried, raked and baled when no rain is in the forecast or it is ruined.
There is still a lot of nutrition in the dried hay for ungulates and other grazers to get sustenance from when grass isn't available. Those nutrients feed the mold and other fungi when moist.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-72422-3_2

 

[gtaus]

Now I know this sounds completely ridiculous. But I might as well ask . Say my birds are sick and I have a necropsy done and they find a rare disease like newscastle. Ok should I be worried about them possibly forcibly calling my flock? Now I know this is a stretch but what do you think? my birds are not sick or anything but it's just something that came to mind.

If a necropsy found a rare disease and your birds had to be culled, I would think you should be glad in that you know the cause and you took action to prevent it spreading to other flocks. You certainly don't want your birds to suffer nor to spread that suffering to others. Later on, if you want, you can start over with a new flock.

I don't know where you got your birds, but maybe you could contact your source and ask them about any issues they are aware of with their birds. I know one local farm store here got a batch of chicks from a hatchery and they had a very bad survival rate. The store banned that hatchery after that experience, so sometimes the problem can come from the hatchery itself. The farm store wants to sell you healthy chicks so you spend lots of your good money on feed, etc.. from them as the chickens mature. Well, at least my local farm stores feel that way.

You also mentioned that you clean the coop daily. I suppose that would be a good idea, normally, but I have bought into the deep litter method. From what I have read, a deep litter bedding builds up good bacteria that is beneficial to the health of your flock. I have about 8 inches of wood chips in my coop and all I do is throw scratch on the bedding so the chickens peck and scratch the wood chips which turns the chicken droppings down into the litter. I have not cleaned out my coop in over 6 months but there is no smell at all. You would hard pressed to find any chicken droppings on their wood chip litter. It all vanishes.

I sure hope you find out why your chickens are dying. I know I would feel terrible about the situation and wonder what more could I do. I'll be following this thread so I hope you keep us updated on whatever you find out. Best wishes.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

This is a picture so you can see her.

That's a cockerel. Pretty sure I can see his pointy saddle feathers and double wide white barring, in addition to the dark red shoulders and bright red saddles. Sorry.

Age and posture are very pointy towards possible Marek's or nutrient deficit both of which could effect other flock members. Did you already express your feed routine and I missed it? Did you ever have to treat for coccidiosis as chicks, which could have lead to necrosis in the intestines leading to a nutrient deficit?

Link to best resource I have seen on Marek's...
Marek's Virus FAQ

I use hay and have for while. I'm serious about my breeding projects, safety, bio-security, etc... as well as fairly skilled at diagnosing many issues... I have not lost a single animal to the use of hay. Straw or any other form. I also use pine shavings, and sometimes rice hulls, dry leaves, mowed grass, etc. Crop blockage or impaction can happen and is a real concern so I'm not trying to diminish that. Make sure a form of grit is available. Mine use dirt from the ground but I do also bring in washed river sand (small pebbles essentially) as my stock load can be high at times.

ETA: Don't get new chickens without getting a necropsy. Depending on what the issue is will make a difference in what cleaning or how long vacating matters! You wouldn't bring a new un-vaccinated pup onto a premises with know Parvo virus.

ETAA: I do agree that straw is NOT a good litter.