CindyinSD
All will be well, and that will be well is well.
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.
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.