What is a normal amount of chicken illnesses for a backyard flock?

[tori729]

Over the past two years of having chickens, our number one problem has been illness. We seem to not have a huge issue with predators but illnesses don't seem to be avoidable.
Timeline: 8 fully feathered pullets, no issues for a year. Hatched out a bird from a friend's eggs and bought four TSC chicks, also brought in 3 of a friends' flock adult chooks (quarantined in separate pen for a couple weeks). Total flock count: 16
Then things started going downhill. Since last winter, we've lost five to diseases, added in four chicks this spring and just lost one of them. Currently have one in the sick bay for a sour crop that still hasn't resolved.
Symptoms NEVER seem the same: one stopped walking abruptly and died within a day, one seemed to have a respiratory issue, one had huge sores on her body, one seemed to have neurological problems, one may have aspirated from having a sour crop, recently one just stopped eating and eventually couldn't walk so we put her down.
I thought maybe I needed to buy from a backyard owner instead but we have one sick and one just died from that batch. It seems random as to which ones die but when we get new chicks, we tend to lose half of them.
We clean the coop every 1-2 months, completely change out the bedding (it's off the ground so no deep litter). The chickens have a dry area under their coop, food stays dry. I usually add chicken booster or ACV or both to their water to keep minerals up. They have grit and oyster/shells available.

I've heard chickens' super power is dying so I know I'm not alone, I just wonder if this is a normal amount of sickness or if I should be concerned that I'm doing something wrong? I try to go out daily also and just observe the chickens so I can separate if they are acting off.

 

[Debbie292d]

People do things so many different ways, and there isn't a way written in stone that is the only way. You do what you learned to do to raise them and some for whatever reasons didn't make it. It could be a culmination of many things but when you can't put your finger on it, then you just have to keep trying until you can.

We've had as many as 80 silkies, counting chicks, and currently are going through the winter with around 50.

I lost one to some type of liver ailment, the vet said. She was 10 months old and from an exhibition line. Two others died we think of a head injury and one from unknown causes. These were from all different parents, so genetics is not a cause of all of them.

So this year we lost four adults and one chick out of 500 or so hatched here.

Ours have been on Kalmbach's Flock Maker (20% protein crumbles) for a few years. They rarely get anything else, and Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve is their scratch.

Where we are is high humidity so we had to come up with ways to keep it under 70% in the coops, as higher than that and mold can start growing. We use horse bedding pellets in every coop and hutch. That dries out the poop and is maintenance free albeit changing them once a year or when needed.

We give them added vitamins and probiotics to their feed and/or water weekly.

The brooders also have horse bedding pellets. They are 4' wide so the black ceramic lamp is at one end, and they have 3 1/2' to get away from it.

For their first two weeks, I didn't trust that the well water would be good for them, as it's higher in metals, so they get bottled water, then gradually introduced to the hard water.

Hopefully, this gives you some ideas for something you could try or compare anyway.

 

[dawg53]

You have to practice strict biosecurity when it comes to chickens. Bringing eggs/birds into an existing flock from a friend, farmer down the road or next door neighbor is a recipe for health problems.
Some types of respiratory diseases can be passed through eggs, some can be carried in the air at a good distance, such as Infectious Bronchitis (IB.)
Chickens can be carriers of respiratory diseases, to include contaminating waterers and feeders which are easily spread to other birds in addition to bird to bird direct or indirect contact.

If you're going to add birds to an existing flock, it's best to order chicks from a reputable hatchery or a feed store that orders chicks from a reputable hatchery.

@tori729 Regarding symptoms NEVER seem the same:
I suspect you might possibly be dealing with Marek's disease. Hopefully I'm wrong.
I recommend that have a sick bird sent off for necropsy in order to determine what you're dealing with.
You can contact your local extension office or your state Department of Agriculture and find out how to go about sending a bird off for necropsy.

Symptoms NEVER seem the same: one stopped walking abruptly and died within a day, one seemed to have a respiratory issue, one had huge sores on her body, one seemed to have neurological problems, one may have aspirated from having a sour crop, recently one just stopped eating and eventually couldn't walk so we put her down.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your losses. Your veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Columbia, SC which is listed in the link below, can do a necropsy on a chicken that you lose and would give you some clues on what is affecting your flock. Understand that some diseases get into your flock from other people’s chicks or eggs, and they will remain until the last chickens are alive. Find out what diseases you have, and close your flock. Adding more birds when there is a chronic contagious disease, will insure they will get it or be carriers.

 

[tori729]

Ours have been on Kalmbach's Flock Maker (20% protein crumbles) for a few years. They rarely get anything else, and Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve is their scratch.

Where we are is high humidity so we had to come up with ways to keep it under 70% in the coops, as higher than that and mold can start growing. We use horse bedding pellets in every coop and hutch. That dries out the poop and is maintenance free albeit changing them once a year or when needed.

We give them added vitamins and probiotics to their feed and/or water weekly.

The brooders also have horse bedding pellets. They are 4' wide so the black ceramic lamp is at one end, and they have 3 1/2' to get away from it.

For their first two weeks, I didn't trust that the well water would be good for them, as it's higher in metals, so they get bottled water, then gradually introduced to the hard water.

Hopefully, this gives you some ideas for something you could try or compare anyway.

We feed a variety of food waste so there's always a chance something is hurting them. I don't give them things I know are bad like avocados, raw potatoes but I do feed them apples and tomatoes. We also have hawthorn berries on our property which are supposed to be poisonous. So there are a number of things that could affect them.

We tried horse pellets in the coop but they are SO heavy that it was really hard to clean them out. It gets humid here too but our coop is very ventilated so it seems to not have problems with mold.

I appreciate the tips! I'll keep doing vitamins in their water for sure!

You have to practice strict biosecurity when it comes to chickens. Bringing eggs/birds into an existing flock from a friend, farmer down the road or next door neighbor is a recipe for health problems.
Some types of respiratory diseases can be passed through eggs, some can be carried in the air at a good distance, such as Infectious Bronchitis (IB.)
Chickens can be carriers of respiratory diseases, to include contaminating waterers and feeders which are easily spread to other birds in addition to bird to bird direct or indirect contact.

If you're going to add birds to an existing flock, it's best to order chicks from a reputable hatchery or a feed store that orders chicks from a reputable hatchery.

Regarding symptoms NEVER seem the same:
I suspect you might possibly be dealing with Marek's disease. Hopefully I'm wrong.
I recommend that have a sick bird sent off for necropsy in order to determine what you're dealing with.
You can contact your local extension office or your state Department of Agriculture and find out how to go about sending a bird off for necropsy.

I do think bringing in more chickens affected the health of my current birds. We just wanted some chicks to raise. Are the TSC birds from a good hatchery because I don't feel like they live any longer/are any hardier than my others.
My hardiest chickens are this ancient chicken my friend gave me - she's probably 8+ years old - and the RiRs - our original two are the only breed that we have that we haven't lost any of.

With this latest chicken, I've suspected Marek's because of the paralysis. I thought about having her sent off but storing in the fridge wouldn't have worked.

Sorry for your losses. Your veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Columbia, SC which is listed in the link below, can do a necropsy on a chicken that you lose and would give you some clues on what is affecting your flock. Understand that some diseases get into your flock from other people’s chicks or eggs, and they will remain until the last chickens are alive. Find out what diseases you have, and close your flock. Adding more birds when there is a chronic contagious disease, will insure they will get it or be carriers.

I might do this, although our current sick chicken has a soup crop that hasn't resolved so I don't know if it would help.

 

[kattabelly]

We also have hawthorn berries on our property which are supposed to be poisonous.

Haws are perfectly edible for both humans and chickens. The seeds just shouldn't be eaten in large quantities, like apple pips or cherry stones.

 

[tori729]

Haws are perfectly edible for both humans and chickens. The seeds just shouldn't be eaten in large quantities, like apple pips or cherry stones.

Nevermind, it's heavenly bamboo which *is* toxic. I just tasked my son to make sure the berries on the two trees in our backyard are always cut!

 

[CraziChknLady]

Yes biosecurity is a huge issue. Not just what the birds can get from others in the flock. It's everything.
Make sure to disinfect everything. Coops, roosts, waterers, feeders, etc. When cleaning out coop make sure to get rid of the contaminated bedding. ( I got to the point with a previous Mycoplasma flock that I just burned it. ) And be sure to disinfect the roosts, walks and floors. Best to get some type of sprayer and cleaner.
It's possible other wild birds or other animals can bring something in like rats, mice, possums, etc. Set out traps, netting, etc.
Also make sure when you visit other farms, markets or swaps that have chickens to make sure YOU are clean before visiting your flock. Things can transfer on your shoes, clothing or even hair. I just get to the point that I shower, put on fresh clothes before I go do the evening checks/ closing the coops. I also have separate "chicken boots" I only use in my pens. Along with separate jackets, raincoat, hat, etc. These get washed regularly.
It could even be something as simple as in they were already a carrier of something and increasing the flock size brought out stress which flared up the disease.
Definitely try switching up bedding. In my area I find Pine shavings work well in the coops along with the horse pellets.
I try to also use that and mulch for the run and then make sections with a mix of sand, soil, peat moss and DE for little bathing stations. I have learned I cant have sand, hay or straw in coops or the runs at all. Gets wet then never dries due to the high humid summers here or the rainy spring, fall and winters.
Sometimes there's just too many variables. You might just have to do trial and error to see what works.

 

[Birdinhand]

there are two things I swear by when it comes to a healthy micro biome. Nipple waterers are, IMHO, the first defense against illness, they eliminate the cesspool that chickens make out of their waterers. Since i’ve gone nipple waterer I’ve had a lot fewer issues.

The other thing I think is important to overall health is the deep litter method. I make wood chips with my own chipper from hardwood mostly, I add about 6-8” in the fall, to a sandy dirt bottom. I clean out the coop about every 6 months to a year depending on how much I need compost. I never have issues with mites, they turn the mix so much the mites don’t successfully propagate. The way they turn and aerate the chips and mix them into the soil creates a very healthy aerobic micro biome. I also give about 2-3 times the square feet per bird as is recommend, so their droppings never get very concentrated.

I do occasionally lose a bird. I have 6, and maybe lose one every year or two or three. Some live many years some don’t.

 

[tori729]

there are two things I swear by when it comes to a healthy micro biome. Nipple waterers are, IMHO, the first defense against illness, they eliminate the cesspool that chickens make out of their waterers. Since i’ve gone nipple waterer I’ve had a lot fewer issues.

The other thing I think is important to overall health is the deep litter method. I make wood chips with my own chipper from hardwood mostly, I add about 6-8” in the fall, to a sandy dirt bottom. I clean out the coop about every 6 months to a year depending on how much I need compost. I never have issues with mites, they turn the mix so much the mites don’t successfully propagate. The way they turn and aerate the chips and mix them into the soil creates a very healthy aerobic micro biome. I also give about 2-3 times the square feet per bird as is recommend, so their droppings never get very concentrated.

Re: to crazy chicken lady: I know biosecurity is a thing but there's only so much I can sanely do. I have kids and I can't monitor what they wear or don't wear into the coop and at other houses. And it really seems like we lose chickens to completely different things so disinfecting for sickness probably wouldn't help anyway.

Re: birdinhand:

Interesting about the waterers. I am realizing that I think I need to buy the nipple ones only. We have two waterers - one is the cups and one is nipples - and the cups one has been leaking and having freezing issues recently.

With the deep litter, I can't do that because my coop is raised off the ground and not deep enough for that. We basically use a block of pine mulch from tsc to completely clean out every month or two. We have tried using pellets but they are too heavy and harder to clean out bc we can't do deep litter.