What is killing all my chickens?

[MROO]

She's holding her head up and is more active she even tried flying today

YAAAYYY!!!!
I swear by Corid! Apparently, my soil is an incubator for coccidia. I don't wait until I see blood to start treatment (at least once every 12-18 months.) If the birds don't have coccidiosis, it won't hurt them, but if they DO, I swear again (and I am NOT the swearing sort) the stuff is MAGIC!
I will say that I noticed a significant reduction of both the frequency and duration of the coccidia "attacks" once I got my run reliably dried out. I don't know if that's a direct correlation or if it just means my birds stay stronger (and better able to cope naturally with other health issues) with the drier conditions, but look into that, too. A dry run never hurts!

 

[MROO]

Warning- dead chicken

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I don't know it seems like they are just all going to die and it's like they are all dying of different things at once.

First things first ... Clean out your run and coop, dumping the debris far away from your birds. I compost mine around the other side of my detached garage. It makes great garden mulch! Treat your coop and run with a sanitizer. Bleach works fine. Wait until it dries out to put new bedding down. You can put a fan out there to speed things up.

If there is bedding in your run, take that out, too. Spread mite/parasite dust in both areas. Be sure to get your roosts, nesting boxes, cracks and crevices. Clean your feeders and waterers - again, use bleach.

I use a short snow shovel to clean out my coop, pushing it right out the door into a waiting wheel barrow or onto a tarp. DS is not happy about my commandeering one of "his" shovels, but it now hangs in my coop, year-round ... MY shovel! If you have a snow blower, you can use that in the corners, but treat the bedding with poultry dust before you blow it all over, or you're just spreading the parasites. I just use an old broom, which also "lives" in the coop.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it really needs to be done at least once, usually twice a year ... and any time you have a mass issue like this. I paint the interior every couple of years, too. It not only looks nice, but it seals anything nasty in and away. If you mix in a 1/4 cup of Lysol before you paint, it helps keep away mold and rot. You can also whitewash as often as you want. There are lots of DIY mixes on BYC.

You can beat this. It's frustrating and disheartening, but it is do-able. It takes some back-bending, some elbow grease and more than a little ingenuity, but it's all part of the learning curve ... and unfortunately, it's also part of having chickens. As my dairy farming sister is overly fond of telling me, "When you have livestock, you sometimes have deadstock." The trick is figuring out why and taking that out of the equation.

Hang in There!

 

[Emma_Bruffy]

First things first ... Clean out your run and coop, dumping the debris far away from your birds. I compost mine around the other side of my detached garage. It makes great garden mulch! Treat your coop and run with a sanitizer. Bleach works fine. Wait until it dries out to put new bedding down. You can put a fan out there to speed things up.

If there is bedding in your run, take that out, too. Spread mite/parasite dust in both areas. Be sure to get your roosts, nesting boxes, cracks and crevices. Clean your feeders and waterers - again, use bleach.

I use a short snow shovel to clean out my coop, pushing it right out the door into a waiting wheel barrow or onto a tarp. DS is not happy about my commandeering one of "his" shovels, but it now hangs in my coop, year-round ... MY shovel! If you have a snow blower, you can use that in the corners, but treat the bedding with poultry dust before you blow it all over, or you're just spreading the parasites. I just use an old broom, which also "lives" in the coop.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it really needs to be done at least once, usually twice a year ... and any time you have a mass issue like this. I paint the interior every couple of years, too. It not only looks nice, but it seals anything nasty in and away. If you mix in a 1/4 cup of Lysol before you paint, it helps keep away mold and rot. You can also whitewash as often as you want. There are lots of DIY mixes on BYC.

You can beat this. It's frustrating and disheartening, but it is do-able. It takes some back-bending, some elbow grease and more than a little ingenuity, but it's all part of the learning curve ... and unfortunately, it's also part of having chickens. As my dairy farming sister is overly fond of telling me, "When you have livestock, you sometimes have deadstock." The trick is figuring out why and taking that out of the equation.

Hang in There!

I will start now, I've only had my chickens 4 years and this is the first time I've ever had this many die at once so its kinda shocking to me that it's all happening at once, I love my feather-babies and luckily I have all that stuff I need to begin deep cleaning

 

[Emma_Bruffy]

YAAAYYY!!!!
I swear by Corid! Apparently, my soil is an incubator for coccidia. I don't wait until I see blood to start treatment (at least once every 12-18 months.) If the birds don't have coccidiosis, it won't hurt them, but if they DO, I swear again (and I am NOT the swearing sort) the stuff is MAGIC!
I will say that I noticed a significant reduction of both the frequency and duration of the coccidia "attacks" once I got my run reliably dried out. I don't know if that's a direct correlation or if it just means my birds stay stronger (and better able to cope naturally with other health issues) with the drier conditions, but look into that, too. A dry run never hurts!

It's day 4 of her treatment and she is still acting sick should I make it 7 days

 

[Emma_Bruffy]

This is her today, she is the one with purple on her back (blue Kote because someone pecked her back) it's like she reversed in healing

 

[MROO]

It's day 4 of her treatment and she is still acting sick should I make it 7 days

I'm no expert and definitely not a vet, but If she's eating and pooping okay, I'd do the five days, then give her a couple of days on vitamins. If she doesn't improve, you can start over with the Corid.

 

[MROO]

This is her today, she is the one with purple on her back (blue Kote because someone pecked her back) it's like she reversed in healing

If she's being picked on, maybe you should separate her. Unless she is really sick, you can keep a mild-mannered flock-mate with her. It can make reintegration easier.

 

[Eggcessive]

Treatment is 5-7 days, so if she is not much better, I would do 7 days. You can also, decrease the amount of Corid to 1/3 the dosage and treat at the lower dosage for an additional 5 days.

 

[Emma_Bruffy]

Yall I think I Have a cannible. Last death had a hole in the neck and tonight I come home from a 4th of July party and my uncle (locked up my chickens for me tonight) showed me the body of smoke. She was unrecognizable, her neck from shoulder to head was wet and her face was skinned and bloody and her skull was crushed right by her left eye socket. Now this sounds like a predator right? He said he found her 4 feet away from the closet fence and my fence has tight holes. I live in Lynchburg VA so if it WAS a predator that could help but could this be terrible cannibalism at the same time as coccidiosis. Are the strong picking on the weak? I have recently integrated these 4-6 week olds (2 weeks ago) so maybe the adults did it but the lavender orpington died in her cage. Unfortunately I forgot to get a pic of the body before disposing it but I described it pretty well. RIP Smoke

 

[Emma_Bruffy]

If she's being picked on, maybe you should separate her. Unless she is really sick, you can keep a mild-mannered flock-mate with her. It can make reintegration easier.

I will separate her with her sister (cinnamon bun in the video) they are inseparable and get stressed out without each other. And she isn't so sick that cinnamon bun can't be with her