What's Going On?

[brooke072]

I'd try the mite powder and see if that helps since DE (Smite) is all that you have been using.

Do you happen to have a rooster too?
Depending on the seed/grain mix, you may want to cut those back a little and increase the amount of pellets they get each day. A laying hen usually needs a minimum of 16% protein daily to maintain her health. I like to feed scraps/sprouts/scratch to mine to I usually try to find a feed that is 18-20% protein, but the 16% is sufficient.

The 2 "grits". I believe in your part of the world there's Oyster Shell or Shell grit (soluble) which is used to supplement calcium. Then there's "Insoluble" grit which is either Flint or Granite, this is used in gizzard to help grind down and process food.

You had mentioned that in the last days of your hen's life, they often just sit and sometimes vomit water. The vomiting of water is a symptom which may be from a blockage in digestive system or it's a symptom that there's inflammation due to reproductive issues or infection. The only way to know is to have a necropsy, either a professional one or an informal one that you do yourself. I suspect that perhaps the Shavers are having some reproductive issues which unfortunately seems all to common in laying hens.

One more question...where do these hens come from? Are you raising them up from chicks or are they sourced as spent hens/battery hens?

The "rooster" is young so it has shown some possible signs of being a rooster but we are not 100% sure yet. If they are a rooster we will not be keeping.

Hen's have come from all different places:
- 3 raised by hand as calf club but we did not breed them.
- 6 from a local breeder ( 2 of these were the ones that passed, one died from something else. 3 remaining,
- 2 older heritages we got a while back, I cant remember where from.
- 4 (most recent) from a friend who had too many. 1 brown shaver, 2 pullets just at point of lay and the 'rooster' which they are happy to have back if it is an actual rooster.