[HerdQueen]

I have had chickens for many years. But this year I had the strangest thing happen. The story...

A couple of weeks ago I traded a couple of grade doelings for some geese and chickens. The geese have been super healthy and I love them! But the chickens have just dropped dead, all of them. They were 2013 red sex link pullets. None of my 2013 pullets have died. I had a couple of old hens pass from old age. But these girls were eating drinking acting fine, then all of a sudden they would lay down on their side and croak. And it was only the pullets that came from the trade. They were originally purchased from TSC. Any ideas what the hell could have happened?

 

[flannelberry]

How old were they?

 

[happybleats]

could be parasites...

 

[HerdQueen]

4-6 months

 

[HerdQueen]

could be parasites...

Wouldn't suprise me, it has been that kind of year. Guess I should worm the flock just in case.

 

[NyGoatMom]

Could they have gotten some moldy feed? Did they all die relatively close together timewise?

 

[toth boer goats]

Some diseases are out there some are:
Bird flu
west nile

 

[HerdQueen]

I hope it wasn't a virus!

I got them 2 1/2 weeks ago. By their first weekend half were dead. By this past weekend the other half were dead. I literally watched them eat, drink, lay down and die. They were in with my main flock, and none of them have died. Dare I say yet?

Could it be they weren't used to drinking milk? I feed extra milk to the birds.

 

[toth boer goats]

I hope it wasn't either. It is devastating for sure.

Without any of them being tested, it is a mystery unfortunately.

 

[mjs500doo]

Milk wouldn't do this. We've fed milk for years.

I would guess parasites, in particular gape worm, or a chicken cold. Stress opens up a big door to things. Any new birds get antibiotics while in quarantine here.

 

[thegoatgirl]

Yikes! Good luck finding out what happened!

 

[HerdQueen]

Mystery solved... Coccidia. I'm so angry with myself for allowing those birds to join my flock. Guess I never thought of treating the chickens they way I would my goats. Starting to treat with Baycox.

 

[NyGoatMom]

Oh, bummer! Cocci in chickens shows bloody stools typically, did you see any of that?

 

[HerdQueen]

I had been staying out of the coop because of having a high risk pregnancy, and hubby had been going in there. I had been asking around about what would kill chickens they way ours have been dying and was met mostly with shoulder shrugs and who cares thery're chickens. Well Hubby went away this weekend so I had to go in. Before he left he feed the chickens. I found the feed all over the ground in the coop(not happy), and then there was diarrhea EVERYWHERE. I didn't notice blood.

Before the pullets died they looked exactly like a kid with cocci, hunch up, stand off to themselves, thin, then quick to die.

So I put baycox in their water, and medicated chick feed. Since switching to the medicated feed about a week ago we have not had another death(knock on wood). And I have informed everyone that may feed the chickens that the feed HAS to go in the feeder not all over the ground.