Unsecure chicken perches

[Minnie&Moose]

Went to let the chickens out this morning and found our leghorn, Darcy, dead in the cube. No signs of damage and she hasn't every shown any signs of being ill. She was only young (got her in June from Wernlas), had recently gone off lay so her comb was pale and much smaller than previously (I assumed that was because she was off lay), and was a confident, assertive and active bird right up to the end. The only thing I noticed this morning was her crop was empty when I found her. I know these things happen but it still leaves me wondering whether I missed something. The pen looks wrong - no black and white bird zooming round at high speed stealing all the choice bits of food from the others

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'm so sorry to hear that . It doesn't sound like you could have done anything, she obviously hid her illness very well .

[Olly]

Sorry to hear it, but sometimes this just happens. You'd have noticed if she'd been off colour - sounds as if it was something quite sudden.

[Minnie&Moose]

Thanks ANH & Olly.

[majuka]

So sorry to hear it. Sleep tight Darcy

[sandyhas3chucks]

aww thats sad xxx

[Plum]

So sorry, its hard not knowing what happened.

[Mum]

So sorry to hear that; they are such delicate creatures it's always so sad when it comes out of the blue.

 

Amazing how one chook down can make the whole run look soooooo empty!!!

[Minnie&Moose]

Thanks for your nice comments everyone. We're all missing Darcy - she was a contrary little bird with a huge presence. Fortunately the others all seem hale and hearty so fingers crossed it's not something that will affect any of the others.

[rockstro]

I've only just joined this forum but wanted to related my experiences with chickens dying having read about Darcy. I bought some Marans, Gold Laced Wyandottes, a Light Sussex, a Wernlas Olive (who didn't lay green eggs), and Blue Lace Red Wyandotte from the Wernlas Collection in the summer of 2009. Unfortunately last year I lost several to buzzards and, once I'd bought a Hawk Eye, decided to risk replenishing with some more. I went back to Wernlas and bought seven -- within three weeks, two had died for no obvious reason. I returned to Wernlas before their final auction and bought another six (Sue and Sean kindly replaced my Vorwerk and Gold Laced Wyandotte). Then these started dying too. They are in a different house to my older girls. Then I lost one of my originals, and decided to have a PM done on her. The result was coccidiosis. My hens are free range and I can only think that this must have come in on one of the newer lots of birds I'd bought. I have no contact with anything else likely to carry it. To cut a long story short, from the 13 hens brought in here last summer, I only have five left, and one of my original birds plus a bantie have also died. It's very upsetting but I daren't consider getting any more until the survivors all have been treated with vecoxam and I know the place is clear of coccidiosis. Fortunately I have a fantastic vet who's done all she can to save my sick girls.

 

Two of the girls I lost were Leghorn Exchequers. I also lost all three Wernlas Olives, a Buff Sussex and a Rhodebar (these two went very suddenly -- they were chunky heavy chooks).

 

Sophie

[Minnie&Moose]

Hi Rockstro, I'm very sorry to hear about your birds - that sounds very distressing. Fortunately we haven't had any further deaths or signs of illness since Darcy (4 of the remaining 5 birds are from Wernlas; 2 came with Darcy last June, the Vorwerk and the Light Sussex; 2 came from Wernlas the previous year), and the only deaths we've had since the first batch from Wernlas arrived have been from eggbinding and a malfunctioning crop in an older bird. I am keeping a close eye on the remaining birds and perhaps if there are any more unexplained deaths in the near future I'll have a pm done just to make sure. I hope your remaining birds are all doing well.

[rockstro]

The PM cost quite a lot of money, but was worth every penny because I know now hopefully what the cause of all these deaths has been. I'm watching my other girls really closely, and reading up about, and treating, the coccidiosis so that I can try and eliminate it in the future. I'm grateful to my wonderful vet who was as puzzled as I was and has really helped to isolate the cause. It's very upsetting because these chooks are like family, really. I still have three Marans, one gold laced Wyandotte and Daphne (boss hen -- a light Sussex) from my originals. In the other house all I have left are a Speckled Sussex, a Barnebar, a Barnevelder and a bantie. All my others have now died, which is so sad. They roam in a two acre paddock, and spend a lot of time outside my front door, chattering for treats.

 

Sophie