ManOverBoard
Chirping
- Apr 30, 2023
- 75
- 238
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Our flock of 21 has shrunk down to 18.
We have a mixed flock of Buff Orpingtons, Black Australorps, Ameracaunas, and Buff Orpington x Black Australorps.
They consist of three generations of chickens.
The Orpingtons being Grandmas to our youngest crossed chicks. With the crossed chicks' fathers and Aunts in the middle.
Our two staggered broods of chicks resulted in 6 of our hens. The three youngest; Acorn, Lottie, and Bell, and three sisters we call the Becks.
Lottie was popped open a little bit early by her mother who had a staggered batch of eggs she lovingly, raised. We've had to post threads about Lottie before, as she had some distention issues, and recently died do to a fatal injury.
After having to make an entire flower garden under which she was buried to help our children along with her passing, 21 became 20.
A week or two goes by and while letting the girls out for an afternoon free range we discover the mysterious death of two of Beck sisters.
After the flock flooded out the door of their enclosed coop and run to their outside range area, we noticed Beckett dead, flat on her back with her head under a feed bin. No blood or fluids.
We have several feeding stations around, so the girls don't have to compete at any given one, and we move them around based off of the weather to keep the girls dry and warm. They're very light weight flexible plastic and we usually use a rock in the bottom to keep them upright and to sort of separate the girls a bit who are eating out of them. However sometimes some crazy hen decides to try and roost on the edge of one after the girls have eaten and it usually tips over as it is so light weight. My only thought was that this happened, and the edge of the feed bin happen to land on Becketts neck and then another hen in her panic jumped on it and it somehow crushed Beckett's neck. But why was Beckett flat on her back? And how could a light weight hen on a lightweight plastic feed bin crush her neck when we've experienced for ourselves that snapping their necks is a lot harder than it's made out to be. (culling roosters)
After removing Beckett's body from the coop and inspecting it for any apparent damage and finding none, my daughter then notified me that Beckett's sister, Becca was dead in a nest box. There was another hen in it next to her laying an egg, Becca's body was in a very upright sitting position, in the corner of the box, with her head and neck hanging over the edge of the box, a slight bit of yellow fluid dripping from her beak. And a small amount of dried feces on her rump feathers. Again, I removed the body. I laid her in a bin with her deceased sister after looking her over for any signs of what happened.
We then proceeded to seek out the last of the Beck Sisters, Becky, to make sure she was alright. She appeared to be fine; out dust bathing with the rest of the flock.
We then checked the whole flock for clear eyes, and noses, and or any other signs of illness. All appeared lively, clear, clean, and healthy.
The bodies of the two Beck sisters were disposed of the following day. 20 down to 18.
Two days pass and while the girls are out for their morning range about the third and last of the Beck sisters, Becky, separated herself from the flock and stood still in the corner of the range area seeking assistance. We noticed she had a very poopy bottom and that her backside was slightly distended in a similar fashion to our previous hen Lottie, only not as severe. We brought her in, washed her rump, fed her a calcium tablet and put her in an isolation/observation crate in our laundry room to recover. Her distended rump seemed to go back in for the day, her poop was very foamy though. It also seemed she was having a very hard time pooping as every time she had to go (foamy or not) she had to posture herself oddly and really strain to go. We decided to keep her inside for a couple more days to watch her. She's been laying an egg a day despite her confinement; but she does not appear to be returning to normal. She still has a poopy bottom every day, she still strains to go to the bathroom and now today she's showing trouble laying her egg as it was very bloody this morning. Her bottom is still distended.
Other than her backside issues she's behaving normally. Good appetite, alert, clear eyes and nose.
Obviously in her current state she cannot go back to the rest of the flock, and with no improvement to her backside, and the mysterious death of her two sisters a few days prior to her troubles, we're at a bit at a loss for what to do with her. She can't live in our laundry room and we don't want her to be struggling to go the bathroom or lay eggs, but unlike our beloved hen Lottie, she does not seem to be recovering from her distention issues.
Anyone have any thoughts or answers to the puzzle of our Beck Sisters?
All of the rest of the chicks from their brood were roosters and have been culled so we can't compare their health to any of the other chicks they were incubated/raised with inside.
We have a mixed flock of Buff Orpingtons, Black Australorps, Ameracaunas, and Buff Orpington x Black Australorps.
They consist of three generations of chickens.
The Orpingtons being Grandmas to our youngest crossed chicks. With the crossed chicks' fathers and Aunts in the middle.
Our two staggered broods of chicks resulted in 6 of our hens. The three youngest; Acorn, Lottie, and Bell, and three sisters we call the Becks.
Lottie was popped open a little bit early by her mother who had a staggered batch of eggs she lovingly, raised. We've had to post threads about Lottie before, as she had some distention issues, and recently died do to a fatal injury.
After having to make an entire flower garden under which she was buried to help our children along with her passing, 21 became 20.
A week or two goes by and while letting the girls out for an afternoon free range we discover the mysterious death of two of Beck sisters.
After the flock flooded out the door of their enclosed coop and run to their outside range area, we noticed Beckett dead, flat on her back with her head under a feed bin. No blood or fluids.
We have several feeding stations around, so the girls don't have to compete at any given one, and we move them around based off of the weather to keep the girls dry and warm. They're very light weight flexible plastic and we usually use a rock in the bottom to keep them upright and to sort of separate the girls a bit who are eating out of them. However sometimes some crazy hen decides to try and roost on the edge of one after the girls have eaten and it usually tips over as it is so light weight. My only thought was that this happened, and the edge of the feed bin happen to land on Becketts neck and then another hen in her panic jumped on it and it somehow crushed Beckett's neck. But why was Beckett flat on her back? And how could a light weight hen on a lightweight plastic feed bin crush her neck when we've experienced for ourselves that snapping their necks is a lot harder than it's made out to be. (culling roosters)
After removing Beckett's body from the coop and inspecting it for any apparent damage and finding none, my daughter then notified me that Beckett's sister, Becca was dead in a nest box. There was another hen in it next to her laying an egg, Becca's body was in a very upright sitting position, in the corner of the box, with her head and neck hanging over the edge of the box, a slight bit of yellow fluid dripping from her beak. And a small amount of dried feces on her rump feathers. Again, I removed the body. I laid her in a bin with her deceased sister after looking her over for any signs of what happened.
We then proceeded to seek out the last of the Beck Sisters, Becky, to make sure she was alright. She appeared to be fine; out dust bathing with the rest of the flock.
We then checked the whole flock for clear eyes, and noses, and or any other signs of illness. All appeared lively, clear, clean, and healthy.
The bodies of the two Beck sisters were disposed of the following day. 20 down to 18.
Two days pass and while the girls are out for their morning range about the third and last of the Beck sisters, Becky, separated herself from the flock and stood still in the corner of the range area seeking assistance. We noticed she had a very poopy bottom and that her backside was slightly distended in a similar fashion to our previous hen Lottie, only not as severe. We brought her in, washed her rump, fed her a calcium tablet and put her in an isolation/observation crate in our laundry room to recover. Her distended rump seemed to go back in for the day, her poop was very foamy though. It also seemed she was having a very hard time pooping as every time she had to go (foamy or not) she had to posture herself oddly and really strain to go. We decided to keep her inside for a couple more days to watch her. She's been laying an egg a day despite her confinement; but she does not appear to be returning to normal. She still has a poopy bottom every day, she still strains to go to the bathroom and now today she's showing trouble laying her egg as it was very bloody this morning. Her bottom is still distended.
Other than her backside issues she's behaving normally. Good appetite, alert, clear eyes and nose.
Obviously in her current state she cannot go back to the rest of the flock, and with no improvement to her backside, and the mysterious death of her two sisters a few days prior to her troubles, we're at a bit at a loss for what to do with her. She can't live in our laundry room and we don't want her to be struggling to go the bathroom or lay eggs, but unlike our beloved hen Lottie, she does not seem to be recovering from her distention issues.
Anyone have any thoughts or answers to the puzzle of our Beck Sisters?
All of the rest of the chicks from their brood were roosters and have been culled so we can't compare their health to any of the other chicks they were incubated/raised with inside.
