Bad Day For the Chickens

Wednesday was an unfortunate day for the chickens during which two died practically in my arms in completely seperate incindents.

I went to gather eggs from the reds in late morning. One hen was in her nest box and when I reached under her she was wet with blood. I noticed she was also woozy. As I picked her up, another hen pecked at her abdomen. There was a small wound there. Apparantly, she injured herself on something or perhaps was wounded by a predator through the wire floor. Once a chicken has a wound it will attract the others, especially if the birds are confined and the wounded bird has less chance to be alone. I could see that there was nothing I could do for her except make her comfortable so I brought her in. She died within half an hour.

Having survived most of the winter with the flock intact, (I only lost one in late winter, hit by a car, that makes 2 to the road), it was upsetting to lose another. I felt I should have been more attentive but many things have drawn my attention lately. With a feeling of negligence, I decided to drop what I was doing and do a head count on the rest of the flock. I noticed right away one rooster was missing and they are the ones I worry about the least considering their size. I started a search and soon I could tell there were two distinct areas crowing was coming from. I could spot the one rooster but not the other. I finally pinpointed the area of crowing. The rooster, Little Boss, and a black hen had gone in one end of a roll of wire fence which dead ended at an old milk can. They went in but couldn't back out and had been there for 3-4 days. I got them out immediately. The rooster could barely walk and the hen could barely stand. I got some water and maple syrup mixed up to give them some quick energy. I had to dip their beaks to get them to drink. The rooster resisted which gave me hope he would make it. I cracked an egg for each of them but the hen would not eat. The rooster did and seemed to be regaining himself by that afternoon. The hen did not do as well. I helped her drink occassionally and left food in front of her in a sheltered spot in the perch house. When I checked on her later she was droopy with little response. I now thought to do what I should have done earlier. I mixed up some fine ground chick starter, some honey and some water and tried to feed her with a syringe to no avail. She died shortly after.

The worst part is her death was completely avoidable. The previous weekend my uncle and cousins were out. While my uncle and I were talking one of my younger cousins asked me about the chickens getting stuck in the fence. Without even investigating, I dismissed the idea. The fence had been there for a couple weeks now and I didn't think it posed any threat. I didn't even look or I would have seen the dead end trap I HAD SET. John must have thought I knew what I was talking about because he didn't push the issue and I continued my conversation.

I am now more vigilant than ever about inspecting the birds.