# 5 month old marans dying one by one



## joysnowridgefarm (Sep 9, 2013)

I had nine maran pullets. One by one they are dying with no obvious symptoms. I have been raising hens for 5 years and have about 40 now...have not had this breed before. They are not housed with the others, are getting appropriate feed (I think) and have been treated for parasites. can anyone help...thx joy in maine


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## hennypenny68 (Apr 30, 2013)

I'm so sorry but I'm going through the same thing as we speak I've lost 5 birds as of today I have speckled sussex and only have 5 left and I'm sure they will pass as well and they don't have any symptoms just up and dead. I'm so puzzled right now I just don't know what to do  and there just over 4 months now.


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

Mouldy feed perhaps. That's where I would start.


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## hennypenny68 (Apr 30, 2013)

Nope it's not that my feed is bone dry and stored out of the sun as well.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

What protein percentages are you feeding?


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## joysnowridgefarm (Sep 9, 2013)

Hi There,
I actually saw your post yesterday before writing mine. It's a mystery. They have been treated for parasites and worms. One website said that mites can cause. My girls are in their own section of a large coop with rooms on either side and none of the other hens have been affected. I wonder if it is something specific to juveniles. Have you had any experience with mites? 
thx

no moldy food. I originally fed them medicated chick feed, them switched to crumbles which they are still on...clean water daily.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Now that feed is being mentioned, it is something to be considered. We depend on the feed stores to store the feed properly and to sell it fresh. In the state I lived in during the financial crash the sales at feed stores declined tremendously. I often saw bags of feed that were six months old or older.

I also lost several birds to a screw up at one feed store. They broke a sprinkler head in the warehouse and "thought" they got all of the wet feed disposed of. No, they didn't, because I ended up with feed that had probably gotten damp but not obviously wet.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Sounds like a breed problem instead of a flock problem....poor genetics?


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## GratefulGirl (Sep 10, 2012)

I took some advice someone gave me here when one of my girls as a 10 day old chick started declining. I changed the brand of her feed & gave her B12 & Poultry Drench 2x daily for 10 days. Today as a 16 week old she is just a little smaller but catching up with her flock mates quickly. I had to gently tap her with the chicken stick today because she was being too greedy with the food.

Is it possible it's the heat?


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## hennypenny68 (Apr 30, 2013)

joysnowridgefarm said:


> Hi There,
> I actually saw your post yesterday before writing mine. It's a mystery. They have been treated for parasites and worms. One website said that mites can cause. My girls are in their own section of a large coop with rooms on either side and none of the other hens have been affected. I wonder if it is something specific to juveniles. Have you had any experience with mites?
> thx
> 
> no moldy food. I originally fed them medicated chick feed, them switched to crumbles which they are still on...clean water daily.


Hi I'm so sorry you are going through this as well. I have wormed I have medicated 3 diff types as well I put apple cider vinegar with mothers in there water I haven't changed there feed they are still on there grower that they have been on for a while. Now I did read that coccidea can cause this sort of situation did u know that there are 6 diff types of it out there in your soil I was amazed now the one strain doesn't show much if any sign they are just healthy one day and dead the next. I came home today and didn't want to go check as I was afraid another one might be dead and I'm happy to say there all doing good no one died today I'm gonna go buy some stuff tomorrow just in case but that's the only thing at this point that it could possibly be. How are your little ones doing have you lost any more or have things settled down.


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## joysnowridgefarm (Sep 9, 2013)

I think you may be right. I have never ordered from this gal before. Two of the remaining 5 have very pale colored combs and are quite a bit smaller. Wont buy from her again...just hoping now for some survivors...thanks Bee


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

That's a hard lesson to learn and costly. I've been there..except I was the one that killed the birds that I had bought. They would never have thrived.


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