[chick]

HI, I'm new to keeping chickens and new to this site. I recently bought six Rhode Island Reds which I keep in my back garden. Within a week of having them when the others were beginning to settle and lay one began to look very listless. She kept sitting down in the run and pulling her head right in and not moving very much at all. It has been very cold so I used to pick her up and put her in the hen house in one of the nesting boxes and pack a bit more straw about her. Within three days she was dead.... The others all look well although one seems to cough a bit.... What could have been wrong with her??? 

[too many girls]

sorry to hear about your chuck but without more details........ was she eating, what was her diet, what were her poops like ect, it's really hard to pinpoint what killed her,i would just keep an eye on the rest of them, good luck.

[karlooben]

agree with tmg there we need to know a bit more please .

she may well of had an infection of some sort before u got her which made her weak and the cold didnt help her , some ppl say cold doesnt affect them but i can say from experience over the past few days it can affect them especailly if they are ill as yesterday i decided to have one put down  i dont know what was wrong with her but the vet agreed it was the best thing for her . stick to this forum you'll gett loads of advice an help from here .

p.s welcome 

[joyfull]

sorry to hear about your ill chicken Looby, thats so sad, hugs xx

[karlooben]

thanks joy , she was one of the old ex batts no doubt i will lose one or two more over the winter but they have had a good life  :happy:  i think she may of been aiming for 3 years old which seems to be a good age  for a ex batt considering what they go though before we get them . my vet only charged me £10 not the £22 - 25 i was expecting to pay but i had to laugh hes thinking of getting some in the new year as well .

[chick]

sorry to hear about your chuck but without more details........ was she eating, what was her diet, what were her poops like ect, it's really hard to pinpoint what killed her,i would just keep an eye on the rest of them, good luck.

Initially she ate OK. I feed them layers mash, and corn later on in the afternoon, then she stopped eating altogether and just sat. Her poos were normal; although towards the end she seemed to have a clear liquid running from her mouth..... The rest of them seem Ok....