I have lost another two hens, again at POL I spoke with the breeder whom I trust, she has contacted the people who bough the remaining Cuckoo Marans and Green legged Partridge Fowl & they are all well & laying. I wormed them all in November with the pellets that have Flubenvet in them. The vet did an autopsy on the first GLPF and could find nothing wrong other than a bit of mucous in her lungs which the Baytril should have cleared. This morning I found my little Buff Orpington hen in the same condition, eyes closed, droopy wings and standing still. I gave her a shot of Baytril (the last I had, the vet is getting some ready for me to pick up) Maisie was born and brought up naturally under a broody and her & her mate Eli are kept in a completely separate pen.
The four I bought originally , 2 years ago, are fine (touch wood)
Other than dying, the only thing they have in common is their age i.e. POL and the fact that they feel underweight even though I know they are eating the pellets and the handful of corn I give them before bedtime. I clean the coops every other day and although we are a bit exposed up here in the hills the coops are well ventilated and dry.
I really don't think I can justify this 'hobby' anymore. My partner has been supportive but we have lost literally £100's pounds worth of hens so I think I am going to have to give in.
As I was typing this the vet rang me, I am lucky in that our vet's surgery is both agricultural and domestic and one of them, Rosie, sort of specialises in chickens. She is going to give me some more baytril and she repeated that the autopsy showed no direct clue to death, the crop was full, no tumers and she felt that, for it's age, the chicken had enough 'meat' on it and I am comparing to my 3 yr olds (as some of them would feed a family of 4 if they were a 'table' bird' )
I am not sure as to what else I can do........