TWO CHICKENS DIED

by Robyn Rodriguez
(Hollister, California, USA)

Hello,

In the last week, I have lost 2 chickens. I check on them morning and night. They all run around, greet me, and seem perfectly fine.

I am noticing runny poo around the coop, but not very much. The poo is light brown and very runny. I dont know which ones are doing it. I dont see anything (bugs) in the poo. I had 14 chickens and I am down to 12.

I use straw for bedding, my husband treated the straw and dirt for parasites about a month ago. They dig under the straw to get to the dirt to take their dirt baths. Seems normal enough. I live on the Central Coast of California. It stays around 70 -80 degrees. Not to hot. Not too cold.

They are 5 months old. I give them laying crumble. I give them oyster shell once per week in their food. They have plenty of clean water. The coop is well ventilated.

They started laying early (like 4 months). Every once in awhile I would find HUGE eggs with double yolks. Not in the last few days though.

But I have lost two in a week. What could it be? Please help!