The Barn and Fields > Animals and Homesteading

My chickens....

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Cheryl:
Winona, thank you for not thinking I'm being silly.  It's so aggravating to deal with this for months on end without any answers.

I do believe something has driven them to behave in this manner but for the life of me I don't know what it is.

There aren't any wind farms nearby, just commercial chicken houses across the field.  Every now and then the fans kick on and we can hear them and in the winter when all this started, the heaters were running.  Their feed has remained the same, I've not added any new chickens, and they didn't have access to anything new.  The coop is the same one they've used for 2 years.  Even the chickens I've had for at least 3 years are acting weird.

The only thing we did differently was add pine shavings when the weather turned cooler.  Up til this past fall, we'd used leaves in the floor of the coop or hay.  But I made sure I bought pine instead of cedar because I know cedar's not good for chickens.  I remember back when this started my husband remarked that the shavings were making the chickens crazy but I said a lot of people use them so it can't be that.  Now I wonder if he was right.

These hens and even my rooster all climbed headfirst into things.  We would find them in the strangest places.  Once one got inside the rim of a wheel behind the barn.  One burrowed under the water tank, one flew up in the rafters and was found hanging by her toes.  She was already turning purple when I found her but she's alive.  That's the red star hen I now have to keep separate from the others.  I've had her 4 years and she still lays almost every day.

I'm just at my wits end with all this.  I want to know what it could be because I want them to be happy and healthy again.

greyhoundgirl:

--- Quote from: MoWin on May 12, 2014, 10:00:56 PM ---Oh Cheryl,

It is not silly at all to be upset about this. I would be too. Heck, I had a melt down over bad things happening around here a week ago. This is so strange. I am wondering if you chickens got some sort of poison that made them go crazy. Have you changed their feed or opened a new sack of feed just before this started? Any way they could get to lead paint or something else toxic? Something has definitely happened. Chickens can get frightened to death, but that would be all at once, not one at a time and I have never heard of them sticking their heads in something and just dying. I am going to check on some diseases and see what I come up with. I will let you know if I find anything at all. Hang in there. I know how sad this is for you. ((((HUGS)))))

Blessings,
Winona

--- End quote ---

Any chance their feed could have molded even if it's not a new bag or brand?  Wondering about mycotoxins.  I was just researching this a bit and aflatoxin in particular can cause abnormal behavior.

greyhoundgirl:
Sounds like there could be mycotoxins that are not necessarily visible.  Apparently, 25% of feed is contaminated with them.  http://www.mycotoxins.info/myco_info/animpy.html

Cheryl:

--- Quote from: greyhoundgirl on May 13, 2014, 06:12:14 AM ---Sounds like their could be mycotoxins that are not necessarily visible.  Apparently, 25% of feed is contaminated with them.  http://www.mycotoxins.info/myco_info/animpy.html

--- End quote ---

That's scary stuff.  Thanks for the link.  I'm going to read all I can find about it.

wrancher:
Boy that is scary and I know how you feel trying to figure it all out.  I agree it could be the feed or something scaring it you just cant see. I hope you get it figured out soon I know how scary that is.

Thinking of you..

Janice

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