Question for y'all: so, I just had to euthanise my last 2 Polish hens on Friday due to the same issues the other 2 had to be euthanised for in July (prolapse vent, egg shell breakage inside). Again, none of the other hens are showing any of the same issues. My question is, can this type of thing be a genetic problem? They were never consistent/reliable layers & had always had issues to some degree, but I guess I'm just trying to find a reason other than my being a crap owner for what happened to them. I dusted/cleaned for external parasites & will be starting a dewormer this week, as well as reintroducing layer pellets into their all flock feed for the remaining birds just to be on the safe side.
I'm pretty broke up about this. They were the first hens I bought after Odysseus adopted me & started treating me like his hen. Having to decide to euthanise hasn't gotten any easier despite how crappy this year has been by giving me ample practice.
Uzi, please don't beat yourself up. I think you are a great bird owner. Polish are not a hardy breed at all from what I've learned. It may be genetic, certainly seems like the line of birds you bought had all the same issues.