Help! Egg-bound epidemic? Or something else?

[Chicksinthesticks]

We have lost 6 out of 12 of our new layers over the last 2 months. We think they are related to them to being eggbound as most of them have had blood on their butt areas and have also had plucked tail feathers. We have also noticed bloody eggs and some straining/prolonged nest box time. They are not all the same breed, but we did get them all at the same time from different tractor supplies late in the summer as one of our hens went broody but only 1 of her eggs hatched and we were looking to replenish our aging flock. They started laying at the end of January/beginning of February. They have had no respiratory symptoms and the only symptoms have been straining and bloody eggs and then lethargy a day or 2 before they die usually during the night. They also have missing or matted feathers around their vent that looks funky. Sometimes there have been no symptoms. There have been no bloody stools. The deaths have been weeks apart. We have been supplementing their calcium and treated them with corrid and Fenbendazole as a precaution and have still had 2 deaths since then. They have been on layer feed and their eggs have hard shells. We have only noticed one soft shell egg. It is also worth noting that the deaths have only been our newest layers and none of our older chickens ranging in age from 3-6 years have died. We have also noticed our only duck (female) pecking at at least 2 of the chickens butts shortly before they died, but we don’t know if she was pecking because there was already something wrong with the chickens and she was after broken egg pieces or if she is what is causing their injuries and killing them. Anyone have any insight into what could be going on?

Addition: The first 2 pictures are the new layers. Both have had egg laying issues but have so far survived. This is what their butts look like compared to the third picture which is one of our 5 year old hens who is still laying although less frequently.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think that you are dealing with feather picking and vent pecking which can lead to cannibalism and death. Vent damage can occur and cause trouble laying eggs. This can happen with overcrowding, boredom from not getting out to roam around, too little protein or unbalanced diet, too much light in the coop, or not enough nest boxes. Ducks should not be kept with chickens. Many spend time observing what is happening, and try to identify the cause. Pinless peepers may be used on the bully. If there are more aggressive chickens, they may need to be separated. I’m sorry for your loss.