chickens dying!! ahhhh!!

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i have noticed an increase in flies...been putting out fly stips & fly bag things. I'm going to clean the coop thouroughly, then contain the birds. Scour my property for anything dead ( I have cats, so ya never know whats out there) and keep the birds contained to monitor them


'Botulism in Animals
Preformed toxins in a variety of sources, including decaying vegetable matter (grass,
hay, grain, spoiled silage) and carcasses can cause botulism in animals.'

this kinda freaks me out cuz the chickens were notorious for scratching throught the compost pile even though it's somewhat contained - they'd still jump in there & root around. I have since moved the pile ( about 2 weeks ago). But they could be jumping the small fence that the compost pile is inside of.

Now this seems like a whole new topic as it has me thinking. My flock continuously hangs out in our compost pile scratching around and I've been thinking it was safe for them. Any other input by members with experience on this subject? Haven't had any disease issues as of yet. Knock on wood..

I've heard about botulism too, but my chickens scratch around in piles unmentionable around here, including big stacks of manure (farmer takes a few days to get them out of the barn), garden waste, etc etc. Does botulism need an anaerobic environment? Perhaps the act of scratching out the compost is not allowing the botulism to grow. Anyone?

I don't know about botulism, but I don't allow my birds in the compost pile. I used to, and they got a load of worms in their poop. ugh had to deworm them. I think compost pile worms carry more "stuff" in their systems then good old earthworms in a normal soil situation. Hadn't had a problem since keeping them away from the "pile".

Just my experience.

Just for general information--there is an operation that makes compost--has huge piles of the stuff, and they have a flock of chickens that run around and scratch in it. I've seen pictures of the site here, but can't recall the name. I believe they also sell eggs. I can't imagine that getting into compost could be bad for them, they've been raised getting into "garbage" for centuries, in many different cultures. The only thing I could imagine that could hurt them would be our modern chemicals that do not degrade.

Does anyone have a link to that composting operation?

I would wonder about the aquarium tank that you mentioned.....if it had algae and other scum that could be it. I know my vet has really stressed keeping the horse trough algae free for the horses and can't recall the exact parasites or bacteria that can be gotten from that, but do remember it can be toxic.

So sorry.

Oh my gosh i am in Northern Ca and this very thing is happening to my girls. I have lost five so far......It's horrible.

I need to read the entire thread and see what everyone has said....

I know what your going through. We had a total of 6 hens but we are down to 1 hen and our rooster. We are not sure what is happening or why they are dying. They look like they have runny poo but and they were not laying eggs. They were getting layer crumble and fresh water. I cleaned the house out, they also had free run of an area of the yard. They did mingle with our goats. Goats are fine though and get shots. Vet was there but didn't notice anything with the chickens. I wish I could figure out what happened cause we have 6 new ones that will be left loose in the yard soon.

Our chickens were around 3 when they died also. Not very old but they stopped laying eggs sometime ago. The one we have now is the only one that was laying eggs and she is still laying them. She looks good. The other ones did look alittle on the puffy side. Especially their upper legs.