2 chickens have died in 1 week

[MariG]

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum. My husband and I have been raising chickens for almost 2 years. We've never had any issue other than egg bound and I always resolve the issue with epsom salt in a water bath.
Last week one of our chickens was in the coop in the morning and didn't want to get out.
After she came out she was hiding under The Coop and didn't want to eat or drink.
I brought her inside the house thinking that she was eggbound and put her in a warm bath like I've done before.
After a few minutes she started feeling very lethargic. I thought that it was probably the Epsom salt that made her very relaxed.l
In ess than an hour she started convulsing and she passed.
She didn't have any mites. I checked her body for injuries and she didn't have any.
Her vent was clear.
Today it happened very similar with another chicken.
It's been a little hot today so I thought that she was dehydrated. I took her inside the house and made her comfortable in a little crate.
I also prepared a little bath with a little bit of Epsom salt.
I used a syringe to hydrate her on the side of her beak and I noticed that she drank.
The moment I removed her from the Epsom salt water bath she also started feeling lethargic.
She pooped, and then she didn't want to stand up.
I put her on my lap and she seemed to be very comfortable.
But she was also very sleepy.
I kept her inside the house in a crate and comfortable while I attended to the garden.
When I came back to the house an hour later she was dead.
I'm concerned because it's the second chicken that has the same symptoms.
There was no blood in the poop and she had no mites.
On this one I noticed a little bloody mark close to her vent. It was not blood coming out; it looked like her skin had some form of blood mark, as if a vein had been swollen.
Lately I have been living their feeders under the coop at night I know there are mice in our homestead, so I don't know if a mice went into their feeders and contaminated their food?
I have no idea.
Thank you for your inputs

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. You are correct that getting a necropsy by your state vet is the best way to get a diagnosis. One thing I would not do is to soak any chicken that looks off or lethargic. It can push a weak chicken over the edge. If egg binding is suspected, give them some calcium citrate with vitamin D, and you can bring them in to a warm humid room. Look at your feed and smell it for any off odor or color. Mold is a common occurrence if a few drops of rain or condensation get into a feed bin. Ask neighbors if they are using rat poison. Do any neighbors have chickens or have a problem with yours? It can be common for a death now and then from an unknown problem, but it shouldn’t happen often.

 

[MariG]

I'm so sorry that you lost them. Did you see any other symptoms such as unusual coloring in combs or wattles, any signs of congestion (wheezing, runny nose or sneezing), anything else unusual with either of them? When they are out in the yard do they have access to a compost pile? Moldy/rotten food scraps in compost piles can be harmful to chickens. You may want to make sure the food in the feeders is not moldy or damp and if it is clean the feeders, then replace the feed in them. Also store feeders where it's dry overnight. Can't be sure without a biopsy/tests but to me it sounds like they may have eaten something they shouldn't have considering the info you've given and the quickness from symptoms to death. I'm really sad for you that that happened.

No congestion. I was trying to listen to her and also the other one that died last week to see if I heard some evidence of congestion but no. No sneezing either.
The area where they free range is fenced. They don't have access to the garden.
Yeah. It looks like some form of poisoning.
I just wonder how the other chickens are fine. If another one dies I guess I'll have to take it to the state vet to do an evaluation and have a better idea. Thank you

 

[azygous]

It's a little late in the season for insects, but there are some that are extremely poisonous. A few years ago, several of my baby chicks nibbled on a Buckmoth caterpillar and went into convulsions and became paralyzed very quickly. I had never seen them before. Now, each summer, I run into several lying around just outside the run.

You may have something similar at your location. It does help to mention it as location can offer significant clues.

Have you heard of bucket roller traps? I use them in lieu of rodent poison, and they. are extremely effective, yet very safe around chickens.

 

[StinkyAcres]

No. I didn't see any of that. I'm beginning to think that the food got contaminated with mouse poop or something like that. I always collect their feeders and put them in the shed at night. Lately I've been very tired , and I have to cook for my family, so too save time, I just leave the feed under the coop.
I have to collect four separate feeders.
I've been doing that for the past month or maybe 3 weeks. I wonder if a mouse has infected their feed. I don't know what to think. The two chickens that died were in separate runners. The first flock is in one Coop and runner. The newest flock is in a separate group and runner. They all go out together to free range once a day.
It's really the first time this has happened.

I doubt some mouse droppings in the food would kill a chicken. I have mouse/rat droppings all around my coop and haven't had a problem. Now if the chicken were to eat a poisoned mouse that could definitely kill the chicken. Do you use mouse/rat poison at all?

 

[azygous]

Symptoms are consistent with poisoning. Rodents and squirrels will pick up rodent bait and carry it to where they nest. If you've used rodent bait anywhere in the vicinity, chances are the rodents have left some in the food you stored under the coop.

 

[MariG]

No. We don't use poison. We used a combination of cornmeal and baking soda inside the house but it hasn't worked.
We have caught a few mice inside the house with the sticky little pads.
My husband has seen a lot of mice and a few rats in the pole barn which is very far away from the chickens.
Today we saw a black snake in the yard, but I don't think they can kill a chicken. They're not venomous.
I appreciate very much the help

I wonder if my neighbors have used poison to kill mice.

 

[MariG]

Sorry for your loss. You are correct that getting a necropsy by your state vet is the best way to get a diagnosis. One thing I would not do is to soak any chicken that looks off or lethargic. It can push a weak chicken over the edge. If egg binding is suspected, give them some calcium citrate with vitamin D, and you can bring them in to a warm humid room. Look at your feed and smell it for any off odor or color. Mold is a common occurrence if a few drops of rain or condensation get into a feed bin. Ask neighbors if they are using rat poison. Do any neighbors have chickens or have a problem with yours? It can be common for a death now and then from an unknown problem, but it shouldn’t happen often.

Thanks. I'll definitely search for calcium citrate with vitamin D.
We have another neighbor who has chickens and ducks.
We have a rooster though, and they don't. It's possible that someone might be annoyed by the rooster.
However, we live in a rural area, and everybody has at least 2 acres. I'm not sure how loud our rooster could be.
I'm going to be more careful with the feed storage.

 

[MariG]

Sorry for your loss. You are correct that getting a necropsy by your state vet is the best way to get a diagnosis. One thing I would not do is to soak any chicken that looks off or lethargic. It can push a weak chicken over the edge. If egg binding is suspected, give them some calcium citrate with vitamin D, and you can bring them in to a warm humid room. Look at your feed and smell it for any off odor or color. Mold is a common occurrence if a few drops of rain or condensation get into a feed bin. Ask neighbors if they are using rat poison. Do any neighbors have chickens or have a problem with yours? It can be common for a death now and then from an unknown problem, but it shouldn’t happen often.

I have also spotted some wild mushrooms growing in the free range area. I have pulled the ones that I have discovered, but I wonder if they have eaten any of those. I can't tell when a mushroom is poisonous or not, so I pull them all.
Thank you. I appreciate very much your advice.

 

[SmiYa0126]

How was she weight wise? Skinny or normal?