2 of my chickens died within 24 hours

[Bella49]

I have had until recently 4 chickens for the past 3 years and 2 days ago I went out to their coop in the evening to find one dead. She had been fine the day before however she has had some previous health problems I moved the remaining 3 chickens into a spare coop I have whilst I cleaned everything and then the next morning I went out to find another dead who had no previous health concerns. My 2 other chickens are completely fine and are showing no concerning signs. I don’t know what caused the other 2 too die but I am aware that chickens are very social animals and it is not advised to have only 2 chickens and they have been used to being in big groups for their whole life but I don’t know how soon is too soon to get more chickens?

 

[Eggcessive]

Could they have eaten something poisonous? Were they very old? I don’t think it is bad to leave the two hens alone, until you want more chickens. Having one lone chicken may be more difficult. I recently had just one old chicken by herself for most of the last year, and she was fine. But she had been a loner most of her life. I would just go visit them often, and spend time with the two remaining ones. Since certain diseases can be transmitted by carriers, it is usually best to let all chickens die off, and then get new healthy chicks at the same time. In the mean time, check their droppings, and feel of their crops early in the mornings, to make sure they are emptying overnight. Look them over for mites or lice, and consider worming them. Sorry for you loss.

 

[Bella49]

Could they have eaten something poisonous? Were they very old? I don’t think it is bad to leave the two hens alone, until you want more chickens. Having one lone chicken may be more difficult. I recently had just one old chicken by herself for most of the last year, and she was fine. But she had been a loner most of her life. I would just go visit them often, and spend time with the two remaining ones. Since certain diseases can be transmitted by carriers, it is usually best to let all chickens die off, and then get new healthy chicks at the same time. In the mean time, check their droppings, and feel of their crops early in the mornings, to make sure they are emptying overnight. Look them over for mites or lice, and consider worming them. Sorry for you loss.

They are about 3 and half and I’ve checked both of them over and there are no obvious signs of lice or other infections and the crops have been emptying over night I think I’m going to wait a few weeks and speak to the farmer I got them from and a vet to see what they say but I hadn’t even thought about worms so thank you for reminding me about that. I was hoping to get some new chickens but I just need to wait till the right time, Thank you it means a lot…

 

[Eggcessive]

I don’t know your location, but most states have a poultry vet who will perform a necropsy on chickens that have been kept cold, and brought in or shipped overnight, to find a cause of death. It includes lab cultures if necessary to look for contagious diseases. They look at the tissues of the abdomen, airways and lungs, the digestive system for anything unusual. It can be one of the least expensive and most comprehensive ways to find out if that chicken carried a disease. In case you lose another, here is a list of most state vet labs to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html