2 sudden chicken deaths in 2 weeks

[Joellen71]

Hi. I hope someone can help me. I've been lurking here fr awhile, but this is my first post. This is my second year raising chickens. Two weeks ago, one of my favorite hens, a buff orpington started acting sluggish. We though she was overheated, because we are in arizona and it's been over 100 the past couple of weeks. She wouldn't drink any water. We brought her inside and laid her on a blanket. She rested for maybe 20 minutes, then suddenly went into spasms and died. We were heartbroken, and I was kicking myself, thinking that if I'd gotten to her earlier, she would have been ok.

But then just a couple of hours ago, another hen, a Easter egger, was walking around the yard, scratching and pecking like normal. Then she suddenly went into convulsions and died. She didn't appear to be sick in any way.

I've called the feed stores...they think it is the heat. I'm not so sure now...they lived through last summer just fine. We have misters, water, and shade outside for them.

Could it be bird flu? i don't know what to do. I don't want to lose any more hens!


Thanks,

Joellen

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC and sorry about losing your hens. Chickens do get very stressed and dehydrated in the heat, and I would recommend putting vitamins and electrolytes in your water daily during high temps. Many also put frozen water bottles into the water containers, and provide extra water stations during high heat. I like to place a shallow pig pan in the shade filled with water for them to stand in to cool off. Your state vet or California's UC Davis can perform a necropsy on a refrigerated (not frozen) body to find a cause of death. That would be the only way to know for sure what the cause is.

 

[Joellen71]

Thank you for replying. I went out and got some electrolytes today. I asked someone at the farmers co-op, and he said autopsies were really expensive. I'll have to forego it for now...

I was wondering about the convulsions...is that what usually happens in heat exhaustion? And woldn't the show signs of stress before it got to that point?

I hope the electrolytes help...it was 112 today!