3 chickens die suddenly.

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

I had 3 chickens die today out of no where. They wasn't sick or anything. So in the process of trying to figure out what could be the problem. I decided to dissect one of the birds to see if there was anything visibly wrong inside. When I did the chicken looked normal. Except for that the liver was extremely large, and hard as a rock. What could have caused this?

These chickens are kept inside a coop, and are 4 months old. All 3 were roosters. No visible injuries or missing feathers laying around.

 

[Imp]

Sorry you lost them.

Could it be Big Liver Disease? It's listed here.

http://www.welphatchery.com/poultry_health.asp

Good luck,

Imp

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

I just checked the illnesses on that site link. I couldn't find anything that resembled what was wrong with them. They wasn't sick before hand. None of the other organs looked wrong. Everything but the liver looked healthy inside the one I dissected. None of the other ones are acting odd, and wasn't before hand. I found it odd that only the 3 roosters I had died too. I found no parasites inside the dead ones either.

 

[Imp]

Well I guess it's not Fatty liver disease, since only hens get that. Maybe they got into something toxic.
Wish I could help more.
Can you have a necropsy done?

Imp

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

The agriculture department might do a necropsy but I don't know if they charge.. Or who to speak to for it.

 

[MotherJean]

I think Big Liver/Fatty Liver Disease only effects hens. However, Mycotoxicosis might fit. Has it been hot and humid? Are you feeding a lot of corn or straight grains rather than commercial feed? This disease is a type of food poisoning as a result of feed/grains contaminated by toxin-producing molds. Maybe do a search on that to see if other symptoms are mentioned that were present in your roos, but not dramatic enough to really notice. Merck Manual does say this has a high morbidity/mortality rate.

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

I was feeding them a commercial mix (Purina). I had just switched them off starter/grower this week.