Autopsy on Strange Deaths, Have you seen this before?? -- WARNING GRAPHIC PICS

[PurpleCArTires]

If no hens have sickened and died, only roosters, I would look at their living quarters for something toxic. The way you describe how they die, sounds like an environmental cause. What is different in the bachelor coop from the hen coop?

Are they drinking from a galvanized steel bucket? Are there old lead pipes carrying water to the rooster coop? Have you set out any rat bait nearby? Is the coop an old building with very old paint?

Their coop is about 2.5 acres from the hens, but they interact while free ranging. I checked their coop and cleaned it and all. They use the same bedding, same type of watering buckets (rubbery plastic feed bowls), get fed the same food (purina 20% all flock). The only difference is their water is a catchment system (i add ACV to this water) and they have a steel bucket of fresh hose water closer to the gate leading out of the yard (this is for the goats also), and i did see rats in their food barn, but the food was unaffected (i store it in a huge metal bucket). Also the boys are in the same yard as my goats. The hens dont usually go in the goat yard.

Another note is although they have fresh clean water, i am always seeing them drink from the muddy puddles while free ranging (we have had crazy rain this past summer). I have set up additional buckets of water around the property for them. The dogs drink from these buckets too.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How old are these birds? Did you ever administer a dewormer? Just questions that I had personally. I'm not knowledgeable

 

[PurpleCArTires]

Id also lime to mention i have 4 old old chickens living in this coop for well over a year. They are 100% fine. Fat and healthy.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

How old are these birds? Did you ever administer a dewormer? Just questions that I had personally. I'm not knowledgeable

 

[PurpleCArTires]

How old are these birds? Did you ever administer a dewormer? Just questions that I had personally. I'm not knowledgeable

They are 4 and 5 months old. No i havent done any deworming. No one has ever shown signs (in poos or inside their bodies during harvest). We do use garlic and ACV in all their water about once a month. They also get turmeric and cayenne powered in some of their treats about once a week.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

They are 4 and 5 months old. No i havent done any deworming. No one has ever shown signs (in poos or inside their bodies during harvest). We do use garlic and ACV in all their water about once a month. They also get turmeric and cayenne powered in some of their treats about once a week.

Thank you for the information. I'm so sorry you lost these boys. Did you incubate them or were they hatched under a broody?

It may be helpful to edit your post with cockerel instead of rooster. I know the only difference is 8 and 9 months but some folks might appreciate it. I promise I am not nitpicking your post. I hope you find an answer as I'd like to learn what happened as well. You've got some of my faves and the best folks already tagged here but I'll tag a couple more, just in case they have anything to add.
@casportpony
@Eggcessive
@dawg53

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Any chance there is any rust inside the water bucket?

It seems like metal and ACV together can be problematic.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

Thank you for the information. I'm so sorry you lost these boys. Did you incubate them or were they hatched under a broody?

It may be helpful to edit your post with cockerel instead of rooster. I know the only difference is 8 and 9 months but some folks might appreciate it. I promise I am not nitpicking your post. I hope you find answer as I'd like to learn what happened as well. You've got some of my faves and the best folks already tagged here but I'll tag a couple more, just in case they have anything to add.
@casportpony
@Eggcessive
@dawg53

They were incubated. Just thinking aloud, i have had terrible hatch rates in my incubator this year. I wonder if the incubator is failing and maybe these guys had some development issues .

I have some under a broody and some in the cubator now, i am wondering if its the egg quality or the incubator. Ill see if its a better hatch under my broody.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

Any chance there is any rust inside the water bucket?

It seems like metal and ACV together can be problematic.

No rust, i did check that. And i dont put ACV in the metal bucket. Only in the plastic buckets that get the catchment system water. But since we have been getting alot of rain, the metal bucket had some weird green algae looking stuff. I do change the water regularly, but this developed almost overnight (maybe from the rain water??)

 

[PurpleCArTires]

No rust, i did check that. And i dont put ACV in the metal bucket. Only in the plastic buckets that get the catchment system water. But since we have been getting alot of rain, the metal bucket had some weird green algae looking stuff. I do change the water regularly, but this developed almost overnight (maybe from the rain water??)

I also noticed the green stuff in the rain puddles