Birds keep dying- trying to figure out why

[Jmr]

Mareks disease does come to mind, but if it was imbalance and no leg paralysis, coccidiosis might have been a problem. It is hard to know. Please send a body to your state vet if you should lose another. If it was Mareks, all of your chickens, even the vaccinated ones will be carriers from now on. I can see where you have found having chickens not as fun since the deaths started. Here is a good link for state poultry labs in the US, and keep any body cold, but not frozen:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

Thank you. I will do that. I want to get to the bottom of this.

 

[Jmr]

I was going to say treat them for coccidiosis maybe. Also, is e-coli a possibility? It kinda matches some of the symptoms. Thanks for responding Eggcessive and Azygous

I will look up both, thank you. Either way I’ll try and get the body to a state vet so I can see what’s going on

 

[DiYMama540]

Great advice above! Sounds like something must have come in with your latest additions to the flock.
Only way to know for sure what's going on is the necropsy. The bodies should be cold enough outside to skip the refrigeration period. They usually don't cost much to get them done, and results come back fairly quickly.

Don't give up on chickens altogether yet It's always difficult to deal with losses, but it's happened at one time or another to all of us. Just a horrible part of the hobby.

 

[Jmr]

Without a necropsy, it's not possible to nail down the cause of these deaths. We can only offer guesses.

It could be coccidiosis. The symptoms of this parasite infection can be brutal and much as you've described. I wish you'd include your location so we can determine if your climate is supportive of coccidia at this time of year. Usually they multiply in spring when it's warming and very wet. It can go through a flock like wildfire.

The symptoms also sound like a neuro toxin. You mentioned the symptoms appeared neurological to you. The sources of neuro toxin can be moldy and rotting vegetable matter or moldy feed. It can be from rodent poison. The blue-green poop reminds me of Decon rodent bait. Could the chickens have gotten into something like that?

Even if you have the rodent bait somewhere other than the coop, mice can carry it in their cheek pouches to other places, perhaps even where your chickens are living.

Other sources of poisoning are petroleum distillates such as insecticide and leaking machinery contaminating the soil where the chickens pick up grit.

One final source that I can think of is well water high in iron that bacteria has bonded to. This can make chickens sick, especially chicks.

Thank you for all the information. I live in central Ohio. It’s been a mild winter, not terribly cold (except right now it’s 20) and very rainy. I also thought of decon when I saw their poo. We don’t use it because we have dogs and outdoor cats. Possibly a neighbor. However our closets neighbor feeds a herd of feral cats do I doubt he uses it. I have seen a couple mice run through the coop but none dead. Moldy stuff could be possible when they are out grazing. They really like this area that contained old straw which I’m sure had some mold. I’ve always kept birds where there was access to lots of hay etc and haven’t ever had one get sick like this. We’ve had the worst luck at this house (we moved here 5 years ago). Before this our birds did great (different birds). We do have well water that has a lot of iron. The water they get is generally from inside our home and that has been through a pretty good softener system.
thank you for all your info

 

[Jmr]

Can you post pics of the rear, the poop, the birds, and the new lump? This doesn't sound very good, I'm sorry you're going through this.

Next time I go out I’ll try and get some pics. It’s dark now so they may not be great

 

[Jmr]

Great advice above! Sounds like something must have come in with your latest additions to the flock.
Only way to know for sure what's going on is the necropsy. The bodies should be cold enough outside to skip the refrigeration period. They usually don't cost much to get them done, and results come back fairly quickly.

Don't give up on chickens altogether yet It's always difficult to deal with losses, but it's happened at one time or another to all of us. Just a horrible part of the hobby.

Thank you I’ve lost a lot of birds over the years for all kinds of reasons. But never from something I couldn’t identify. I’ll want chicks again I’m sure. But not until I know the coop isn’t contaminated or something

 

[Eggcessive]

Here in Ohio a basic necropsy only cost $23 when I checked last summer. If they need to do histology and any testing, they told me each extra test was a few dollars more. If you can deliver the body to the lab M-F yourself near in Reynoldsburg near Columbus, that $23 would be well spent. If you have to ship it, it has to be done overnight via Fedex or UPS, and that makes it more expensive.

 

[Jmr]

Here in Ohio a basic necropsy only cost $23 when I checked last summer. If they need to do histology and any testing, they told me each extra test was a few dollars more. If you can deliver the body to the lab M-F yourself near in Reynoldsburg near Columbus, that $23 would be well spent. If you have to ship it, it has to be done overnight via Fedex or UPS, and that makes it more expensive.

I will do this tomorrow assuming if she passes tonight. Thank you for the Info

 

[Eggcessive]

The contact info for the OH state vet is in post 8.

 

[Jmr]

Thank you for all the information. I live in central Ohio. It’s been a mild winter, not terribly cold (except right now it’s 20) and very rainy. I also thought of decon when I saw their poo. We don’t use it because we have dogs and outdoor cats. Possibly a neighbor. However our closets neighbor feeds a herd of feral cats do I doubt he uses it. I have seen a couple mice run through the coop but none dead. Moldy stuff could be possible when they are out grazing. They really like this area that contained old straw which I’m sure had some mold. I’ve always kept birds where there was access to lots of hay etc and haven’t ever had one get sick like this. We’ve had the worst luck at this house (we moved here 5 years ago). Before this our birds did great (different birds). We do have well water that has a lot of iron. The water they get is generally from inside our home and that has been through a pretty good softener system.
thank you for all your info