Chickens all dead?!

[Joeygoodill]

Hi guys,
Sorry for a slumber and negative post but I am need of some answers.
So my story is that my mum HAD 7 chickens, she is currently on holiday and asked me to feed and water them over the weekend, Friday I filled 2 water dispensers up and their feed up, Saturday did the same (they hadn’t drunk all their water or feed but sill filled them up) Sunday I had an family emergency so couldn’t get to do them. I called my neighbour and explained and she said she would do them, I dropped the keys off Monday and then got a call that evening saying 5 were dead... she filled their water and feed back up and then called again the next day to say the other two had now died!
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!

To realiterate;
2 water dispensers filled at 1 o’clock Saturday which usually lasts over 24 hours.
5 chickens dead Monday
2 dead Tuesday after water topped up

Temp was mid 20’s Celsius but it also rained numerous times.

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

Was there any injuries! Maybe a predator? Did they have grit available?

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Hi guys,
Sorry for a slumber and negative post but I am need of some answers.
So my story is that my mum HAD 7 chickens, she is currently on holiday and asked me to feed and water them over the weekend, Friday I filled 2 water dispensers up and their feed up, Saturday did the same (they hadn’t drunk all their water or feed but sill filled them up) Sunday I had an family emergency so couldn’t get to do them. I called my neighbour and explained and she said she would do them, I dropped the keys off Monday and then got a call that evening saying 5 were dead... she filled their water and feed back up and then called again the next day to say the other two had now died!
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!

To realiterate;
2 water dispensers filled at 1 o’clock Saturday which usually lasts over 24 hours.
5 chickens dead Monday
2 dead Tuesday after water topped up

Temp was mid 20’s Celsius but it also rained numerous times.

Sounds like a predator issue and not a food/water issue. Possibly a ventilation issue if it got too warm and they were confined to their coop. You will need to post pictures of your coop and run, pictures of the dead chickens if possible. Do you free range them?

 

[EggWalrus]

Or it sounds like the neighbor got tired of your mom having chickens. Even without Roosters, hens can be noisy, plus the neighbor could have a very sensitive nose. Check the bodies for predator marks, check crop to see if they had been eating. But don't eat any of the food in case it was poisoned.

 

[EggWalrus]

Meant don't feed the food to any other of your birds.

 

[JanetMarie]

Something happened and your neighbor is not telling the truth.

 

[EggWalrus]

Something happened and your neighbor is not telling the truth.

That's what I sounds like. Neighbor could have forgot to water them or just thought they could go without a day or so and be fine. or they might just be a Chicken Nazi!

 

[rebrascora]

My guess would be that the neighbour didn't open the pop door and they overheated in the coop (what was the weather like that day?) or they left the pen door unsecured and a predator got them. They may have topped up food and more importantly water but if they didn't let them out or didn't see to them till later in the day, heat stroke would be the likely cause of so many sudden deaths at this time of year. Of course a deliberate act of sabotage is possible and only you will know if these people are capable of such a thing. If they are animal lovers, then that is very unlikely. I feel so sad for your mother coming back to that news!

 

[makcar]

I think it is a bit cruel to assume the neighbor would kill the chickens....
I am intrigued to know if there was any damage from a predator?
Also could have been a respiratory issue, I had 5 chickens die within 24 hours because they had some respiratory sickness in them. I ended up giving them Sulfadimethoxine for 10 days and the rest are back to normal!
It could have been a ventilation issue but I find it hard to believe that they would overheat at 20 Celsius.
A big question I have are were these layers of broilers? If broilers, than they very well could have over heated due to them not being able to handle any sort of heat because they have all the extra meat on them.

 

[JanetMarie]

I think it is a bit cruel to assume the neighbor would kill the chickens....
I am intrigued to know if there was any damage from a predator?
Also could have been a respiratory issue, I had 5 chickens die within 24 hours because they had some respiratory sickness in them. I ended up giving them Sulfadimethoxine for 10 days and the rest are back to normal!
It could have been a ventilation issue but I find it hard to believe that they would overheat at 20 Celsius.
A big question I have are were these layers of broilers? If broilers, than they very well could have over heated due to them not being able to handle any sort of heat because they have all the extra meat on them.

Not cruel, and very unlikely that the neighbor intentionally killed them, but a matter of investigating how the chickens died, which includes who was taking care of them at the time and what happened.

What could the neighbor not be disclosing? Or coincidence that they died exactly when the neighbor was taking care of them? Were the chickens already sick and someone else taking care of them was too stressful?

How well do you know this neighbor?