Chickens are dying one by one. Please Help!

[McChooky]

My chickens are dying one by one. I don’t know what caused it.

This is what i found so far:
- no sign of injury or wound.
- no sign of mites.
- no sign of liquid/foam from eyes, nose or mouth.
- no coughing/sneezing.
- normal behavior, normal poop, normal appetite, normal laying behavior.
- normal weight.

I found them dead usually in the morning. So far the dead ones were 3 dominant roosters, 2 broody hens, 2 mother hens, 2 pullets, and 2 chicks. Some had full crop when they died, some empty crop. But all of them have deep purple comb.

I usually free range them during the day with no problem, no deaths. They’re all seem active. (Below is the free range area)View attachment 2962232

As for the coop, it has open ventilation, deep litter system (using dead leaves), plenty of light, and plenty of space (215 sqft per chicken). We usually don't clean the coop, we just add more dead leaves when it starts to get smelly. The chickens helped with composting process and the leaves also attract variety of bugs. (Below the picture of the coop)
View attachment 2962237

The locals also told me some of their neighbor's chickens and ducks recently died one by one and they assumed it's the avian flu. But I don't think that's the case since they didn't show any flu symptoms.

I think maybe predator problem, but i didnt see any wound or injury on them. We don’t have large predator over here (Indonesia), but i spotted mongoose and snakes few times around here.

Any idea? Does snake usually strike at night and leave the chicken purple like this?
View attachment 2962231

I am sorry for your loss!

 

[tigger19687]

If your neighbors are also looking chickens you might want to think that someone poisoned them.
Or gave them treats that they shouldn't have ?

 

[dawg53]

If it were a poisonous snake; you can closely inspect for fang marks on the carcasses.

 

[azygous]

Is there an animal testing lab within reasonable travel distance? The only way to solve this mystery is to get a necropsy on a dead chicken. With so many casualties, it's important to find out what is killing these chickens.

 

[Eggcessive]

Speaking to local vets about diseases they have seen recently, or asking if tissue samples or a necropsy could be done locally might find an answer. Avian influenza and Newcastles disease are 2 very serious viruses. Check your feed for mold and look for any toxic plants in your environment. Sorry about your loss of chickens.

 

[SleepyChickens]

In addition to free range, what do you feed them?

I usually feed them with local poultry feed. Once a month I'll add garlic, probiotic, thyme and oregano to their feed. For treats, I usually give them bananas and melons.

 

[SleepyChickens]

Since the bird flu is a big problem at the moment. Have you have them checked for bird flu? It's just a warning sign when so many birds keep dying.

is there any specific sign for bird flu?

 

[SleepyChickens]

If you think a snake is killing them, where do they roost at night? Are they up off the ground on roosting bars?

I would think snakes would go after eggs on the ground first, but i have never had a snake attack and there are snakes where i live in peru (and cats, rats, etc)

They have roosting bars about 3 feet off the ground.
But the nesting boxes are close to the ground.

Now that you mentioned it, i did collect all the eggs one day, then the next day the chicken started to die one by one.

 

[SleepyChickens]

Is there an animal testing lab within reasonable travel distance? The only way to solve this mystery is to get a necropsy on a dead chicken. With so many casualties, it's important to find out what is killing these chickens.

there's no local animal testing lab around here. I'll try to dissect the next dead chicken and take pics.

 

[SleepyChickens]

UPDATE:
- The chicken free ranged today from sunrise till sunset today, no casualties.
- Then I stayed up in the coop till 10pm tonight and no casualties.
- I checked every chicken, they're roosting on the bars and they seemed fine (except the mother hens and their chicks stay on the ground).
- no sign of sick chickens
- I noticed that there were tons of mosquitos at night and the chickens seem restless (Could this be the possible cause ?)

I'll check them again in the morning, hopefully there's no casualty