chickens dead again..

[agnes_day]

well almost all of them. i posted a while back about my chickens dying from unknown causes...it starts with this weird runny diarrhea that is white and green, then they just die..they also smell rancid.
i have had 4 different flocks just die from this and its always around the 5 month mark.
my landlady gave me 3 chickens from her flock..year old, laying well and they all died within a week.
the weird thing???? the silkies i bought from a byc member are fine! never once got sick, just fine and healthy as anything. the local extension guy told me hes never heard of this and personally, i am thinking that my neighbor is poisoning them.. he is an idiot and after i sat down and thought really hard, i realized that they started dying about a month after he moved in and i havent been able to keep a flock since. not only that but my goose and duck died the same way, as did my 2 dogs. my yard is clean and maintained so its not that..i just dont know! any ideas????
and also..why are the silkies fine? i am glad they are, as they are the sweetest things ever, but its so strange!

 

[fowler_chick]

i think the next time that a chicken or a animal dies on your property you should either take it to the local shelter or vet to have it tested on

 

[agnes_day]

i wanted to do that, but no one around here would do it..i was really hoping that at least the extension guy would know someone. at any rate, no more chickens until i figure out what is going on but it just amazes me that the silkies are fine and lived through 2 flocks dying. i am just really tired of this and its so sad to see it happen so no more until this is solved.

 

[fowler_chick]

have you talked to your local sheriff dept?, what part of okla are you?

 

[agnes_day]

they said they cant do anything..and what if hes not doing anything to them? my husband thinks its something in the ground but why not the silkies? it makes no sense to me at all.

 

[Peaguy]

Perhaps set up a wildlife cam or two near your coop and see if you can't "catch" a two legged predator?

 

[agnes_day]

thats what i want to do but i am afraid to get more chickens in case it is something other than a person. i always let them free range in the yard too which i guess was a mistake but the one fact remains that the silkie chickens have never once been sick and i dont think they are immune to anything that regular chickens can catch.

 

[threehorses]

So the silkies free range with these birds, too?

Did the larger animals all die at the same time? Or spread out? Did any dogs die after you lost chickens, same day or two?

Any compost piles, etc? Any water they might be drinking from that has runoff from something?

have you called your state ag college? would you like help with that?

 

[agnes_day]

i would raise them from day old chicks, and when it was time, put them in the yard...almost as soon as they hit 5 months, they would drop dead, all of them in the timespan of about a week. then i would wait, disinfect the yard, clean everything yet again..and get more chicks and the same thing happened! then my landlady gave me 3 year old chickens that were laying..all dead within a week. the silkies free ranged with the last 2 batches that died and never once got sick! they are big,fat,and healthy birds. the last time was different though because my goose and duck died from the same thing. my goats are also fine.
i had 2 dogs die during this time period....same rancid, gassy odor, dead within a few days. i have a covered compost bin and their water comes from the hose and we change it every day..it just doesnt add up since the silkies are fine. its just depressing to get attached to these chickens and watch them all die.
i called the college and they put me in touch with the guy who was in charge of poultry related stuff and he said he had never heard of this before. i wonder though, could them not roosting have anything to do with it? i have a coop, but have yet to have a single chicken use the roosts...i would put straw and hay in there for them to snuggle up in at night and they seemed to be happy with that.

 

[agnes_day]

http://www.spc.int/rahs/Manual/AVIAN/PULLORUME.htm


i wonder if this is what they all had??? this describes what killed them almost perfectly!

can it live in the ground?