Chickens dying

[Eggcessive]

There could have been a respiratory disease if one was making a squeaking sound for several days. It is best to do a necropsy on any more that die. Here is a list of state poultry vets that you could contact if there is another death:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[cherrybombuk]

I am very sorry for your loss and know how distressing it can be to have chickens die for unknown reasons. We had several sudden deaths of pretty little Bantam Easter Egger hens in rapid succession. Three beautiful hens died with no other symptoms or signs of illness or predator attack. We were definitely worried about bacteria, a hidden toxin such as mould (it's Florida and everything here seems to get rusty, mouldy, and rotten). We took the last one to the vet at UF for necropsy. Then I bought some buckets and special scrubbers, different sizes (the royal waterers and feeders have nooks and crannies that make them a bit harder to keep clean). I scrubbed everything in the runs and coops with non-toxic natural soaps and water, soaked some things, and did a general deep clean (I usually keep it quite clean but feared that somehow a toxin had made them ill). The chickens are the same family since the chicks came in the mail, so no new chickens had been introduced. From the necropsy, we learned that her liver fell apart upon dissection, and the vet said that it was fatty liver from overfeeding. The chickens have had free feed plus chick sticks plus garden greens plus periodic fresh grubs or grubblies dried. I didn't realize that overfeeding the chickens could stress the hens' livers and hearts. Thinking that they would stop when they were full, I did not know that one could overfeed chickens, or they could get ill and die from too much food. We have since seriously reduced the scratch, the greens, and I've stopped all fruits (blueberries or watermelon in the heat). I took down one free feeder and have reduced the worms/morning feed to approximate the suggested and recommended daily amount per chicken. I also added a few toys and a second higher roost (in the walk-in run) to encourage the chickens to get more exercise.