Chickens going crazy and killing themselves

[MissChick@dee]

No birds left. Whatever took them took them all.

Nothing rotten. Feed is stored inside the house in the mud room. (room where you take off boots and coats)

Despite people asking, there is nothing inside the pen. Absolutely 100% certain of this otherwise I wouldn't be asking on here scratching my head.

So at this time you have none of the dead birds?

 

[ChickenSuicideEmergency]

There is apparently some stuff called crazy dust my work pays a company that comes out and puts it on corn around the yard for the pigeons to eat it and it makes them do crazy stuff maybe something similar to that

Live right next to farm fields. Good point. Maybe spray from the fields carried over?

 

[ChickenSuicideEmergency]

Woah! This is a puzzler, definitely. Chickens tend to not get rabies, and an entire flock being diseased like that is extremely unlikely, I would think. I'm agreeing with the feed contamination or poisoning theory myself. Ergot from the feed?

What have you done lately that is a change, or different? Please think of anything possible, however minor it may be. Did you recently paint the coop, perhaps? Switch feed brands, or buy a new container to hold feed? Perhaps you have been working on a home renovation and it has nothing to do with the coop. Sometimes the answer lies in the most tiny, mundane details.

Switched feeds is the only thing. None of those others, but do live next to farm fields.

 

[ChickenSuicideEmergency]

So at this time you have none of the dead birds?

No, because first fear was some parasite or virus spreading to other animals like cats or dogs.

 

[Elsveta641]

Someone has clearly been listening to LinkinPark or similar emo music where your chickens could hear it, causing feelings of hopelessness and angst. It could also be heavy metal from the late 1990s, and the poor birds are trying to have a proper mosh pit, but their little bones are too fragile. Chickens should only listen to glam rock, accordion music and Blake Shelton.

 

[1cock2hens]

What kind of chickens were they?

 

[ChickenSuicideEmergency]

Someone has clearly been listening to LinkinPark or similar emo music where your chickens could hear it, causing feelings of hopelessness and angst. It could also be heavy metal from the late 1990s, and the poor birds are trying to have a proper mosh pit, but their little bones are too fragile. Chickens should only listen to glam rock, accordion music and Blake Shelton.

^my question has been answered. It all makes sense now.

 

[ShannonR]

Switched feeds is the only thing. None of those others, but do live next to farm fields.

Farm fields, maybe!!
I seem to remember a post here, years back, where someone lost a bunch of chicks in a similar manner. The general consensus was that drift from aerial spraying was the culprit. I do not remember the substance that was being sprayed, this was a long time ago...

 

[ChickenSuicideEmergency]

What kind of chickens were they?

Silkies

 

[ShannonR]

I suppose that just to be safe, you could send in a sample of your new type of feed for toxin testing also. It could well be the feed. The whole situation is just so bizarre and uncommon it's difficult to pinpoint what happened.