Mass Chick Death- WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED???

[Cyprus]

If only I had thought of this sooner... I cleaned everything from top to bottom. Waterers have all been bleached. Old feed dish dumped onto manure pile & scrubbed clean now.

I wouldn’t be able to find anything to test now

That's okay

Next time, no water above the feed

 

[BYCforlife]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/spray-foam-insulation-can-make-some-homes-unlivable-1.2224287

Did you do the spray foam yourself? I'm not sure how long it takes to notice a bad smell, but maybe your chicks are affected sooner than humans?

I do doubt this, though. All of them should be dead if the insulation is bad.

 

[dalasgalas]

Don't beat yourself up. Just move forward. We all make mistakes from time to time.

 

[MROO]

We only have teeny, shy, elusive and harmless garter snakes here. Currently they are still hibernating & they don’t confront anything but insects.

I tore the place apart, looking for anything. Not a drop of blood. Not a single rat turd. Found a couple more dead chicks wedged behind things.

I looked in every nook and cranny, every container, every bin and found nothing unusual.

Even after a predator attack I’ve never seen birds hiding and dead like that. Hiding yes, but not wedged into tight places and dead.

It does sound neurological like a poisoning and they went hysterical.

Poor babies!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Definitely not a snake. They eat their prey, they don't scare it to death.
Any time I've had a snake in a coop, the chickens pretty much ignore it.

In all my life, I haven't seen mass death from fear.

I see others leaning toward the fungi angle. That is a definite possibility. Botulism would present this way. (Clostridium Botulinum bacteria)

 

[WestCoast Farm]

That's okay

Next time, no water above the feed

Let’s hope this is what it was.

Lesson learned the hard (and a very horrible) way

I’ll never again put the feed under the nipple waterers where water can end up dribbling down and creating this moldy ick I found when I cleaned up.

If this post saves someone else the misery I went through, then my little sweeties didn’t die for nothing.

Thank you all for your help, wisdom, brain power and support. It means a lot

 

[WestCoast Farm]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/spray-foam-insulation-can-make-some-homes-unlivable-1.2224287

Did you do the spray foam yourself? I'm not sure how long it takes to notice a bad smell, but maybe your chicks are affected sooner than humans?

I do doubt this, though. All of them should be dead if the insulation is bad.

No, it was done by a reputable company over a year ago. Been raising chicks in there ever since without a problem.

Putting the feed under the nipple waterers was a new thing. I didn’t realize the moldy feed that was being created by the drips.

 

[WestCoast Farm]

Don't beat yourself up. Just move forward. We all make mistakes from time to time.

Thank you

 

[Sue S]

So sorry for your loss. My friend gave her chickens yogurt one time & 30 mins later
3 of the chickens had died because they suffocated from the yogurt getting into their nostrils. I think I saw that you feed them yogurt????

 

[Kris5902]

There’s no way any person or kids got in here. I’ve been home all the time. We have a fenced, gated property with five intimidating farm dogs and a warning sign on the gate- NOBODY comes in uninvited.

It’s been balmy warm here lately too. Not the kind of weather that chicks freeze to death in.

If they got out from under their heating plate & lost, I’d expect them to be huddled in a group, not dead in the manner I found them in.

Looks like they went crazy before they died.

I know , but I only found two of your dogs intimidating... and the smallest two at that! You’re security isn’t in question, and temperatures and “rogue kids” can both safely be ruled out as a cause of death. I think not everyone has read your full thread. You’ve got great site security and bio security. I won’t hesitate to put in another order (near the end of summer probably... depending on building progress).

The loss is heartbreaking, but I doubt there will be a reoccurrence... granted you might want to set some traps inside as well, just as a precaution!