Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[RaZ]

My entire coop has just been killed.
30 some chicks dead. No sign of injury. No sign of infiltration by any venue.
They were fine an hour ago. Locked in a grow-out pen made from hardware cloth and stout lumber. In a solid coop surrounded by welded wire and more hardware cloth.

I'm at a loss. The bodies are intact. No obvious sign of trauma but they are clearly dead. Nothing disturbed in the pen/coop. I mean that even the bedding is still the same as when I was out there earlier.

Even more confusing, is that I was all around the coop checking on stuff and the dogs were with me. No alerts from them that anything was around. There were 3 survivors. 1 ISA, 1 Orp, and 1 turkey. They are now in the house. WTF?

This is like nothing I have ever seen before. I have hardware cloth every where and a double row of welded wire fencing. Even I have trouble getting into the pen with the double layers of HWC and wire. What could be the predator that hit? Something small?

I'm just devastated that I failed my birds so badly.

 

[Folly's place]

Randy, I'm so sorry! What an awful thing to happen, and you will have to figure it out, tomorrow.
Wounds? Weasel? Any possible carbon monoxide or gas leak? Poison from food?
If it's not obvious tomorrow, save food samples and have posts done at MSU.
Again, I'm so sorry!
Mary

 

[aart]

Does this mean its unwise to get chicks from TSC?

No, it means people were able to squelch the obsessive yearning for more chickens!
Oh, and, Welcome to BYC and the Michigan Chat Thread!
There's a chat thread for every state.

My entire coop has just been killed.
30 some chicks dead. No sign of injury. No sign of infiltration by any venue.
They were fine an hour ago. Locked in a grow-out pen made from hardware cloth and stout lumber. In a solid coop surrounded by welded wire and more hardware cloth.

OhCRAP!!
I'm so sorry!
How old were they?
Are you using a heat lamp that might be coated with teflon(safety coated)?

 

[chickflick]

Oh Wow, Randy! So sorry! What in the world got to them? You would think the turkeys would of made a ruckus if something were out there. I hope you figure it out.

 

[1muttsfan]

Randy!! That is so sad!

Check their necks under the feathers for wounds. But really, a predator would raise a big fuss in the coop, which it seems likely you would have heard.

A toxin in the feed might have killed, them, but not all at the same time, and at least some would likely show signs of illness before succumbing.

Really, a gas of some kind would be my biggest concern - be careful and air the place out! Any potential sources of carbon monoxide? Any lights that might have chemical coatings? Any gas lines close to your house? Birds can be the canary in the coal mine.

 

[RaZ]

Randy!! That is so sad!

Check their necks under the feathers for wounds. But really, a predator would raise a big fuss in the coop, which it seems likely you would have heard.

A toxin in the feed might have killed, them, but not all at the same time, and at least some would likely show signs of illness before succumbing.

Really, a gas of some kind would be my biggest concern - be careful and air the place out! Any potential sources of carbon monoxide? Any lights that might have chemical coatings? Any gas lines close to your house? Birds can be the canary in the coal mine.

Randy, I'm so sorry! What an awful thing to happen, and you will have to figure it out, tomorrow.
Wounds? Weasel? Any possible carbon monoxide or gas leak? Poison from food?
If it's not obvious tomorrow, save food samples and have posts done at MSU.
Again, I'm so sorry!
Mary

I agree that it's not likely a feed issue. Too sudden of a mass death. No sign of illness prior.
No wounds on the neck or anywhere else I can see. I don't have a magnifying glass.
Heat lamp is not coated. Heck, it wasn't even disturbed -- still in original spot.
No gas of any type nearby. Propane tank and feed to the house is 200 away. Fuel cans are stored in the garage,100 feet the other direction.

Those are the obvious clues as I see them this morning. I'm going to have to go all CSI on this today.

 

[RaZ]

I looked all around the coop today, inside and outside. I couldn't find any tracks or other sign of critter infiltration. No holes in the floor or walls.
The only thing I can think of is that I left the door open enough for something to get in. Even so, the grow-out pen was double strung with hardware cloth and chicken wire. The lid is the same and fairly heavy.
Could a raccoon manage to enter and leave such a fixture?

I completely cleaned the coop today and there was no sign of blood anywhere. No wounds that I could find. No strange odors. No wet spots. No mould. Nothing that was obvious.

What really baffles me is just how quickly this happened.
I checked the coop and was only away for about 30 minutes.

The 3 survivors seem to be doing fine, so I don't think it was an environment thing. I'm stumped.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I read this thread off and on - live about 1 mile south of the MI line in IN.

@RaZ
I'm wondering if you use wood shavings where you keep the chicks? I know a person that changed their wood chip supplier when they had chicks and the chicks began to die. They were supposed to be pine, but there was cedar mixed in that seemed to cause the problem. She changed back to her original supplier and no more issues.

Just thought I'd throw that out as a possibility?

 

[bigmrg74]

I looked all around the coop today, inside and outside. I couldn't find any tracks or other sign of critter infiltration. No holes in the floor or walls.
The only thing I can think of is that I left the door open enough for something to get in. Even so, the grow-out pen was double strung with hardware cloth and chicken wire. The lid is the same and fairly heavy.
Could a raccoon manage to enter and leave such a fixture?

I completely cleaned the coop today and there was no sign of blood anywhere. No wounds that I could find. No strange odors. No wet spots. No mould. Nothing that was obvious.

What really baffles me is just how quickly this happened.
I checked the coop and was only away for about 30 minutes.

The 3 survivors seem to be doing fine, so I don't think it was an environment thing. I'm stumped.

Weird, just weird man. Even the Chupacabra leaves marks on its victims.

 

[aart]

Could a raccoon manage to enter and leave such a fixture?

If lid was just hinged, yes, probably....but how did it get in, and there would probably be blood. I believe that they kill one then eat, rather than frenzy killing and stacking/caching of carcasses.

What really baffles me is just how quickly this happened.
I checked the coop and was only away for about 30 minutes.

That IS the freakiest part...along with the no signs of any clues.

How old were these chicks?