My flock was fine this morning, this afternoon they are dying!

[lastco]

I always want to know the cause of anything. I'm a control freak. What they don't tell you, is that sometimes birds are a mystery and sometimes you never really get to the bottom of something. That won't stop it from making you crazy though!! Be a crazy person WITH chickens. It's much more fun!

 

[RodNTN]

I know, it was hard. My chicks were only 4 days old. But about 8 weeks later, my remaining chicks were completely healthy, until one day my Speckled Sussex cockerel "Speckles" died from coccidiosis. He was acting normal, until one evening he stopped eating. The next morning he was dead I treated my other chicks with corid, and they never got sick.

 

[Aber]

I'm in

Agreed. You don't give your location. Sometimes the climate where you live can factor in on illnesses in general(NOT avian flu) or the type of toxins present in the environment.

I'm in southern Indiana if that effects anything. I'll give another few days to make sure the rest of the flock really is healthy, then the kids and I will probably head out and bring home a half dozen new babies

 

[Aber]

Oh man... I may be having an epiphany. We have SO MANY biting gnats in our yard! They were swarming the chickens that were dead/dying but I thought it was just because they were too weak to get away! Could that be what killed them?!

 

[Aber]

And it would make sense why the free rangers were unaffected... They can get away from them so much easier!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Is it possible that your birds got in some gardening/lawn chemical? Have you sprayed anything in your yard or garden? Neighbors sprayed anything? Fertilizers? Ant and termite poisons at neighbor or home, etc.?

 

[Kiki]

Could they possible had cocci and that killed them?

 

[Aber]

No chemicals or toxins that we have used. Neighbor says he hasn't either. All poop looked totally normal

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It got into the mid 80's today. Their run is in the shade in a spot with a very steady breeze... Could it be heat? No coughing, normal poop, eyes are clear. They literally went from seeming perfectly normal and healthy, to extremely sleepy, to dead in a couple of hours. It's breaking my kids' and my heart!

2 barred rocks and 2 rhode islands. At first they look like they are just sleeping but leaning forward more... They spasm and stretch out when they actually died. We just lost the third one.

Could you guys humor me and tell me why this does not sound like avian flu?

No, there were no respiratory symptoms

I'm sorry to hear about your losses and trouble.

A couple of questions - you mention they go into a tractor everyday - is this tractor moved to new ground every day or so? How long have the chicks been exposed to ground/soil?

Sudden loss is always hard to understand. Without necropsy there is no way to know for sure the cause. Since you lost several, if another is lost, it would be best to send the body to your state lab for testing - this will give you more information and give you a better idea if it's something that can be treated or corrected.

Heat can be an issue for chicks/juveniles. Even in the 80s heat stroke/exhaustion could be a possibility.

Another possibility would be Coccidiosis overload. Having a fecal float performed on a fresh poop sample would at least let you confirm/rule out Cocci.

As for Avian Flu - you mention no respiratory symptoms. Most of the time AI will present with the classic symptoms of respiratory illness, also there can be hemorrhagic skin of the face, legs and feet. Birds would present as mildly to very ill, but usually death isn't as sudden as you saw in yours, they would have been ill for a few days. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/avian-influenza/overview-of-avian-influenza

After you have done some research/reading on AI and still feel strongly that this is the cause of death in your flock, then I would highly recommend that you seek advice from your vet or state lab and make arrangements to cull/send a bird for testing.

 

[Aber]

Honestly, I am more convinced that it was these blasted buffalo flies by the minute...