Please help! 5 chickens died in one month

[dadtochickenfan]

I would appreciate some experienced input on this question. My daughter has lost 5 chickens in the last 30 days. The latest was her prized rooster, a Jersey Giant. My wife saw him half lying, flapping a wing, as if a seizure, then it died. He is the only one we saw actually die. No sign of injuries in any of them. Most were 18 months to 2 years old. We have no idea what is going on. After the first death, we cleaned and sanitzed the coop and moved them to another run. Also, does anyone know of any vets or agencies that will do a necropsy on our rooster that are in the south central Pennsylvania area? We are concerned she will slowly lose her flock. We also don't want to bring any new birds into the flock for fear of exposing them to something lethal. Any help or follow on questions would be great.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Very sorry for your daughter's and your losses. I would call an avian vet in your area. They might be able to refer you to an ag research college that could do a necropsy. Our local ag university will do a necropsy for free if a vet refers you. Otherwise, it can be a thousand dollar procedure. Often, they offer this service to track avian problems before they become epidemic.

Here is a link to the thread that lists avian vets. I hope one is in your area. Good luck!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=200108