PLEASE HELP!! Our Pet Chickens Keep Dying!!! :(

[tulie13]

Yes, don't cause a panic, but check with your County Extension office to see if they do necroscopies. My state does them at the Univ. of Florida, but I'd have to ship the chicken there. I did them myself when my chickens died, sent digital pics to the vet there for a diagnosis. Since yours are all named and are "pets", you likely won't be able to stomach this, so you need to find someone who can. Don't mention "mass deaths" until you get results back.

Do you think there is any possibility that it is "foul play"? Irritated neighbors feeding them something poisonous?

What about well-meaning but stupid kids feeding them something poisonous?

Good luck, and I hope you don't lose any more.

 

[countrygirlcutie]

Thank you all for taking the time to help.

I really appreciate it.

The breeds of chickens are ALL types. We have everything from Black Astro's, Barred Rocks, Frizzles, Silkies, Crested Polish, Cochins, Bantams, Partridge Rocks, etc... We also do have two Toulouse geese & two White Pekin ducks. ALL the chickens will be a year in May.

The bedding (in the coops) is hay we get from a local farmer. I am wondering if THAT could be the problem since with all my researching I have done, it does state that moldy hay can cause bacteria? We used to get hay from our local feed store, but around August/September we started getting hay from the farmer guy. I am wondering now if I should go buy Pine Shavings for the floor of the coops??

We have checked the remaining chickens for lice, mites & worms (to the best of our ability) & we can't see any on them. Should I still buy some Garden Lyme & cover the ground & coops?? Should I still go buy the worming medication & put that in their water, just to be safe??

Also I read that water can cause bacteria & other infections.. & our chicken arena is very muddy. I have been researching this morning on how to "cover" the mud. I think the best bet is lyme, gravel & wood chips. That would work to soak up all the water? We live in Washington & ALL it does is rain.

My goal today is to go buy all the items I mentioned above & COMPLETELY clean out the coops (with bleach).

My husband actually did put a phone call in to the County yesterday & left two messages, but we haven't heard anything back yet.

And to answer tulie's question, we DO have a neighbor who we have had problems with since the moment we moved here 4 years ago. We have caught her on on property numerous times over the years regardless if we are home or not. We had to firmly tell her to stay off our property & had to put up No Trespassing Signs.

I will have my husband call the feed company & see what happens.

Thank you so much!! I really hope & pray I can get this figured out.

 

[rainplace]

Not sure if you called the Puyallup Research and Extension Center it's where the Avian Health & Food Safety Laboratory is located: Phone: 253-445-4537
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts_waddl/avian.aspx

You may also want to check out this article on upper respiratory fungal infections:
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/page11.htm

If you pick up one of your birds and put your ear up close, can you hear any sort of problem?

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

With no symptoms and so many dying, my first thought was a malicious person. Is there a way to padlock your coop/arena in case they are being killed by a disgruntled neighbor?

 

[justbugged]

Hi I am here in town also. I had noticed your post on the Washington thread.

We don't very often have problems with things like mite and lice. It's often just to cold here, to have problems with them. I have owned chickens off and on throughout a number of years, and not had any problems with worms either. Although I wouldn't discount the possibility of the chickens getting them here locally.

I am concerned about the local hay. We do have a lot of weeds in the local hay, and some of them are and can be poisonous. I have used both straw and shavings. I tried a little bit of hay after I had gleaned some from the feed store that is right in town and I notice very quickly that the hay absorbs moister much faster and holds it longer than the straw does. I have never been very impressed with the quality of the hay fields around the area. I have also lost a Llama or two because of using local hay. With as cold and as wet as things have been lately, this would be where I would start looking for answers.

I also use DE, and Stall Dry in the straw to help dry things out further. If you PM me I can tell you where to get that here locally.

The feed you are using is the same as what I have been using, so I really don't think that is any of the problems. The feed store here in town is known to have very good quality feed. I ask DH about helping you with a necropsy, and he said no problem as long as he is around. I am located in town on the south side about a mile due west of the fair grounds. I have lost a few chickens in the past year, but not like what you are describing. Sometimes chicken will just die, but it is unusual to lose the number that you have in the past year.

Christina aka justbugged

 

[rainplace]

Can you give us an update?

 

[KKatknap]

The thought that your neighbor might do such a thing is chilling, but only you could figure that out for certain. Hopefully, that isn't the case.

I avoid hay because almost every time I have seen a crop surgery, they have pulled a bunch of hay out. So I decided I wouldn't let them near it. I know lots of people have no problems with it, and I'm sure quality makes a difference, but that's just my thought on that. I use pine shavings. Not that that's your issue, just my 2 cents.

I feel so badly for you. Please don't blame yourself! You obviously care very much about them, and you are doing your best to figure this out and solve the problem. That's more than a lot of people do.

 

[countrygirlcutie]

Okay, so once again, THANK YOU all for everything.

I read every word you all wrote & took it to heart.

First, we went to 3 different feed stores yesterday & picked up Rooster Booster (the vitamins), worming medication to put in their water, Poultry Dust to spread in the coops & on the chickens, Sulfasol powder for their water, Stall Dry for their coops & their arena, & Pine shavings. We already have the gravel to put on top of the Stall Dry. I would still like to get wood chips, but as it was everywhere we went yesterday took up so much of our day that it was almost dark by the time we got home. Every feed store we went to, we talked to the managers/employees/owners & told them what has been going on. They were about as clueless as we are but did agree that everything we bought WAS smart.

I now want to get the OXZINE that rainplace mentioned. I read the article you attached & thought it VERY informative. I really wonder if THAT is what they have?? I don't hear the sneezing or notice ANYTHING odd about them, but the mold spores IS a concern of mine. That is why we are bleaching (well, my husband is right now.. I'm on here

) out the coops completely & why I thought this may all be caused by the local hay, which justbugged mentioned, also. I will be calling around to see if any place around here has OXZINE. I want to use it regardless.. I think it's a great idea. Thank you so much! And I looked up the Puyallup site you sent & will be calling them Monday.

I was hanging out with the chickens before I came on here & they all came right to me once I opened the door & they are all talkative.

So my babies.

And fyi, DesertArizonaChicks, funny you should mention the locking of the coops. THAT is how paranoid we became over our neighbor, so yes.. we have our chicken arena actually padlocked with TWO locks whenever we leave the house. That is very sad for me to admit, but this neighbor HAS admitted to being in our coops when we weren't home, because she needed an egg & thought we wouldn't mind.

So that is the update for today. So far, no losses. The last loss of a chicken was 2-3 weeks ago (my husband found the last one, so I am going off his memory). He did state last night that when the chickens were dying off that it would be a couple to a few losses once a week. So the fact we haven't lost any for 2-3 weeks makes me wonder if we are past this?? Regardless, we are still doing ALL the above that I mentioned. Cost is no concern of mine when it comes to these little guys. Thankfully I have a husband who understands that.

THANK YOU!!

 

[usschicago1]

For some reason Predator is SCREAMING to me. Maybe something is killing them and just leaving them With no visible wounds??

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Maybe it is a predator of some type - Since the bodys were left intact, that's what made me think of human predator. If 38 chickens died from illness, worms, or parasites, there should have been some type of symptoms. I know chickens can die from problems with hay too (crop impaction or mold), but I wouldn't think that many chickens would have died from hay without showing any signs of problems (I think mold will make a chicken sick before killing it)