Second dead chicken today

[KS_Chicken_Wrangler]

Last night when I went to gather eggs and check the birds, I found a dead hen lying on the floor of the coop. Today, one of my pullets was dead. I'm off to Atwoods now to get some lime for the coop, will give it a thorough cleaning. Will add ACV to their water, but otherwise I don't know what the issue could be. No struggle, no feathers, just dead birds.

I did recently switch feeds, but's it has been a couple weeks since that switch. Bought it from a reputable co-op that is local. I will stop using it to see if that helps.

This sucks.

 

[FrostRanger]

Sorry for your loss

Do you have pictures?
How old were the birds and what breed?
Do you have the nutritional analysis for the feed?
Do they have any sort of injuries on them?
How are the other birds acting? Has anyone been acting off at all?
Has there been any bullying in the flock?
How does their poop look?
What is their diet like including treats?
Could the feed have gotten moldy?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, I just want to get a better idea of what could be going on here. If it was just one bird dying suddenly I would maybe think it's just random sudden death (it unfortunately happens sometimes, the bird has something going on internally that one has no way of identifying until after death or just plain has a heart attack) but 2 birds definitely points to something going on (although it's certainly not impossible for 2 birds to randomly die independently of each other at the same time)

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, that sucks. The more information you can give us the more likely we can come up with a possible cause but these things are not always easy. If it were just one I'd not worry about it that much. These things can happen. But when they repeat that close together it is very possible something is going on.

If you can, I'd bag that pullet and store her in the refrigerator or in an ice chest over ice. Don't freeze her but keep her cold so she does not deteriorate. Then tomorrow, call your county extension office and find out how to get a necropsy. That's where they cut the bird open to see if they can determine what killed her. Find out where you have to take her and when plus what it might cost you to see if it is worth it to you. In some states that is free, in some there will be a charge. I have no idea what Kansas does.

It's hard to narrow down what it might be since I'm not there to see it. Even if I were there it may still be a mystery. If there were no marks on the bird and they were acting normal I'd suspect something like heart attack, a stroke, or an accident like flying into something when trying to escape an amorous rooster or a pecking order fight. Since it is two of them these things are less likely but you can't totally rule them out. Since it is two of them I'd think something like poisoning. That might be you or a neighbor poisoning mice, rats, squirrels, groundhogs, something like that. Maybe some herbicides? Carbon monoxide is heavier than air. Maybe some collected if you had an open flame somewhere.

If it has been a couple of weeks since you switched feeds I doubt that is a problem.

If they were acting lethargic or sick then it could be a lot of other things. Any injuries or marks on them also changes this.

Good luck determining what happened. That often is not easy.

 

[KS_Chicken_Wrangler]

Sorry for your loss

Do you have pictures?
How old were the birds and what breed?
Do you have the nutritional analysis for the feed?
Do they have any sort of injuries on them?
How are the other birds acting? Has anyone been acting off at all?
Has there been any bullying in the flock?
How does their poop look?
What is their diet like including treats?
Could the feed have gotten moldy?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, I just want to get a better idea of what could be going on here. If it was just one bird dying suddenly I would maybe think it's just random sudden death (it unfortunately happens sometimes, the bird has something going on internally that one has no way of identifying until after death or just plain has a heart attack) but 2 birds definitely points to something going on (although it's certainly not impossible for 2 birds to randomly die independently of each other at the same time)

Not worried at all about the barrage. I, too, shared the thought that one dead is a one-off. Two is a problem. As I was cleaning I did some inspection and I am certain it is coccidiosis. I found bloody poop in several locations and my heart dropped. That coop is the one with my six remaining hens from my original flock. It also has the momma with the babies.

I was afraid I could have gotten a bad batch of starter/grower feed as I had somewhat recently switched to the same brand that my hens get (local co-op) and that they have loved for a long time. As I was gathering supplies for my clean out, I bought another bag of feed, this time Dumor which was their first feed.

I have purchased and correctly dosed (2 teaspoons per gallon as I considered it a severe outbreak since there have been two deaths) the water with Corid 9.6% and now we wait.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Not worried at all about the barrage. I, too, shared the thought that one dead is a one-off. Two is a problem. As I was cleaning I did some inspection and I am certain it is coccidiosis. I found bloody poop in several locations and my heart dropped. That coop is the one with my six remaining hens from my original flock. It also has the momma with the babies.

I was afraid I could have gotten a bad batch of starter/grower feed as I had somewhat recently switched to the same brand that my hens get (local co-op) and that they have loved for a long time. As I was gathering supplies for my clean out, I bought another bag of feed, this time Dumor which was their first feed.

I have purchased and correctly dosed (2 teaspoons per gallon as I considered it a severe outbreak since there have been two deaths) the water with Corid 9.6% and now we wait.

I'm so sorry! Please let us know how it goes. Best wishes to you and your flock.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Remember the Corid treated water must be the only source of water during the treatment period and they should get a fresh batch each morning. Hope this episode has a happy ending!

 

[FrostRanger]

Not worried at all about the barrage. I, too, shared the thought that one dead is a one-off. Two is a problem. As I was cleaning I did some inspection and I am certain it is coccidiosis. I found bloody poop in several locations and my heart dropped. That coop is the one with my six remaining hens from my original flock. It also has the momma with the babies.

I was afraid I could have gotten a bad batch of starter/grower feed as I had somewhat recently switched to the same brand that my hens get (local co-op) and that they have loved for a long time. As I was gathering supplies for my clean out, I bought another bag of feed, this time Dumor which was their first feed.

I have purchased and correctly dosed (2 teaspoons per gallon as I considered it a severe outbreak since there have been two deaths) the water with Corid 9.6% and now we wait.

Sorry to hear your flock has coccidiosis but at least you were able to find an answer quickly and can now treat everyone else

 

[KS_Chicken_Wrangler]

I'm so sorry! Please let us know how it goes. Best wishes to you and your flock.

Well, the babies are now without momma. That was a sad one this morning. That said, I think if we make it through the night we might be on the mend. Everyone looked fairly active this afternoon and had a bit of an appetite...even got one egg (which is now in the trash). I sure hope they've been drinking a bunch of water; glad it was pretty hot today.

I'm really ashamed that I let this happen. There was no odor in the coop or run, so I thought things were fine. Guess I didn't clean it enough.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No need to blame yourself, these things happen and coccidiosis can sneak up on you.

 

[Beau plus penny]

Sorry to hear your flock has coccidiosis but at least you were able to find an answer quickly and can now treat everyone else

so glad you caught it early coccidiosis is scary it kills so fast