Seemingly healthy chickens dropping dead!

[jak2002003]

I have started loosing my adult chickens and urgently need help please.

The birds look really healthy, plumb, laying, bright red combs.... seems no signs of illness... they are very lively and acting normally. Then one will suddenly become lethargic, the tail hang down.. looses all energy and is dead with 24 = 48 hours.

What the heck is going on?

Started about 5 days ago with a rooster which died the following day. Then my other rooster looked 'off' and now lost 2 hens. One more hen showing signs of the illness this afternoon....could not keep up with the flock free ranging and now too weak to fly up to roost. In the morning she was fine.

I have rushed out and got coccidiosis medication to use tomorrow. But the poops look normal.. right up until they get weak.. then they stop eating and the poops are flat, watery light green with clear water around them (think from lack of eating).

I have also got some de wormer... but it only works for round worms. Honestly, getting any sort of medication for poultry is VERY difficult. Took me ALL DAY to get these 2 things from different shops. My country is not big on bird medicines it seems. Vet refused to sell me ivermectin as I told him it was for chickens... he insisted it was only for cats and dogs.

Anyone have any idea what is going on with my chickens?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi. So sorry for your loss.

I was going to suggest necropsy and provide links on how to get it done. But my info is only valid in the US.

Honestly I highly doubt you have cocci (or at least not your issue, cocci is in every chicken poo) and worming a chicken that's already under the weather will possibly kill them anyways unless that is their issue.

My best guess would be disease brought in by a wild animal. The question would be what?

Any special weather conditions going on? Any recent change in feed? Did the feed get moldy?

Hope you get some better answers.

 

[rebrascora]

Since your flock have been exposed to Marek's in the past I would say that it is the most likely culprit for these unexplained deaths. You could try doing your own necropsy and taking photos of everything that looks unusual and all the organs and post them here on BYC for us all to take a look and see if we can figure it out. There are a couple of threads where we share our knowledge on such things. I will attach a link to one of them....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-contains-xxx-graphic-necropsy-photos.823961/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss.

As @rebrascora mentioned, you could be dealing with a Marek's outbreak. There's not a lot that can be done if this is the cause of your flock going down quickly.

There are a few conditions/illnesses that can look like Marek's, so take a look around to make sure you chickens haven't ingested anything toxic (rat poison, weed killer, etc.) or eaten a dead animal or the maggots that have been on a dead animal. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Without knowing the cause - do the best you can with giving supportive care. See that they are eating/drinking, provide poultry vitamins, fresh food and water.

If you have an agricultural testing facility or a vet that can perform testing for you, that would be a very good idea - have a fecal float test for worms and coccidiosis and a gram stain for bacterial infection.
I hope you are able to find out more, keep us posted.

 

[jak2002003]

Thank you everyone. These birds are Japanese Bantams... they are pets... I can not bring myself to cut one up...

Can the Marek's disease have the symptoms my birds are showing? They are getting no loss of balance and are walking normally.. they just get really weak fast and die. When they got Marek's in the past they got the leg spreading thing.. and some were wobbly and could not walk. This time nothing like that is happening.

To answer some questions..

No change in feed.
Feed is fresh and clean and not mouldy.
Have not seen any dead animals for them to eat. They free range in my garden.
Weather normal.. hot and sunny in day.. rain at night. No standing water or muddy areas.. the ground is all sandy and rocky.
No blood in their poop or other digestive problem.


Could they be eating a poisonous bug, or plant? There are also mosquitos (always are).. can they carry a disease like this (not fowl pox - they had that before so know the symptoms).

I am going to keep them confined to the coop for a few days... treat for Coccidiosis (as have the medication now anyway).

I am also going to do a good search of the garden and around the property for any dead animals, or dirty water etc.

 

[Folly's place]

Do you have access to a veterinarian who does poultry, or a state or veterinary school path lab? If yes, talk to someone there, and maybe have necropsies done. So sorry! Meanwhile, keeping them in is a very good idea. Mary

 

[jak2002003]

Sad to say I lost 2 more. I am down from 10 to 5. One more suddenly looking ill this afternoon.

I looked at the dead ones. They are plump, perfect clean and neat feathers and feat / legs. No discharge from eyes or nostrils. Crop normal and no bad smell to breath. No spots or scabs, and inside the beak and down the throat are clear and normal. They also have good bright red combs (only my rooster has got pale come).

The only thing I could find is they had wet bottoms. Seemed to be pooping water. No poop smell to that area.. and feathers clean and not stained.. even on the white bird... just really wet and a bit matted. When I watched one poop it was mostly clear liquid.. and the consistency of water.. with a small amount of frothy light green in the middle.. which was also really flat and watery. No smell to the poops. So seem they stop eating but keep drinking.

I am now pretty sure it is not Marek's.... because of the symptoms.

I went to 2 feed supply shops, and a big vet supply store... which took me hours to get to them all... and NONE had ivermectin... just some other kind of antibiotic powder at one place. Really pathetic and annoying!!!!

I have just decided to let nature run it course. It's come to the point I am giving up keeping chickens because it's just too upsetting seeing my pets die.. not to mention the money I spent over the years on expensive show quality birds and supplies, coop, feed, medication, time to treat illnesses etc,

When I look at other flocks of chickens in the village they are just fed dry rice and either roost in trees or under baskets.. and left to fed for themselves every day wandering around the streets and yards. Yet my birds that I keep clean, good quality food, and dry predator proof shelter... they just keep getting different disease one after the other.

 

[chickens really]

I read another post a few weeks back...Could it be West nile virus ?.......

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm very sorry to hear you lost 2 more.

Do you have any antibiotics - if so what kind?
What de-wormer do you have?

It's hard to know what direction to take. Did you treat for Coccidiosis? What do you have for that - Amprolium or Sulf Drugs?

We are all just guessing at this point - it could be an infectious disease, worms, Coccidiois, bacterial infection - who knows. I'm sorry you're having such a hard to time to find medications/resources to try to help your birds.

Looking quickly back at some of your other posts - you also have pigeons? Did you have any of those that were ill as well? Any similarities in illness/symptoms? Could be something that affects both chickens and pigeons - what did you use to treat them?

 

[andreanar]

I would start the cocci treatment, its the one positive thing that I can think to do. If it is Mareks, youre pretty well done for anyway. If its that hard to get any medications and you've already got the cocci med, you might as well use it. Good luck.