Seven dead hens within 4 hours, not attacked. UPDATE: Teflon Poisoning!

[Welshies]

Do you do any type of treatment or remedies for your flock? I do a. Variety every couple days of garlic cinnamon an Cheyenne papper in their and feed and acv in their water.(haven't had any health problems other than a frozen pooppy vent and a little frostbite) Im in maine i know how its been here and last night was super cold and windy! this is my first winter with them. Im not using any heat other than a water heater outside the coop. Did you check them over for any thing other than an attack, likw mites fleas etc? I have 12 all together an a leg horn with a bare back an the smallest outta the rest that are all very hardy and shes been doing really good. So if your hardy birds didnt make it last night i really think it has something to do with the temp humidity an vents and possibly health related. Sorry for your loss of home and flock.

x2. I'm theorizing now that maybe the cold (OP mentioned "drafts" in their coop) combined with humidity (frost on windows) may have froze their lungs?

 

[grayyell11]

If you have a live trap, set you one with one of those dead chickens in it, may not catch anything but it couldn't hurt. never hurts to invest in a trail cam near a coop either.

I'd stay away from the feather fixer and check the feed good along with the containers.

I'm sure you will keep a close eye on em and I hope you find out what is going on. It sucks to raise them up for months for them to just drop dead out of nowhere.

 

[TexasSam]

Listen to what OP is saying though. OP visited at 2, 5 and 7.
If it was the heat lamp, don't you think OP would have felt it was overly warm and seen the birds in distress?
OP I'm assuming the heat lamp was on during your visits.
One new variable is that bag of feather fixer. It would be very rare there was something bad enough in it to kill chickens though. Was it a new bag or is there the chance it was quite old? Was it an already open bag that something could have gotten into it?

Is it the nutra feather fixer

 

[Kathy Golla]

I'm also very sorry this happened to you. You put a lot of work into them and I'm sorry this happened despite all of your efforts.

 

[AaronandAlice]

You haven't added a new heat bulb have you? I've heard of some having nonstick coatings, elements in nonstick coatings are quickly deadly to birds.

Are you talking about teflon coated? We did actually add one just today because the other bulb broke. How does that happen?

 

[TexasSam]

Are you talking about teflon coated? We did actually add one just today because the other bulb broke. How does that happen?

Taters you need to check the package

 

[AaronandAlice]

What did you clean the coop with, any cleaners?

No, just a shovel and a broom and wet paper towels.

 

[Welshies]

Are you talking about teflon coated? We did actually add one just today because the other bulb broke. How does that happen?

I think we found the killer, guys.

 

[Welshies]

Are you talking about teflon coated? We did actually add one just today because the other bulb broke. How does that happen?

You need to move those other birds out of the coop or they WILL die. Even just outside with a blanket covering a dog crate.

 

[TexasSam]

I think we found the killer, guys.

I believe so