Sudden death in chickens

[WingItRanch]

We will. Our properties are side by side to each other, and it’s only separated by a chain fence.

We plan on testing them. We only have like a handful of chickens left, and I don’t expect them to survive before somebody tests and diagnoses the deceased chickens.

I was just hoping that I could pick up something on my way home to buy them time.

While you wait for testing, you can try to treat the symptoms. Green poop=not eating. Try adding warm water to their feed to make a mash. That may tempt them to eat more and help with hydration.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. What is your general location? Is it warm or cold now? Can you take 1-2 bodies to your state vet lab for a necropsy in the morning? Wrap the bodies in 2 clean plastic bags. That is the best way to find out what is going on. Check your food and any scratch or treats for signs of mold. It can appear overnight if there has been any moisture in the container. The pecked out eyes sound like a possible fight or predator. Do you have any game camera that you can use? If the electrolytes contain vitamins, remove them from the Corid water. Thiamine or vitamin B 1 cannot be given while on Corid.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...kx_wggavwnsVqf69x08T79kpWr6csfkOzMXIX3TjoVSy3
The bodies should be kept cold, but not frozen.

 

[Sadness]

Sorry for your loss. What is your general location? Is it warm or cold now? Can you take 1-2 bodies to your state vet lab for a necropsy in the morning? Wrap the bodies in 2 clean plastic bags. That is the best way to find out what is going on. Check your food and any scratch or treats for signs of mold. It can appear overnight if there has been any moisture in the container. The pecked out eyes sound like a possible fight or predator. Do you have any game camera that you can use? If the electrolytes contain vitamins, remove them from the Corid water. Thiamine or vitamin B 1 cannot be given while on Corid.

It’s in the 50s and up to 70s during the day. We also rarely receive rain this time of the year, but we live in a humid state. Our rooster, who we’ve been treating with corrid drops consistently, is still alive. The others are drinking from the water bowl with corrid. However, we now lost 4 chickens today, and there’s two more near death now. We isolated them and gave them corrid drops. Their combs were blackened, which is different than some of the other chickens, which died. It’s about half-half on blackened combs. There’s no wheezing or respiratory sounding issues from the chickens or dying chickens. In total, we lost about 20 chickens in 4 days.

 

[kattabelly]

As well as the advice others have already given about getting them tested, if you don't already then please think about taking biosecurity measures (things like changing your clothes and disinfecting footwear and any equipment after you've been with the birds) to try and avoid spreading the infection to other people's flocks.

 

[Sadness]

It’s in the 50s and up to 70s during the day. We also rarely receive rain this time of the year, but we live in a humid state. Our rooster, who we’ve been treating with corrid drops consistently, is still alive. The others are drinking from the water bowl with corrid. However, we now lost 4 chickens today, and there’s two more near death now. We isolated them and gave them corrid drops. Their combs were blackened, which is different than some of the other chickens, which died. It’s about half-half on blackened combs. There’s no wheezing or respiratory sounding issues from the chickens or dying chickens. In total, we lost about 20 chickens in 4 days.

As well as the advice others have already given about getting them tested, if you don't already then please think about taking biosecurity measures (things like changing your clothes and disinfecting footwear and any equipment after you've been with the birds) to try and avoid spreading the infection to other people's flocks.

Definitely agreed. I was planning on disinfecting our whole house because we have parrots and a dog, who loves to be outside and inside as well. Most of the +20 birds have died in the coup. Only 4-5 have died outside. Our prized rooster, who has been lethargic for a few days, is still alive. He’s isolated in a crate in our barn, and we’ve been dosing him right corrid. Usually when they develop symptoms, they’d die within a few hours. We lost another hen this morning, and she was healthy going in. I don’t know if that makes a difference.

 

[WingItRanch]

For anyone following, here's the update: Post in thread 'Update to Sudden Death of My Flock' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/update-to-sudden-death-of-my-flock.1681601/post-28956084

 

[tlcmurphy]

For anyone following, here's the update: Post in thread 'Update to Sudden Death of My Flock' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/update-to-sudden-death-of-my-flock.1681601/post-28956084

Very sad update. I’m so sorry

 

[Wolf River]

Hi everyone, my husband and I have been raising chickens for the last 4 years, and we’ve never experienced problems with any of them dying like this before. We are losing 2-4 hens and roosters per day since Saturday. The chickens appear lethargic within hours of their passing. One of them is passing green feces, and another had yellow discharge at time of death. We’ve lost over 15 chickens, 2 guinea fowl and 1 elderly turkey since Saturday. We’ve found no bloody stool, and none of them appeared to have respiratory issues. However, they appear to be eating less. We do have 4 ducks but none of them passed. One appears to be wheezing a little, but it went away. The neighbors rooster also died in a seated position last night. Both flocks our exposed to wild Muscovy ducks and crows.

We would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what we can do next. We’re currently treating the flock with Corrid and electrolytes. We’re also thoroughly cleaning out the coup and their water. We’ve also limited their water supply to only one water bowl with corrid and electrolytes. It’s only been a day on Corrid, but two hens also passed overnight and two more this afternoon. We initially thought 3 aggressive rooster caused the deaths, so we got rid of them Sunday morning in the in-laws backyard.


My favorite chicken just passed. This is what she looked like when I came from lunch and this is what her internals look like.

We love our chickens, and my husband treats them like his pets. We only use them for egg production, so it’s incredibly hard to see them die this fast.

Yes, Bird flu would be my best guess also. If you have friends that have birds also, contact them and let them know also. This is a highly transmittable pathogen!!! You need to contact your county ag. agent asap.