Sudden death of all my Guineas in one morning but no chickens.

[Kmccalib]

I was so surprised to see all 4 of them dead since they were doing better than my chickens at everything, but it's also weird because they all dropped dead in the middle of the night falling off their roost. It seems if it was a health or parasite issue it would have happened one after the other instead of all at once. No signs of injuries. All chickens are ok.

My question is, is there something specific to guineas and not chickens that could cause this? Like a type of table scrap or something they might eat? They were born in April.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Did you check all their jugulars to be sure it wasn't a Fisher Cat? (They'll suck all the blood out of an animal and leave it.)

 

[1cock2hens]

Source? I've never heard this and I can't find any information about this behavior online.

Did you check all their jugulars to be sure it wasn't a Fisher Cat? (They'll suck all the blood out of an animal and leave it.)

 

[StinkyAcres]

Are you sure they just fell off the roost? That seems very odd. Could they have been spooked in the middle of the night and flown into the walls and broken their necks?

 

[R2elk]

Source? I've never heard this and I can't find any information about this behavior online.

I don't know about fisher cats but it is classical weasel behavior. The only problem is that a weasel would not have stopped with just the guineas.

 

[Chicken Heel]

Are you sure they just fell off the roost? That seems very odd. Could they have been spooked in the middle of the night and flown into the walls and broken their necks?

Given guineas flighty nature, this theory sounds plausible. A fisher cat/weasel/mink would have probably killed the chickens too but those creatures would love going after moving targets like a frightened guinea(s).

 

[1cock2hens]

I don't know about fisher cats but it is classical weasel behavior. The only problem is that a weasel would not have stopped with just the guineas.

That's a misconception, after a kill weasels commonly lap the blood up but they don't suck the blood out.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Source? I've never heard this and I can't find any information about this behavior online.

(I think it's the Fisher Cat, but it could be anything in the weasel family.) It's what I've heard from people around here in Maine. One person told me that one went after their small dog and they found their dog dead and bloodless. A poultry friend also told me that they suck out all the blood. In my own experience, I found one of my meatbirds with the jugular pulled out, but unpunctured. (Something had chased the predator off before it could kill the meatbirds, or hurt any of the others.)

 

[1cock2hens]

(I think it's the Fisher Cat, but it could be anything in the weasel family.) It's what I've heard from people around here in Maine. One person told me that one went after their small dog and they found their dog dead and bloodless. A poultry friend also told me that they suck out all the blood. In my own experience, I found one of my meatbirds with the jugular pulled out, but unpunctured. (Something had chased the predator off before it could kill the meatbirds, or hurt any of the others.)

Oic, I've researched the weasel thing before, it's a misconception that keeps getting circulated by hearsay,, they have big fangs and often leave 2 holes on the neck because of how they kill but they don't suck the blood. There is no reliable source that says otherwise

 

[Kmccalib]

I was so surprised to see all 4 of them dead since they were doing better than my chickens at everything, but it's also weird because they all dropped dead in the middle of the night falling off their roost. It seems if it was a health or parasite issue it would have happened one after the other instead of all at once. No signs of injuries. All chickens are ok.

My question is, is there something specific to guineas and not chickens that could cause this? Like a type of table scrap or something they might eat? They were born in April.

UPDATE: I think it's because they ate avocados. My source says it can kill chickens too but it seems as though it's particularly poisonous to guineas. There were no injuries and it's the only reason I can imagine them ALL dropping dead at about the same time.

I'm very sad about it though. They were part of a very special birthday.