Sudden onset suffocation and bird death.

[PHquail]

My 2 coops haven't shown illness yet, but my wife's coop is losing birds fast. We live in Texas, and yes it is hot.

First bird was acting perfectly normal all day, then suddenly fell out at night. Gurgling, couldn't hardly move, severe wheeze. I Thought she was a goner for sure. Disgusting smelling crop. Held bird upside down and excreted what we could of the crop. I had Ciprofloxacin on hand (fish meds, and with research learned that Baytril is rebranded cipro.) Administered ~40 mg Baytril. Birds respiratory symptoms slightly cleared up next morning.

Checked over all other birds in coopt that night. Healthy feeling crops, no smell noted, full check over was done. Next morning, checked on birds, all fine. A few hours later, my wife's favorite hen and first she raised had passed away. Obvious signs of suffocation/aspiration. Damp food dribbling out of mouth and down front.

2 days later, today, found another hen dead. Same signs of aspiration and suffocation. Seemed in perfect health just last night.

First hen is still slightly weak, but shows improvements and good health after 3 days Baytril twice a day.

I don't know what to do, and my wife is crushed. Changing out food brand today and removing any old food in coop. Local Pellet brand.

Do I pre-emptively Baytril dose the remaining 6 birds? Electrolytes in water? I am recently out of work and cannot afford necropsy.

 

[azygous]

Have you noticed any "off" smell to the pellet feed? Has it become damp possibly? The rapid onset and quick deaths point to toxic poisoning - mold, insecticide, rodent bait.

It doesn't sound like bacterial infection as that usually is gradual with more symptoms such as diarrhea.

Another possibility is coccidiosis, but if these are an established flock they should have good resistance to coccidia in the local soil unless you've imported top soil sand for the run or borrowed garden equipment that could have imported another strain of coccidia.

If you suspect coccidiosis, you could probably afford to have a random flock stool sample float tested at the local vet. They usually charge a nominal fee for the service as long as you reassure them you will assume all responsibility for treatment. The treatment is Corid in their water.

 

[PHquail]

I'm tossing the old food just in case, was kept in a large plastic container, usually food stays very dry here from a combination of heat/drought.

Good idea with the stool sample just in case, that is affordable enough.

 

[azygous]

Another possibility is botulism toxin. This is often found in insects inhabiting anaerobic soil at the bottom of compost piles. (C. perfringins) This can infect and kill in 24 hours. I stopped disposing of spoiled foods in my compost pile because of losing several chickens in short order. Treated with a strong antibiotic soon enough will save the infected chicken. If you have a compost pile, this could be the culprit.

 

[PHquail]

Another possibility is botulism toxin. This is often found in insects inhabiting anaerobic soil at the bottom of compost piles. (C. perfringins) This can infect and kill in 24 hours. I stopped disposing of spoiled foods in my compost pile because of losing several chickens in short order. Treated with a strong antibiotic soon enough will save the infected chicken. If you have a compost pile, this could be the culprit.

No access to compost, but botulinum would make sense given the speed of onset and muscle weakness in the surviving bird. She is back on her feet now, but it took days to gain muscle strength back. Can't check for buildup spots or possible anaerobic environments in the run because we swapped out the sand as soon as the first chicken was sick with 8 50 lb. bags. Day one she was limp, aspirating, and I didn't expect her to survive even an hour. Baytril brought her back within 8 hours.


We do have a compost pile about 100 feet away. Chicken poo, quail poo, and wood flake based. In your circumstance, did the chickens consume insects from a distant pile?

 

[azygous]

It does match perfringins as that infection progresses at lightening speed, and your timely intervention with the Baytril likely saved the latest chicken. That was true in my case as I knew what symptoms to look for when my second hen became ill.

Compost piles aren't the only place chickens find this bacteria. If you have places with deep leaf mold, and chickens would find that a prime playground, you could have an anaerobic layer that harbors insects at that level that carry the bacterium. If you are experiencing frequent rain, it's all the more likely that this bacteria is thriving under trees with accumulated decomposing leaves.

Not all chickens are excavators. Most are content to scratch for bugs at the surface. It was my Cream Legbars that would dig diligently in one spot and produce deep holes where they encountered this anaerobic bacteria. My compost was not well drained and that contributed to the problem.

 

[PHquail]

It does match perfringins as that infection progresses at lightening speed, and your timely intervention with the Baytril likely saved the latest chicken. That was true in my case as I knew what symptoms to look for when my second hen became ill.

Compost piles aren't the only place chickens find this bacteria. If you have places with deep leaf mold, and chickens would find that a prime playground, you could have an anaerobic layer that harbors insects at that level that carry the bacterium. If you are experiencing frequent rain, it's all the more likely that this bacteria is thriving under trees with accumulated decomposing leaves.

Not all chickens are excavators. Most are content to scratch for bugs at the surface. It was my Cream Legbars that would dig diligently in one spot and produce deep holes where they encountered this anaerobic bacteria. My compost was not well drained and that contributed to the problem.

On closer inspection we have some mounding around the outside of the run, a mix of sand/woodchips, and I'm sure poo from over time. Weather has been incredibly dry, but I do see large grub tunnels in the dirt. Definitely a possibility, although I'm not positive because it has been incredibly dry for weeks here. Digging up the sides of the run just in case. We left the small mounds as a means of holding in the new sand when we replace it, because the birds like to fling it outside the coop. Might have been a mistake. The coop that the birds are passing away in is the oldest of our 3 coops, about 2 years old.

Other coops are 1 year old, and 1 week old since I just built it for the Watermaels. My wife is upset because she is losing her babies, and I'm panicking because I just recently spent $1600 on a new coop and a small flock of Watermaels.

 

[azygous]

Was there diarrhea involved with any of the sick chickens? Were all of your chickens on the new sand? A few years ago, when I brought home a couple truck loads of new sand for my runs, I had an outbreak of coccidiosis, likely importing a new strain in the sand that my chickens had no resistance to. I would advise you to follow through with the fecal float test. Not all strains cause bloody stools and some are quite virulent. The incubation period from exposure to first symptoms is five to seven days.

 

[PHquail]

Was there diarrhea involved with any of the sick chickens? Were all of your chickens on the new sand? A few years ago, when I brought home a couple truck loads of new sand for my runs, I had an outbreak of coccidiosis, likely importing a new strain in the sand that my chickens had no resistance to. I would advise you to follow through with the fecal float test. Not all strains cause bloody stools and some are quite virulent. The incubation period from exposure to first symptoms is five to seven days.

The first fell ill on the old sand, which prompted the immediate sand change. The first bird didn't seem to be watery stool, and it was hard to tell because I withheld food until the crop seemed healthy in case of sour crop. Stools have been good since I resumed feeding with medicated chick feed I have on hand. I understand the amount of medication isn't a cure for active coccidiosis, but it is all I have for the moment.

The other 2 hens passed so quick I was unable to analyze stool, and didn't seem to be any problems in the coop. I've never seen something kill a seemingly healthy bird within hours is why we are at a loss. They are running around, eating, drinking, and then at the bottom of the coop 3 hours later with food and liquid running out of their mouth.

 

[azygous]

Have you noticed any caterpillars with nasty spines around the area? They are called buck moth caterpillars, and Texas is home to this lethal insect. I have them here as well. They can sicken a chicken immediately and kill in under 24 hours. The chicken only needs to "taste" one and get inoculated on their tongue with the venom in the spines. I have lost several chickens to these horrible critters. Here are some photos of them that I took. The one with the white spines has parasites inhabiting it, but it doesn't lessen the venom. The other photo is a caterpillar without the parasites.