Sudden onset suffocation and bird death.

[PHquail]

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.View attachment 3911061View attachment 3911062

Yes I have seen spiny caterpillars in the past. They have 2 trees directly by/over their coop I will go out and look over. Not sure what tree species, I chopped down all the Chinese Sumacs on the property, these are just little scraggly little trees.

 

[azygous]

If you find even one of these buck moth critters, I think you would have found the cause of these chickens dying in the manner in which they did. The tongue becomes paralyzed and if any venom is swallowed, it would quickly get into the blood stream and affect breathing and crop function and then the chicken shuts down.

 

[PHquail]

If you find even one of these buck moth critters, I think you would have found the cause of these chickens dying in the manner in which they did. The tongue becomes paralyzed and if any venom is swallowed, it would quickly get into the blood stream and affect breathing and crop function and then the chicken shuts down.

Third hen stumbling around. I literally have been checking on them every hour today. Hopefully caught it on time if bacterial.
Dosing Baytril ASAP. IDK what else to do.

Hen defecated as I set her down outside, seems normal.

 

[azygous]

What is the temperature there? Are you sure these deaths aren't from heat stroke? The first symptoms before a chicken collapses is stumbling and imbalance. An overheated chicken can die very quickly following onset of symptoms unless cooled down and given a solution of electrolytes and extra sugar.

To cool an overheated chicken down quickly, place cold compresses under the wing pits. But under no circumstances should you dunk a chicken in cold water. Do this treatment and give one teaspoon sugar in one cup cool water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Dip the beak or tube it into the chicken, but get it into the chicken as quickly as possible.

After exploring all the possible causes of death from the most simple to the most exotic, it may be from the most obvious - heat.

 

[PHquail]

What is the temperature there? Are you sure these deaths aren't from heat stroke? The first symptoms before a chicken collapses is stumbling and imbalance. An overheated chicken can die very quickly following onset of symptoms unless cooled down and given a solution of electrolytes and extra sugar.

To cool an overheated chicken down quickly, place cold compresses under the wing pits. But under no circumstances should you dunk a chicken in cold water. Do this treatment and give one teaspoon sugar in one cup cool water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Dip the beak or tube it into the chicken, but get it into the chicken as quickly as possible.

After exploring all the possible causes of death from the most simple to the most exotic, it may be from the most obvious - heat.

93-105 today. All 3 coops have survived 110 temps earlier this year without issue. Dosed entire flock in that coop with weight appropriate Baytril.

I think it is botulinum toxin, I am doing a writeup with pictures from last death.

 

[PHquail]

Loose follicles on neck feathers. Feathers easily fall out. Erythmous/red throughout neck down to crop in patches. Incredibly quick onset of death. Surviving birds had/have severe muscle tone issues.

I will update the status of the current hen. Currently wobbly and poorly balanced. 30 mg Baytril administered.

 

[PHquail]

Neck of recently deceased. Neck feathers easily fall out/removed when lightly pulled... see second to last entry of following link.

 

[PHquail]

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/PS044

Current hypothesis: I think we messed up and kept old litter outside of the bars of the coop run for too long.

 

[PHquail]

Update: 4th sick hen is doing great, no longer wobbling and falling over. No new illness noted in the remaining 4 chickens. Strangely, none of the roosters have fallen ill.