Terrible, awful day. Almost all of my chickens dead. ***Update***

[southerndesert]

Wow that is terrible.... Sorry for your loss and please if you find out what happened share it. I had a friend lose a whole flock to poison food years back, he had a pest control company spray their home for bugs with instructions not to spray the small barn. Fed his chickens next day and came home to ALL dead, called Orkin and the kid told his boss he figured to do a favor and spray the two out buildings since they were not on the work order....

They payed for the flock, added 500.00 and offered free spraying for a year...

As another poster mentioned part of keeping these critters is also facing tragic losses from time to time, I have hardened to it over many years but it still is very hard to lose hens...

 

[BayouPoules]

I am so so sorry,.. I will be watching to see if you learn how this happened,..
again,. so very sorry.

 

[sonew123]

I cant even imagine the pain your and your Dh are feeling

I'm so sorry...I only pray you find out what the cause was ASAP so this doesnt happen to you again

 

[ThinkingChickens]

I hope you find out what happened and can share it with the rest of us. I'm so sorry you lost your pets!

 

[msbien]

Oh this is so sad. I don't even know what to say, other than I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Cats Critters]

I'm so so sorry for you loss

 

[cyanne]

Still waiting for answers on this. Have saved one of the birds in the fridge to take to the vet on Tues for Necropsy. Also saved samples of the feed and am having it tested through multipe sources. I gave one sample to the feed store where I bought it. The guy there said he would have it tested and if it was the feed he'd make darn sure that the feed mill that made it paid for our birds. Also spoke to the vet and she is going to take one sample and one of the birds and send them off to A&M Vet School for testing. Another feedstore owner told me there is some group that tests feed if contamination is suspected and that they will even come by the farm to pick it up but they will only take unopened bags. So I am saving the last unopened bag of feed that we bought at the same time and going to turn that in for testing as well.

After giving details to the vet, she says she suspects feed contamination as well. She said that, while it is possible for a chicken to die from heat stroke, it would be highly unusual for that many to die at once since they will seek out cooler places if it is hot. So it would be really weird for them to stand around inside the coop until they died when the door was open for them to walk right outside to the shade. And maybe one or two could do that, but not all of them at once.

No pesticides being sprayed nearby either. We have no farms near us, mostly just residential. Closest farm is a guy who keeps cows about a quarter mile down the road. Have never seen anybody spraying along the road either, but the coop is set way back on the property anyway, out of reach of that sort of thing.

At this point, the feed is the most likely culprit.

 

[PAchickenlover]

So, so, sad!!! I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot find the words to describe what I am feling for what you went through right now.....

 

[EquestrianGal]

I am so sorry!! Losing one or two is so hard, I cannot imagine.

I hope you get some answers, even though it won't bring your birds back.

 

[lbartsch]

I am so so sorry for your loss. What a terrible awful thing to happen. I hope you find out what happened. Hugs being sent your way.