three chickens died.. looked healthy

[Sass]

Hi all, I am posting for a person that has chickens , my own are fine for now ! He had three die, one with pasty butt, lethargic, but looked very healthy red comb , all of his have very red combs actually, its been raining and he did have mud in the run, run is covered, the deaths were spaced out, i went over to take a look, and saw some dark/blackish manure, so I suggested trying corrid for coccidia, its the weather for it, we syringed some into the sick hen, last night, and some diluted molasses water to perk her up, she wanted to be by herself, others went in the coop , she stayed out in the corner.. prior to me getting there, she was gagging a little but that had stopped, she had nothing in her crop, she didn't feel eggbound, was soft as well, eyes were clear and open.. any ideas? He did feed bread a few days before, about a loaf between 13 birds, other than some kind of vitamin missing, i have no idea whats going on . ALL his had very bright red combs, redder than mine are...

 

[azygous]

Extreme cherry red combs usually mean high body temperature, either as fever from infection or overheating during a hot weather event. In each case, even before you try to figure out the cause, the chicken with an unusually bright red comb the color of a cherry lollipop should be cooled down by placing cold compresses under the wing pits and given cool water with electrolytes.

Was the weather suddenly very hot prior to his chickens dying? If so, perhaps there is inadequate shade and ventilation.

It seems less likely they died from infection because it wouldn't have been so sudden, and the chickens would likely have been acting lethargic with diarrhea in the period before death.

 

[Sass]

Extreme cherry red combs usually mean high body temperature, either as fever from infection or overheating during a hot weather event. In each case, even before you try to figure out the cause, the chicken with an unusually bright red comb the color of a cherry lollipop should be cooled down by placing cold compresses under the wing pits and given cool water with electrolytes.

Was the weather suddenly very hot prior to his chickens dying? If so, perhaps there is inadequate shade and ventilation.

It seems less likely they died from infection because it wouldn't have been so sudden, and the chickens would likely have been acting lethargic with diarrhea in the period before death.

it wasn't hot , and all of them, healthy plus her, all are red, but not purple, a healthy red, its been actually quite cool and none act like they have fevers.. none were panting

 

[Sass]

and he has a nice set up, its shaded, covered run ,and under trees, run was dirt. He said it was muddy last week with the raining though, we did have warm days last week.. but the others didn't die on the hot days
they are all about 3 yrs old

 

[azygous]

From the few clues provided, no diagnosis is possible. A dead chicken can be sent to an animal testing lab for a necropsy, which is the only reliable means of identifying cause of death. Unfortunately, most people are in a hurry to dispose of the dead bodies, and a necropsy isn't an option.