What is killing my chickens?

[McChooky]

Unintentional deaths. Using poison to control rodents and other animals eat the carcasses that they find wondering disoriented.
I have hydrangeas daffodils and hundreds of plantings and my girls don’t eat them. I mean, they might dig up the damn things looking for insects but that’s all.
My husbands been caring for my chickens while I recover from a broken ankle and we found one of our girls in the pen without any apparent problem. Started counting, Then I realized that she was 9 years old. Old age.
Perhaps they got into trash or another animals food?

My chickens don't have any grass (what few clumps they did have they've already eaten) Under these circumstances chickens will eat toxic plants such as hosta, lilies and buttercups (soon as they pop out of the ground)

 

[Scooter1A]

Can you call animal control? Once the impound fees, court costs and damages exceed a dogs value most dog owners fail to claim them. Sorry for your loss!

I'm not even sure animal control still exists in my county. The neighbor is aware, will probably keep dogs locked up when not walking them. I live in the country, deep woods, so I'm used to the normal predators.

 

[Scooter1A]

I think you are right that it could have a disease that infected all chickens, but didn’t kill them all.
The survivors are the strongest ones, probably immune now, and its very well possible they can free range again without getting sick.

@BankFam probably knows for sure if she tries to free range her chickens again.

If another chickens dies with the same symptoms after eating the grass I would probably send her in for a post-mortal investigation/test.

Fyi: Never had Marek in my flock. I don't buy new chicks or pullets to prevent getting this or other latent diseases in my flock. I buy hatchery eggs to maintain my female flock (no roosters allowed unless all neighbours are okay with that).

can a hatchery sex an egg?

 

[BDutch]

can a hatchery sex an egg?

It is done in some commercial hatcheries were they sell hens to laying hybrid farmers who sell the eggs as ‘no killing of male chicks involved’.
It goes approximately like this: On day 9-11 in the incubation they stick a very fine needle in the eggs, sucks out a drop of liquid and put in a tube with a bio marker. After a second the fluid colour of one sex changes (forgot which one).

In the Dutch article below is an English video embedded.
https://www.pluimveeweb.nl/artikel/...et-doden-van-haantjes-met-in-ovo-technologie/