what is making my chickens die?

[lnpranch]

So like the chicken in the dirty tail feathers post, I also had a hen that did this.

we thought it was maybe from heat and smoke exhaustion. her butt feathers looked like she had a cross between diarrhea and constipation, We found her several times sitting in the kitty litter pans of their water. I took her out cleaned her up and set her next to them in the shade.
She was fine one day and then the next she was acting weird. so we did everything to try to help cool her off. the next day she seemed fine. That night I couldn't find her looked everywhere. the next morning we found her behind a dog kennel and laying in the cool sprayers of water. She had been there all night long and we didn't find her there until evening the next night. so we moved her to a pen away from the other chickens and used a syringe to get her some water which she drank when it was put on her beak in drops.
I checked off and on most of the night, and finally went to bed about 4 a.m. when I got up the next morning she was dead she had passed away, her underneath had been bright red like in that photo and It had looked like she had pulled the feathers out herself. she was very big and bloated in that area, and the bone that runs down her chest had a spot on it that looked swelled and irritated.
We still have no clue what happened.
So 3 weeks have passed and all the chickens are doing fine. then yesterday my room mate says one of the chickens is in the pen dead? I said what? so I go out there and she was alive but barely breathing, She was burning up hot even though she had been in the shade. I ran into the house with her, set her in the kitchen sink and turned the faucet on and got cool water going over her feet, she woke up a little but was still breathing really heavy. 15 minutes into this process she took a really deep breath and had like a chicken seizure and passed away in my arms.

So now I am worried about the rest of my chickens. Can you all help me and give me some idea of what could possibly be?

I noticed today where it looked like they were picking at a Styrofoam ice chest so i moved it into the garbage.
The are locked in their hen house at night, with the gate to their pen locked. The ducks are in a pen next to them. They get egg layer pellets every morning, I also got them some of the herb pecks made by happy hen treats. Which is nice because we have rats from the landfill on the other side of the hill and it helps to keep them out of the chicken and duck food. and I give that to them every other day, usually just a handful spread between their 3 feed trays.

Their water is clean every morning and night, and I now have mixed up electrolytes with the vitamins and its spread between the 3 kitty litter trays by the house and then the big waterer in their pen has the probiotics.
They are also let out of both the hen house and the pen during the day so they can go and do what they want. several like to hang out with a couple of our horses.
they have also been getting into the grass hay and eating the small stuff that they can get.

i mean besides the bugs and stuff they are finding and the plants. I just dont know whats going on. and we are now frustrated.

 

[BYCforlife]

Following! I have had this happen to two hens. Thanks for starting it!

 

[lnpranch]

your welcome, we can't figure it out everyone at the feed store cant. we are starting to wonder if they are eating something like a plant that is doing this. My fingers are crossed that we don't loose anymore. just really worried.

 

[rebrascora]

Do you have drakes as well as ducks and do they all free range together.
The soiled butt feathers are as a result of abdominal swelling. This is likely due to a reproductive disorder, probably an infection of the oviduct called salpingitis. The drakes may be the source of this infection if you do indeed have drakes.
If you feel able to cut open the chicken that died, I think you will probably find a huge mass of cheesy cooked egg type material in her oviduct. It may be as large as a grapefruit. Eventually the mass constricts the gut and the bird dies of toxic shock because it is unable to poop out waste. Often you just see white urates caking the feathers.

 

[lnpranch]

The ducks have their own pen behind the chickens pen. They have been next to each other for 2 years now.
We originally had 2 drakes and then after last years babies we now have 5 drakes and 2 females.
Is there something we can give them to help them? do I need to get some of the antibiotic food at the feed store and give that to them?

I can also move their house and run if need be. Its all made with chain link panels that we can move around if need be. And if they need to be moved how far away from the duck pen should we move them?

The chickens free range but the ducks do not. We had talked about letting them free range again as years ago they did but the coyotes came in and killed all of the ducks. The chickens had gotten away.

What is the average life span of a chicken? We had wondered if they could have passed away from old age, but after reading your reply that is basically what they are doing.