Whole flock gone

[azygous]

Did lightning strike near the area?

Oh, wow! Didn't think of that! Is the coop a metal shed? It happened in Vietnam and thousands of chickens were killed. https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society...g-strikes-farm-in-northern-vietnam/68237.html

 

[micstrachan]

Did lightning strike near the area?

Interesting thought!

 

[micstrachan]

I am so very sorry for your loss. I am late to this conversation, but I agree necropsy would be the only way to find out what happened.

 

[McChooky]

No point in getting more chickens until you've found the cause because weasels are serial killers (they kill them all) Search their neck closely for tiny bite marks. They can kill quickly with a single bite to the neck. Sorry for your loss!

 

[talliejo]

Hello. I am looking to see of anyone might have a clue to our mystery. Yesterday evening we went out to the coop to collect eggs and all 12 hens and our 1 rooster were dead in the coop. None of them in the run. They were all on one side of the coop and it was the strangest thing. No indication of a predator. They're all different ages, the oldest being 3 years and the youngest not even a year.

They had stopped laying for several months, so we added in black sunflower oil seeds, all stock sweet feed, and catfish food pellets. Within 2 days they started laying again. This was a little over a week ago. My thought initially is if it were poison, then wouldn't they be scattered through out the run and the coop?..and they all died the same afternoon... any thoughts?

 

[talliejo]

I honestly haven’t looked too much into this, but could it be the avian flu? Sudden death is one of the “symptoms”. I also found this through google

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I'm so sorry for your loss. This sounds terribly tragic.

You say all the bodies were on one side of the coop. This makes me curious if they might have been trying to avoid the opposite side of the coop for some reason. If you haven't already, perhaps check there for clues?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I honestly haven’t looked too much into this, but could it be the avian flu? Sudden death is one of the “symptoms”. I also found this through google

It is true that HPAI can cause sudden death, but you should have noticed respiratory symptoms and some obviously sick birds before death if the cause was AI. Very highly unlikely they would have ALL died on the same day.

 

[wild chick]

So sorry for your loss. I hope you get some answers and if a necropsy is done, please share the results here with us!

 

[Tami-Jo]

I believe a weasel is your killer, We lost 3 hens recently, one was barely alive with blood on her neck the other 2 were free of blood and stiff they were all on the same side of the pen enclosed by hardware cloth with both doors closed and locked, I interrupted the weasel as it came back quickly after i let the surviving chickens out and brought the injured and dying hen in. It was in the coop when I went back out and as it looked out the door I shot it! my husband found a small hole it had managed to get into inside the coop... Weasel are nasty critters that will kill your entire flock just because... sorry for the loss of your flock also it had attacked my roo and chewed his eye he has no sight on that side now but recovered