Why do my birds keep dying???

[Carter Martin]

That was my thought too. I can’t seem to get rid of them. No feed out at night, traps don’t work, the best luck we’ve had is my husbands pellet gun but that hardly puts a dent in the population.
The bodies are flawless. I checked for everything. Even the necropsy on one showed nothing, I suppose I could do another. I’m really tired of losing my girls.

If you want to get rid of rats I would suggest using poison.

 

[veronicadm8]

It’s NOT the coop. Please disregard that.
I would have a professional necropsy done by your state lab.
I would suspect in this case it has something to do with the new birds. They may be carrying a disease in which they are now immune to but can still spread. That’s my gut assumption.

It’s mostly the new birds that are dying. I got them from a hatchery.
would a state lab be better than UC Davis? And how can I go about doing that?

 

[veronicadm8]

If you want to get rid of rats I would suggest using poison.

Not an option. I have a cat and 4 dogs, 2 of which chase and occasionally catch rats.

 

[Aapomp831]

It’s mostly the new birds that are dying. I got them from a hatchery.
would a state lab be better than UC Davis? And how can I go about doing that?

I’m not actually sure to be honest. I find it awfully peculiar that the necropsy scale back inconclusive? Strange - wondering if it could be something as simple as bad genetics?

@Eggcessive

 

[Craig Cowan]

Veronica,
you mentioned it seemed very sudden - good today
then, they are suddenly dead next day.
A Multnomah County study 2009-2010 has 14.5 to 29% of rats testing positive for Leptospirosis.
Lepto - for short - causes both Liver & Kidney failure,
something that we can’t see with the eye, but deadly.
I would “ guess” that you might have seen some outward signs, Lethergy, etc. but maybe not.
It may be worth. Investigating
Best Regards
Craig

 

[veronicadm8]

I’m not actually sure to be honest. I find it awfully peculiar that the necropsy scale back inconclusive? Strange - wondering if it could be something as simple as bad genetics?

@Eggcessive

Yes, agree. Two of them passed on hotter days, maybe it was the heat?? I’ve NEVER had that happen before, I do my best to keep them comfortable. I’m thinking about another necropsy on the latest bird.
I could see bad genetics if it were one breed, but I got 7. I’m completely stumped. At one point I thought maybe neighbors were poisoning rats and chickens got them, but I haven’t seen any bodies.

 

[veronicadm8]

Veronica,
you mentioned it seemed very sudden - good today
then, they are suddenly dead next day.
A Multnomah County study 2009-2010 has 14.5 to 29% of rats testing positive for Leptospirosis.
Lepto - for short - causes both Liver & Kidney failure,
something that we can’t see with the eye, but deadly.
I would “ guess” that you might have seen some outward signs, Lethergy, etc. but maybe not.
It may be worth. Investigating
Best Regards
Craig

Thanks for this!!! Will look into it. No signs, very sudden. But most were really young birds and probably compensated well as long as they could.

 

[Craig Cowan]

Leptospirosis organisms survive in wet conditions and die in dry conditions. Our plentiful rainy seasons in the Pacific Northwest are a prime breeding ground for Lepto organisms with all the puddles

 

[nuthatched]

Try Rat-X, it's not a poison, do there's no risk of secondary poisoning. It's a salt that causes only rodents to not feel thirst, not drink so they die of dehydration in a coma.
Put it in some thing like a box with a hole cut out, mixed with something the rats would eat, like scratch.

 

[veronicadm8]

Leptospirosis organisms survive in wet conditions and die in dry conditions. Our plentiful rainy seasons in the Pacific Northwest are a prime breeding ground for Lepto organisms with all the puddles

Craig, from what I can find it doesn’t seem chickens are susceptible? Looks like they’ve only experimented with basically forced infection. I’ll keep digging.