Sudden Deaths?

[FreedomDove]

What would cause chickens to die with no warning? I have had 1 pullet and 2 hens die in a week. They all had food in their crops, great body condition, no external parasites, no raspy breathing or nose/mouth/eye discharge. No feed or environmental changes have taken place. I did show some birds on Nov 15th but none of the ones I have shown died or appear ill. They all died during the day and were found dead in the coop. One on the floor and two in nest boxes. They did not have a swollen abdomon to suggest being egg bound. Any suggestions? I will keep you updated if there are anymore deaths. Thanks in advance.

[Bob308]

I would guess snake

[FreedomDove]

In the summer I had 3 die just like these and we found a rattle snake outside near the coop where the chickens walk past. I thought that it may be another rattler but our day temps are only 60 and nights are 28-35. It could still be one I guess. There is no where in the coop that one could be living to be keeping more warm compared to outside. I will check around outside.

[goosedragon]

Do all your birds roost? The warmest spot in a henhouse is usually the nests.~gd

[Blackorps]

If this were a single event with sudden death, no sign of illness I would say it could of been heart.

[sleepyhollow]

Hi, I had some problems last summer with my birds dropping dead like you have said. I found that just outside my coops right near where I keep the water cups, There was mushrooms growing. I got rid of these and havent had a problem since. My birds would act drunk at feeding time, and be dead by the next feed. They ran in circles around thier coops until they dropped. I no longer put water cups in a shaded spot in coops. I've got alot to learn myself. Hope everything works out for you and your birds.

[Bob308]

Hen sits on nest laying an egg- snake wants egg- hen doesn't want to leave- snake kills hen by constriction- sometimes hen falls out of nest.
This is usually a rat snake, I don't think rattlesnakes are guilty of this but they might.

Bob

[FreedomDove]

I am in Reno, NV. I do not think any mushrooms grow where I am at in the desert. They have been free ranging on the same land for almost 4 years. The snakes we have here are mostly rattlers, gophers, and garters. I think the temps have been too cold for them to be out but maybe not.
I had another die on Saturday. The chickens were out free ranging and I was scooping poop in the kennel. I saw a couple of boys in pursuit of a lady and they ran into the outside part of the coop. When I was finished in the kennel I saw a hen laying kind of on her side by the gate to the outside coop. I am not sure if this was the one the boys were chasing or not. She was alive but limp and not reacting to her eyes being touched. I tried to stand her up and she fell over. I inspected her and everything looked normal. I stood her up again and she walked into the coop. About 10 minutes later she died in the coop. There are a lot of rattle snakes in my area and my birds free range 5 days out of the week. Could my boys be chasing the hens and giving them "a heart attack"?
I have 3 of the hens in the freezer. It is oviously difficult to see if they have rattle snakes bits due to the feathers but I think I am going to have to do some plucking. This is just too weird for them to be completely normal one minute and then dead the next.

[goosedragon]

"capture myopathy" This is a term you should google if you suppect that being chased is part of the cause of the sudden death of your chickens. It is usually applied to deaths in wild animals caused by chase and capture by scientists studying the animal in question. I wouldn't think it would be as much of a proplem in domestic chickens but they could be killed by this highly stressful incident. It has been I while since I looked it up but there might be some way to tell if this was the cause of your sudden deaths. ~gd

[FreedomDove]

I know about it. There has to be extensive pathology tests done to test for it. The boys don't pick a certain lady and chase her till she gives in. The chases don't even last a minute. I am going to poke around the rocks outside and see if I can hear a rattle snake.