6 chickens dropped dead overnight, autopsy finds nothing!

[danalister]

Six of my chickens dropped dead last night. Literally just fell off the perch. Different ages, breeds even, one was the highest ranking rooster and one was a baby about a month old. I took them all to the vet for lab tests and autopsy. He could not find anything , no sign of disease, he said they were some of the healthiest chickens he has seen. He said the deaths must have been very sudden as there was no sign of liver damage or anything like that. He even went as far as to pluck them and look for snake bites but there was nothing. A great mystery. The only thing we can think is that they ate something poisonous, but what could that be. They wander around in the same garden eating the same things everyday. To add to the mystery my gardener keeps rabbits on the the same property and last week, all fourteen of his rabits also died mysteriously overnight, with no signs of anything and they are in a cage and fed by him.
Has anyone had chickens die from eating a certain plant and if so what was that plant.
we have many of the plants on the list that are toxic to chickens in our garden, avocado, nettles, I cant remember the others.
does anyone have any ideas.

 

[ten chicks]

Had you recently put in a heat lamp or changed bulb/brackets/casing/etc? Some heat lamps/brackets/casing/etc contain teflon,which is highly toxic to birds and does kill in the manner you described.. Based on your description i would say a poison.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your losses... If it happens again and you live in the US, I would suggest having the State lab do a thorough necropsy that includes lab testing as it sounds like your vet didn't do that.

Some US labs:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

aphis necropsy labs

 

[Nambroth]

The loss of all 6 birds in one night, plus the loss of all of your neighbor's rabbits in one night , suggests something toxic. This is hardly a diagnosis, but a guess. Do you have any surviving chickens? How are they acting?

Things to check for:
Have you or anyone else had the lawn treated at all? Herbicides, pesticides, aeration, anything?
Have any pesticides or herbicides been applied to the garden?
Has a neighbor anywhere nearby done any of these things? Some treatments can drift onto neighboring properties.
Has anything new been added to the yard or garden at all in the last few weeks?

Are there any chances for fumes to build up where the chickens are kept, or where the rabbits were kept? Sometimes thermal inversions can cause a buildup of, say, vehicle exhaust in certain areas, which can certainly be enough to gas small animals accidentally.
Any nearby application of sprays, treatments, some types of paint... etc?

Were the chickens or rabbits allowed in an area where there is active compost, or near wet areas such as ponds or stagnant puddles?

Was anything shared amongst the rabbits and chickens, other than they yard? Any bedding, hay, etc?

What is the water source? Has it been changed? Has new plumbing or accesses been added?

Something very simple such as a different kind of piping has caused people losses before.

I'm sorry for your loss, and that is quite a mystery. A state lab might have clearer answers, as Kathy mentioned, if you lose any more.

 

[ten chicks]

Sorry i never read part about rabbits,are you sure someone is not spraying a poison? I'm guessing it is airborne,was your gardener using any insecticides?

 

[casportpony]

FWIW, I had two hens die the same day when I was having issues with my neighbors, so I suspected that maybe they had been poisoned and included this in my submission report. UC Davis took this very seriously and ran a bunch of tests that I hadn't seen on other necropsy reports. State labs and avian pathologists are set up to do this sort of thorough testing, vets are not.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Avocados are toxic to animals, so is oleander.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/Poisonous_plants.html
http://ferndalechickens.com/2013/03/27/plants-that-are-toxic-to-chickens/
http://extension.psu.edu/animals/poultry/topics/health-and-diseases/poisonous-plants

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Source: http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/poison/common.htm


CYANOGENIC PLANTS
PLANTS CAUSING NITRATE TOXICOSIS
PLANTS ASSOCIATED WITH PHOTOSENSITIZATION

A
AVOCADO (Persea americana)
AZALEA (Rhododendron species)
back to top

B
BANEBERRY (Actaea rubra)
BARILLA (Halogeton glomeratus)
BEAVER POISON (Cicuta species)
BLACK LOCUST (Robinia species)
BLACK NIGHTSHADE(Solanum nigrum (americanum))
BLACK WALNUT (Juglans nigra)
BLEEDING HEART (Dicentra species)
BLUEBONNET (Lupinus species)
BLUE CARDINAL FLOWER (Lobelia syphilitica)
BLUE COHOSH (Caulophyllum thalictroides)
BLUE-GREEN ALGAE (Cyanophyta species)
BRACKEN FERN (Pteridium aquilinum)
BUCKEYES (Aesculus species)
BUCKWHEAT (Fagoypyrum esculentum)
BUTTERCUP (Ranunculus species)
back to top

C
CALADIUM (Caladium xaiitliosoma)
CALFKILL (Kalmia species)
CARDINAL FLOWER (Lobelia cardinalis)
CASTORBEAN (Ricinus communis)
CHINABERRY TREE (Melia azedarach)
CHOKECHERRY (Prunus species)
CLIMBING NIGHTSHADE (Solanum dulcamara)
CLOVER (Trifolium species)
COCKLEBUR (Xanthium species)
COMMON NIGHTSHADE (Solanum nigrum (americanum))
CORN-LILY (Veratrum species)
COTTONSEED (Gossypium species)
COWBANE (Cicuta species)
COWSLIP (Caltha palustris)
CREEPING CHARLIE (Glechoma hederacea)
CYCAD/SAGO PALM (Cycas revoluta)
CYPRESS SPURGE (Euphorbia species)
back to top

D
DEADLY HEMLOCK (Conium species)
DEADLY NIGHTSHADE(Atropa belladonna)
DOGBANE/INDIAN HEMP (Apocynum species)
DOLLS-EYES (Actaea rubra)
DUMBCANE (Dieffenbachia sequine or picta)
DUTCHMAN'S BREECHES (Dicentra species)
back to top

E
ERGOT (Claviceps species)
EUROPEAN BITTERSWEET(Solanum dulcamara)
back to top

F
FLY POISON (Amianthium muscaetoxicum)
FLAG (Iris species)
FLAT PEA (Lathyrus species)
FOXGLOVE (Digitalis purpurea)
back to top

G
GILL-OVER-THE-GROUND (Glechoma hederacea)
GROUND IVY (Glechoma hederacea)
GROUNDSEL(Senecio species)
back to top

H
HALOGETON (Halogeton glomeratus)
HOARY ALYSSUM (Berteroa incana)
HORSECHESNUT (Aesculus species)
HORSE NETTLE (Solanum carolinense)
HOUND'S TONGUE (Cynoglossum officinale)
back to top

I
INDIAN HEMP (Apocynum species)
INDIAN POKE (Veratrum species)
INDIAN TOBACCO (Lobelia species)
INDIAN TURNIP (Arisaema species)
INKBERRY (Phytolacca americana)
IRIS (Iris species)
back to top

J
JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT (Arisaema species)
JAMESTOWN WEED (Datura species)
JAPANESE PIERIS (Pieris japonica)
JIMSONWEED (Datura species)
JOHNSON GRASS (Sorghum species)
back to top

K
L
LAMBKILL (Kalmia species)
LAMB'S-QUARTERS (Chenopodium album)
LARKSPUR (Delphinium species)
LILY (Lilium species)
LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY(Convallaria majalis)
LOCOWEED (Astragalus & Oxytropis species)
LUPINE (Lupinus species)
back to top

M
MANDRAKE (Podophyllum peltatum)
MARSH MARIGOLD (Caltha palustris)
MARIJUANA (Cannabis sativa)
MAYAPPLE (Podophyllum peltatum)
MILKWEED(Asclepias species)
MILO (Sorghum species)
MONKSHOOD (Aconitum species)
MOON-LILY (Datura species)
MOUNTAIN LAUREL (Kalmia species)
back to top

N
O
OAKS (Quercus species)
OLEANDER (Nerium oleander)
ONION(Allium cepa)
back to top

P
PALE SPIKE LOBELIA (Lobelia spicata)
PALMA CHRISTI (Ricinus communis)
PERILLA MINT (Perilla frutescens)
PHILODENDRON (Philodendron species)
PIGWEED(Amaranthus species)
POINSETTIA (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
POISON HEMLOCK(Conium maculatum)
POISON IVY (Rhus radicans)
POISON PARSLEY (Conium maculatum)
POKEBERRY(Phytolaccca americana)
POKE WEED (Phytolaccca americana)
PONDEROSA PINE (Pinus ponderosa)
POTATO (Solanum tuberosum)
PRECATORY BEAN (Abrus precatorius)
back to top

R
RED MAPLE (Acer rubrum)
RED ROOT (Amaranthus species)
RHODODENDRON (Rhododendron maximum)
RHUBARB (Rheum rhaponticum)
ROSARY PEA (Abrus precatorius)
RUNAWAY-ROBIN (Glechoma hederacea)
back to top

S
SAGO PALM (Cycas revoluta)
ST. JOHN'S WORT (Hypericum perforatum)
SENSITIVE FERN (Onoclea sensibilis)
SKUNK CABBAGE (Symplocarpus foetidus)
SMALL-FLOWERED CROWFOOT (Ranunculus species)
SNEEZEWEED (Helenium hoopesii)
SNOW-ON-THE-MOUNTAIN (Euphorbia species)
SORGHUM (Sorghum species)
SPOTTED HEMLOCK (Conium maculatum)
SQUIRREL-CORN (Dicentra species)
STAR-OF-BETHLEHEM (Ornithogalum umbellatum)
SUDAN GRASS (Sorghum species)
SWEETCLOVER (Melilotus species)
SWEET PEA (Lathyrus species)
back to top

T
TANSEY RAGWORT(Senecio species)
THORN APPLE (Datura species)
TOBACCO (Nicotiana tabacum)
TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum)
back to top

U
V
VETCHLING (Lathyrus species)
back to top

W
WARTWEED (Euphorbia species)
WATERHEMLOCK (Cicuta species)

• Maculata (East)
• Douglasii (West)

WESTERN FALSE HELLEBORE (Veratrum californicum or viride)
WESTERN YELLOW PINE (Pinus ponderosa)
WHITE HELLEBORE (Veratrum species)
WHITE SNAKE ROOT (Eupatorium rugosum)
WILD PEA (Lathyrus species)
WISTERIA (Wisteria species)
back to top

X
Y
YELLOW STAR THISTLE (Centaurea solstitialis)
YEW(Taxus species)
back to top

Z
back to top

 

[danalister]

Thanks for your responses! I am wracking my brain as to what could have changed or anything new, I still have about 12 chickens plus about 16 chicks left, they all sleep in the same chicken house, which is a wooden shed, the door is left open at night and it is very well ventilated, there are no lamps or heating. (I live in zimbabwe, its summer now) What is strange is that tonight a few minutes ago I discovered one of my ladies roosting on the dining room table! Very out of character like she was scared to go into the chicken house and decided to come and sleep with me, I went to go and have a look inside and all the other chickens were roosting on the floor where most of them would usually roost on their roosting bars.
The dead chickens were taken to a state laboratory and all the lab tests were done, no disease, no sign of anything.
Definately cant be any pesticides because we dont use anything like that, neither do our neighbours.
Would eating avocado really kill a chicken because we have lots of avo trees in our garden and they are always dropping and it hasnt been a problem before, I did think of deadly nightshade as there is some of that around, but then read that other peoples chickens seem to love it and eat the berries with no effect!!
The rabbits and chickens do eat the same food from the veggie garden, all organic.
Mind is boggling I hope I get to the bottom of this!