3 chickens died in quick succession - why?

[Harpischord]

Just as the title said.
But why? They were all about 3 1/2 years old

One looked a bit poorly and had a messy bum. I felt her crop and she vomited. She then bounced back. But a few days later she was dead.
The the last 2 chickens died with no obvious symptoms within a few days of each other.

There are no other chickens. So I will have a very thorough clean and may have a few months off chicken keeping until the world normalises a bit more.

Any thoughts on what could have happened?

I’d call up a local breeder and have a talk with them to pinpoint cause. The RSPB might be able to help you.
They’ll ask questions and so on. For example it could be as simple as the chicken coming in contact with wild bird feces salmonella in them. Or they could have become egg bound.

It might have been an infection if you lost all three at once. I would make sure to disinfect the coop really well before you get more. Do you have a local vet who will see hens? I take mine to an exotic pet specialist who are really good. They are really good with birds and have prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatories when needed.

They are also a really good resource for new hen keepers.

I also did a course at the farm I got mine from which went through common ailments etc.

Sorry, just to add. If they are hybrids they may have been near to the end of their natural life span. They have a much shorter life anyway.

Mine are all 7&8 this year, I've a horrible feeling I will lose them all in quickly succession.

I just came on to ask the same question. 3 in 2 weeks. The first was egg bound but the last 2 have seemed perfectly normal and then died suddenly. WFH my desk overlooks the run so I tend to sit and watch them through the day. Second was moving and eating normally when I finished work at 5 and then I found her dead a couple of hours later. The last seemed normal yesterday evening and was dead this morning, she was quite old though.

Were they hybrids? Bred to lay lots of eggs and die young with tumours etc. Sad but true.

Coccidia infection?

I know this is an old thread but we have just had similar happen, 3 chickens in 3 weeks. They're all ex-bat rescue's so I know they don't always live for a long time but so many in such a short space of time 😢

All three have gone quickly, two almost instantly and whilst we were in the garden to see what I can only assume was a stroke or heart attack. The other was lethargic in the morning and we got her a vet appt that afternoon but she had deteriorated and was pts.

We're down to one now. I'm loathe to get her a buddy incase there is something contagious in the flock but hope she won't be too lonely :(

So sorry to hear that Alti I looked it up and it looks like ex-batts sometimes only live a few months so it could just be that but all 3 so close and I'm no expert but I would wonder about an infection that is catching.

thegoodlifeainteasy.com/2017/11/14/rescuing-chickens-what-i-wish-id-known/

Would ask a chicken vets advice if you have a good one but would be tempted to put the remaining chicken away from everything, maybe inside a garage or somewhere like that and change all the bedding and throughly clean everything and then put them back. We had one die and we did this and the other two were fine - we also had to cover coop and make sure ground didn't get wet. I think if you do that or have already done that and she makes it through another month or so you could get some more. We now add sanitising powder each time change bedding and floor and also got a vitamin drink.

At least you gave the others a much better life for a while.

Ours are silkies so very sensitive to wet, less of an issue this time of year but think when they can get muddy there's more chance of an infection. You wouldn't need to cover a co-op this time of year.