Six chickens found dead in five days outside Hialeah medical office

Dr. Benedicto Fernandez, a rheumatologist whose practice is at 2140 W. 68th St., across from Palmetto General Hospital, wants the birds examined. In CBS Miami’s October 28, 2026, report, he said he planned to file a complaint with Hialeah police. There is no confirmation that a complaint was filed, an investigation opened or any bird collected for testing.⁠1

That distinction matters. This is an account of repeated animal deaths and a request for answers—not an established poisoning case, and not a confirmed infectious outbreak.

Fernandez described finding dead birds behind the building and along its side, with discoveries spanning Friday, October 23, through Tuesday afternoon, October 27. He said he encountered two dead birds at the back when he came to feed them on Saturday. By Tuesday afternoon, he said, one bird had been thrown away and another lay dead beside the building.⁠1

His account describes repeated encounters, not a complete mortality record. The reported total is six over five days; it does not establish exactly when each bird died or provide a separate, verified count for every day. CBS Miami identified Fernandez as the father of its reporter Lauren Pastrana and said he had tipped the station after repeatedly seeing the dead animals.⁠1

More than a half-dozen roosters outside the building appeared unaffected, CBS Miami reported. That offers a picture of the scene, not a veterinary assessment. It does not establish that those birds were healthy, that they shared the same exposure as the dead chickens or that any particular cause can be ruled out.⁠1

Fernandez called the situation a mystery. He raised infection and poisoning as possible explanations and said he leaned toward poisoning. But no identified poison, toxicology result, necropsy finding or witnessed act of poisoning has been established in the available reporting. His suspicion is a reason he wants an examination, not the result of one.⁠1

Both parts of that statement are conditional. Fernandez’s medical specialty is rheumatology; his comments do not amount to a veterinary diagnosis, nor do his two suggested explanations establish that every other possibility has been excluded. There is also no established finding of danger to patients, staff or other people visiting the building.⁠1

Fernandez called for necropsies—examinations of the animals’ bodies after death—to determine what happened. Whether those examinations will occur is still unknown. The available reporting confirms the request, but no completed examination or laboratory finding.⁠1

Miami-Dade Animal Services said it had received no reports about the dead chickens at the time of the October 28 account. Property management had not immediately responded to requests for comment. Those are snapshots of what was known then, not proof that no one subsequently filed a report or took action.⁠1

Visitors shared the demand for an explanation without supplying evidence of a cause. “It could be an illness as well. It should be investigated to clarify,” Alvaro Lombana told CBS Miami. Noelia Lorio also urged authorities to investigate and release information, expressing alarm at the possibility that someone could be poisoning the chickens.⁠1

The immediate test is whether the request produces a documented response. Six deaths justify seeking an explanation. They do not, on their own, identify disease, establish deliberate cruelty or tell visitors what happened outside the building.