I’ve never lost a bird prematurely in 7 years of raising them. But today I finally had my turn and lost that streak of luck. Based on the fact that this chick (5 days old) was perfectly happy this afternoon, climbing on things, running around, etc, I have to assume it was something sudden. I examined her body for any injuries or reason for concern after finding her dead, but found nothing wrong. The only thing I noticed was a very small amount of a clear liquid running out of one nostril as I examined her head. This might just be a post mortem effect but I thought it would be worth mentioning because I also just saw one of my other chicks sneeze… not a big deal usually but anything could be worth mentioning in this case. I understand that some genetic defects can cause sudden death to occur pretty early on which is why I’m not too concerned for my other birds right now. However I would still like to get a second opinion on that assumption. She died sometime between 2:00 and 4:00 and entered rigor mortis by the time I found her but was still warm. She was dead next to but not directly under my radiant heater so most likely it was just the warmth from that.
In short; I had a seemingly healthy 5 day old chick drop dead today. Visibly she is fine with no injuries or reason for concern on the outside of her body. A very small amount of a clear liquid excreting from her nostril was the only odd sign I could find. One other chick has sneezed since then. I use dust free bedding (shredded paper) and all items in the brooder, both new and used, were thoroughly washed before the birds arrived. They’re eating Non-medicated Purina crumbles. If it could possibly be relevant, she was a BCM from Meyer hatchery.
In short; I had a seemingly healthy 5 day old chick drop dead today. Visibly she is fine with no injuries or reason for concern on the outside of her body. A very small amount of a clear liquid excreting from her nostril was the only odd sign I could find. One other chick has sneezed since then. I use dust free bedding (shredded paper) and all items in the brooder, both new and used, were thoroughly washed before the birds arrived. They’re eating Non-medicated Purina crumbles. If it could possibly be relevant, she was a BCM from Meyer hatchery.
