16 week hen passed away! Why?

[nuthatched]

What was her diet? Breed?

 

[SNK]

What was her diet? Breed?

They eat sprout medicated feed, corn and scratch and free range but don’t come out of the barn much.

 

[nuthatched]

They eat sprout medicated feed, corn and scratch and free range but don’t come out of the barn much.

How much corn and scratch? She's too old for medicated feed.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 16 week old hen not laying yet that just up and died. No injuries or mites but I did notice that her crop was empty. She was acting completely fine before she passed. Why did this happen?

I'm sorry for your loss.

There's really no way to know why she died unless a necropsy is performed. Everything is just speculation and guessing.
If you still have the body, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate, don't freeze it. Take or send the body to your State Lab for diagnostics.

Alternatively, you can perform your own informal necropsy to see if you find anything obvious such as something wrong with the liver, internals, etc. Sometimes you can figure out quite a bit, but sometimes you can't.
If you do your own, take photos and we'll try to help you with what you see.

 

[SNK]

I'm sorry for your loss.

There's really no way to know why she died unless a necropsy is performed. Everything is just speculation and guessing.
If you still have the body, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate, don't freeze it. Take or send the body to your State Lab for diagnostics.

Alternatively, you can perform your own informal necropsy to see if you find anything obvious such as something wrong with the liver, internals, etc. Sometimes you can figure out quite a bit, but sometimes you can't.
If you do your own, take photos and we'll try to help you with what you see.

Thank you for your response

I'm sorry for your loss.

There's really no way to know why she died unless a necropsy is performed. Everything is just speculation and guessing.
If you still have the body, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate, don't freeze it. Take or send the body to your State Lab for diagnostics.

Alternatively, you can perform your own informal necropsy to see if you find anything obvious such as something wrong with the liver, internals, etc. Sometimes you can figure out quite a bit, but sometimes you can't.
If you do your own, take photos and we'll try to help you with what you see.

thank you for all your kind words and helpful information.

 

[triciayoung]

Thank you @Wyorp Rock for the logical and accurate post. I had a 15-month old hen die suddenly. I sent her body to a State lab for a necropsy. She died of a liver hemorrhage, this past September. No symptoms prior to her passing. White egg layers, hens at their peak of laying, and higher temperatures are all risk factors. I was devastated as she was my favorite silkie. She would sit with me and talk with me.

Just a word of caution before sending your pullet to a lab. Once you send them, you cannot get them back...only a pet crematory can pick them up - you cannot. I wanted my Nugget's ashes with me returned home, so I paid for a crematory to get her, cremate, and return her to me.

 

[dekel18042]

I have a 16 week old hen not laying yet that just up and died. No injuries or mites but I did notice that her crop was empty. She was acting completely fine before she passed. Why did this happen?

Just a guess after reading the question and all the answers. You said she was on medicated food. I've read that one of the side effects of medicated feed is that it interferes somewhat with digestion (Why ducklings can't have it. It will kill them.). Perhaps being on it so long interfered with her digestion, especially if she was the smallest and needed more nutrition.

 

[Kiki]

Just a guess after reading the question and all the answers. You said she was on medicated food. I've read that one of the side effects of medicated feed is that it interferes somewhat with digestion (Why ducklings can't have it. It will kill them.). Perhaps being on it so long interfered with her digestion, especially if she was the smallest and needed more nutrition.

This artilce is worth reading:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...medicated-feed-the-myths-and-the-truth.74761/


@SNK If you were feeding scratch and corn daily is it highly likely your bird dropped dead from fatty liver disease.
I would stop feeding all treats daily and only offer a small amount once a week.

 

[SNK]

This artilce is worth reading:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...medicated-feed-the-myths-and-the-truth.74761/


@SNK If you were feeding scratch and corn daily is it highly likely your bird dropped dead from fatty liver disease.
I would stop feeding all treats daily and only offer a small amount once a week.

I just started giving them corn and scratch about a week ago.

 

[SNK]

Thank you @Wyorp Rock for the logical and accurate post. I had a 15-month old hen die suddenly. I sent her body to a State lab for a necropsy. She died of a liver hemorrhage, this past September. No symptoms prior to her passing. White egg layers, hens at their peak of laying, and higher temperatures are all risk factors. I was devastated as she was my favorite silkie. She would sit with me and talk with me.

Just a word of caution before sending your pullet to a lab. Once you send them, you cannot get them back...only a pet crematory can pick them up - you cannot. I wanted my Nugget's ashes with me returned home, so I paid for a crematory to get her, cremate, and return her to me.

Thank you so much. I’m sorry for your loss as well.