well, one of the 4 (3 week old) buff orphingtons has passed. it was found by my 7 y/o son this morning. the 2 black australorp and the 2 barred rock seem fine no obvious signs or symptoms of illness noted, or so i could tell. there looked like an occasional loose poop, which i thought was ceacal poop, maybe not... there was a sour smell to the vomitus of the dead bird. bowel obstruction? now the question, is my whole flock suspect? should i separate any who have suspect poop? should i chalk it up to a mortality success rate? suggestions please Jeffrey ps: none of the poop looks like the pics in this reference http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0
I'm sorry for your loss. Sometimes chickens, especially younger ones, just die for an unknown cause. Some have internal deformities, some get injured by another bird, and others have a heart attack or other organ failure. I don't think the unexplained death of one bird is much to worry about, as long as your other chicks continue to be healthy. The soft droppings that you've been seeing occasionally are probably normal cecal droppings, and I don't think it would be worth it to stress out the chicks by isolating them. I'd just keep a close eye on the chicks for the next few days, and possibly put some poultry vitamins/electrolytes in their water to support their immune systems.