4 month old barred rock found dead in coop today

[Lesler5]

I found my favorite chicken dead today and am wondering if anyone has an ideas on sudden death in chickens. I'm not 100% sure of sex but am thinking it was a rooster. This bird had appeared to me to be the healthiest of the flock. Was the quickest growing, feathered earliest and was definitely the dominant bird in the coop. Raised from a day old with 7 others. The coop is spacious and there is a securely fenced run attached for them to freely come and go. Run area is about 12 x 12 or so. The bird was eating commercial grower ration free choice, water always available and some leftovers from the kitchen. I found her/him on their back up against the coop in the run. No visible signs of fighting, no blood, no wounds. There was a small bald area on the neck which I assumed was moulting. One of my friends' daughters said the bird was acting strange for awhile Friday...it had dug a hole and was twisting itself right around, even its neck looked twisted she said. Anyone have any idea what might have happened and if I should do something different for remaining birds? Thanks.

 

[Judy]

We can make guesses but that's all they will be. You might want to consider checking out having a necropsy done by your state vet; that may or may not be possible at this stage.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=40141

 

[ChiknWyn]

Going out on a limb, but from what I have seen, nearly any type of death can be caused by parasites, what your bird was doing Friday may have been a dust bath, trying to get rid of parasites. Check for any signs, eggs around the base of feathers, and mites on the skin. Mites are very, very small and hard to spot, but if there are enough there to kill your birds it should look like little bits of dust scurrying all over their skin. Also check the coop at night, they will swarm all over the roosts and your chickens' feet. There are lots of good threads about taking care of pests. Good Luck!