Barred Rock Suddenly Died Today

[mekwall]

This morning my chickens seemed to be fine. The Barred Rock in particular was friendly and has not shown signs of illness though she was finishing what appeared to be a molt (i.e. losing some feathers and not laying for the last couple of months). This afternoon, I found her dead, lying on her side on top of 3 eggs in a nesting box. (None of the eggs were hers and she has not been broody in the past.) Her neck was bent at a funny angle into the corner, her legs were extended up into the air with curled toes, and her wings were both extended toward her abdomen as opposed to carried against her sides. There is no sign of injury, her nostrils are clear, her eyes are closed. I did palpate her abdomen to see if she was egg bound and felt around for other strange bumps or evidence of injury.

Could this be "sudden death syndrome"? Or disease? Or a hen fight? There has been some squabbling this week over the favorite next box. Could death result from a squabble? I am worried this could be disease that will infect my other girls. Any ideas or suggestions would be welcomed!

Thank you.
Merideth

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi Marideth - I'm sorry to hear about your hen.

Unfortunately , there is no way to know the cause of death without testing/necropsy. If you still have her body, you can refrigerate it and send to your state lab for testing.

Here is a thread - the OP posted a video - it is a bit hard to watch - but we "suspected" sudden death - maybe a heart attack/stroke - who knows(?) If you do watch it, note that upon death, the muscles/nerves spasm and eventually leave the body in an "odd" position. So this could have happened to your girl - which may explain the position that you found her.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1121854/chicken-sudden-death-syndrome

Necropsy and State labs
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
Independent lab testing:
http://www.zoologix.com/

 

[Gerireski1]

My bard rock hen died suddenly today…no clue why. Am watching the other one..hoping all ok then have to figure out what to do. I only had 2 chickens… I don’t believe having only 1 will be good for my remaining girl.

 

[Eggcessive]

My bard rock hen died suddenly today…no clue why. Am watching the other one..hoping all ok then have to figure out what to do. I only had 2 chickens… I don’t believe having only 1 will be good for my remaining girl.

Sorry for your loss. Chickens can become lonely by themselves. I had one remaining hen from my original flock for about 6 months, and she was fine because she was always a loner. Most, though are used to being with others. Perhaps you could locate another grown hen in your area to keep with her.

Could your try and do a home necropsy? If you open the abdomen, and examine the organs, it can help to see something that may explain what was wrong. Take pictures to post here if you do that. We like to see the liver in its place, and look at intestines, gizzard, and presence of fat, lash egg material, any yellow fluid inside the belly, or unknown lumps. Here is a good video of a necropsy, and organs are labeled if you scroll through the video to 33 minutes: