bird death...can someone give some insite?....

[ksct]

Well I don't have much information on this one.... but -

DH gets home before me at night. He feeds and waters the girls and makes sure they're in for the night....
He never told me that the last few days one pretty lady was acting different.
well when he came home last night he called me and sadly we had a dead hen. He said she was acting fine in the morning so he didn't think anything of it.
He did however say she was stiff (sorry about that graphic description) so she must have been dead for awhile. (we're gone from 7am-5pm)
We have 2 heat lights and lots of water and food. Any idea what could have happened?

I was unable to check for an impacted egg as DH 'disposed' of her in the woods. Obviously this can happen in nature, I've just never had to deal with it so I suppose I was looking for someone else to say yes it does.

It makes me sad, as we've had them since 1 day old. I/we will be keeping an eye on the remaining. How terrible to lose them all. = (

Thanks for listening....

ps- no predator either. at this point I think the only thing that could get in the actual coop (where they were locked in due to the inclimate weather) would be a very hungry bear.....

 

[ksct]

update. all the other birds today still seem 100% fine....

 

[gritsar]

Sorry for your loss.

Can you ask DH what position she died in?

Only grown hen that I've lost died due to flip over aka a heart attack. When that happens they almost invariably end up on their backs.

 

[ksct]

well we just had another bird die...

after we got rid of our roo over the summer I think she was in charge of the flock.....
DH said he found them both on their side.

gritsar-
how do you know if its a heart attack? how do you prevent it?

this second one (yesterday) was perfectly fine (again) in the morning and i'd say about 3pm, we found her dead. i checked for an impacted egg but there was nothing. I didn't check her crop (a friend of ours mentioned it when she stopped over, she also has chickens) but i really really don't think that's it.

Nothing got in to get them. it's too cold for bugs. (they have a warm coop though) their food is fine and their water is fresh and clean.
I just don't want them to be suffering and I don't want them to die. (obviously)

DH said if one more dies then we're getting rid of them all...

but even then, I don't want to do that because if something is wrong... i wouldn't want someone else to have them and ruin their flock.....

they will be 2 years old in june, so they're young I think.... or is this as long as they live? I have no idea.

if anyone has any suggestions or any insight or help, i'd really appreciate it.
THANKS!

 

[gritsar]

I'm sorry you lost another one.

Heart attack victims usually (but not always) end up on their backs, thus it is sometimes called flipover. I don't know anyway of preventing it, sorry.

You say their coop is warm. Are you heating it by any chance?

Is there a university near you that might do a necropsy for you?

 

[Judy]

Quote:
X2; it's the only way to be sure. I'm going to link a common disease chart for you. You will see there are several possibilities, and these are just common diseases. If you don't have any luck with a nearby university, your vet may know how to get this done; I know mine does.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
How was she acting different and did the second one do that, too?
Probably has nothing to do with the deaths but that's a LOT of heat. Many in your climate use none at all.

If either had been egg bound you would have seen symptoms for many days before the deaths. Same with most illnesses, though once they get sick they go really fast. Unfortunately chickens hide symptoms as long as they can.

I agree, see if you can get a necropsy done asap. Don't freeze the body, refrigerate it.

Best of luck, sorry for your losses.

 

[gritsar]

I'm sorry I missed the part about heating the coop. I wonder if that could be contributing to your troubles? Just a thought.

It's stressful for birds to go from a heated coop to the cold outside.

 

[ksct]

ok... I don't think we will be getting them to any university.... Cornell is close but at this point it is not possible for us to do that.
No neither (i'm assuming on the first) were egg bound. I was home for the second death so I checked.
We have a heated coop because for example it was -4 yesterday morning and although it's insulated (minimally) it can get very very cold in there....
the thing about the heat and then cold - when they died, they hadn't been outside at all becuase the weather has been nasty so they've been in their coop only.
I suppose it could be a possability that the heat is doing it, only, last year... they had a heat lamp all winter too and they were fine.....

I really really appreciate everyones help! I just feel so bad for them. I just don't want to be the reason they died. I do everything I can for them so they don't....

but I wonder how the heat lamp can be the cause when i'm sure many others heat their coop ya know.....?

 

[wasatusay]

I am in SC and always use heat lamps, my coop is very big and have 8 lamps with 100 watt yellow bug light bulbs, in the temps (teens and 20's) we have been getting lately it keeps the coop 35-40 degrees at night and prevents any comb or waddle problems. I have never had any problems due to heat lamps, make sure you still have good ventilation to avoid respiratory problems.