Black Australorp died unexpectedly please help me understand why

[Bawkbok]

This is no longer an emergency but placing here for others who may experience the same issue.

Our 10 month old Australorp, Luna, started laying January 14. Her cadence was as follows:
Jan 16 first egg
Jan 17 no egg
Jan 18 Egg
Jan 19 no egg
Jan 20 Egg
Jan 21 Egg
Jan 22 no egg
Jan 23 Egg
Jan 24 Egg
Jan 25 no egg
Jan 26 Egg
Jan 27 no egg
Jan 28 Egg
Jan 29 no egg
Jan 30 no egg
Jan 31 DIED rapidly within 2 hours of trying to lay an egg.

All of her eggs were perfect in size, texture, color, taste. The yolks were large and orange.

Jan 31, She was free ranging the morning of her death, acting normal, being her chirpy self. The only thing different was that I noticed she didn't poop while out enjoying free time. Then again I could have missed it as I was keeping an eye on the busy sky for vultures and hawks. All poops in the coop and run looked completely normal. She gave me no indication at all something was wrong. We had just performed a health check 5 days prior and all was perfect.
After putting them back in the run, a couple hours later I heard the Buff Orpington screaming up a storm. I run outside to find Luna laying on her side in the run, legs splayed out straight, mouth agape, difficulty breathing, she had a prolapse. I scoop her up and her body was listless. She offered no resistance, this is a bird that never let me get near her. I run her in the house, thinking she was suddenly egg bound which is what caused the prolapse. I'm holding her with one arm filling the sink for an epsom salt bath, she is now trying to fight back, wings flailing. I place her in the soak holding her up with one arm and supporting her very weak, limp neck with my other hand. She cannot hold her head up on her own. She was still alive at this point, barely.
I remove her from the soak and wrap her in several towels and work on her prolapse. I place her on her side on the floor, she resisted slightly. I support her body with one hand holding her still and used Petroleum jelly to gently re-insert the prolapse, it wouldn't stay in. I sprayed vetrycin spray on her and tried giving sugar water slowly and gently in her beak. She was still alive - I think. I tried inserting herself back in, holding her bottom with my hand to help her tissue stay in. It wouldn't. By this time her eyes are partially closed and I think she perished during this process.

Please help me understand what went wrong, what I could have done differently to save her or prevent this in the first place. This happened four days ago but I am just now able to write about it. This loss is so devastating and sudden.

Now for my stupid questions:
1) Should I not have tried to soak her, is this what sent her into the heavens?
2) I never observed her eating any OS on the side, always available to them however. Should I have given her Calcium when she started laying despite the fact she was laying perfect eggs without issue?
3) Should I have given her calcium and a soak on the 30th which was her second consecutive day without an egg and unusual at that point, albeit early in her laying career?
4) Why couldn't I get the prolapse to stay in? What did I do wrong? What should I have done differently?
5) Could the extreme sudden heat have caused this issue? It was 80 and sunny and hot in the run even though it's surround by trees and had an opaque tarp on top. The temperature extreme happened overnight
6) How does one listen for a chicken heart beat to verify life? Where does one place a stethoscope?
7) Until rigor mortis sets in, how do you verify if a chicken is dead? Do they always close their eyes or can they remain open?

As long as her eyes were open, I assumed life. I think I was probably holding a dead chicken in my arms for at least a half hour, supporting her head and neck, supporting her bottom, talking to her.

This is my first experience with a prolapse and I feel total remorse in not recognizing some sign, any sign to take proactive action to avoid it or save her. I've read articles here on how to treat and referenced those - I just didn't have enough time or didn't catch it sooner. They were only in the run for 2-3 hours maximum before I heard the commotion.

Now I'm dealing with complete grief with the remaining two chickens. They have not bonded together as it was Luna who was the glue. Goldie, our sickly non producing comet is in zombie land, just standing around, crying. Her and Luna were best buds, always together. The orpington is the outlier always doing her own thing. I swear these birds are crying now as I've not heard these kind of vocals before, especially at roost time as Luna was always first to go in. They stand in the doorway with these pitiful mournful sounds and are reluctant to go in.

Appreciate insight and feedback so I can learn from my mistakes.


RIP sweet Luna.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

I'?m so sorry for your loss, she was such a pretty girl
Hopefully you find out what happened, @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock may be able to help

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Can you contact your state vet lab for a necropsy if you lose another chicken? She may have been egg bound with more than one egg when she had the prolapse. Sometimes a home necropsy by opening the abdomen to take pictures of the major organs can get us a clue as to what went wrong. Here is a list of state vets to contact, and all bodies should be kept cold in a cooler on ice, wrapped in 2 clean garbage bags, but not frozen.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...7IOlHOhP-eD8qMtZ70RNq6BMO9kVUn3x6so7q0Z_JgEr8
It may take the hens some time to rest abolish their pecking order. Do you plan on getting another hen or two?

 

[Bawkbok]

Sorry for your loss. Can you contact your state vet lab for a necropsy if you lose another chicken? She may have been egg bound with more than one egg when she had the prolapse. Sometimes a home necropsy by opening the abdomen to take pictures of the major organs can get us a clue as to what went wrong. Here is a list of state vets to contact, and all bodies should be kept cold in a cooler on ice, wrapped in 2 clean garbage bags, but not frozen.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...7IOlHOhP-eD8qMtZ70RNq6BMO9kVUn3x6so7q0Z_JgEr8
It may take the hens some time to rest abolish their pecking order. Do you plan on getting another hen or two?

I wanted to do a necropsy but I don't have the proper tools. I guess I'll have to make acquiring processing tools a priority. I don't even have a pair of scissors that I think would be sharp enough. I've been distraught over this. If we lose another, I will have it necropsied.

We will be adding two more pullets when they are available for shipping to bring us to the (pathetically low) legal limit of four.

No insight as to how I could have handled things differently? Thank you for the reply.

 

[WingItRanch]

Oh man. I'm so sorry! I know this must have been devastating for you. Thank you for sharing. The educators will have good advice, I'm sure, but I just wanted to say it sounds like you acted as fast as possible and were more prepared than most in recognizing what she needed in her distress. What a stressful year for you!

 

[AinaWGSD]

I'm sorry for your loss. You handled the situation the best you could, please don't beat yourself up over the what-ifs.

Soaking is stressful for hens and isn't something that is recommended when they are already in distress. I would not have tried to soak her as she was in crisis already when you found her, but I do not think in this case the outcome would have been different if you're hadn't soaked.

Prolapse is frustrating because it is often difficult to get them to stay in. It's usually something that takes time (sometimes days) to correct. It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong with that, it's not your fault that you couldn't get it to stay in.

I wouldn't have thought about giving calcium when she started laying. Two days between eggs is a normal amount of time and not something that would have alarmed me. Especially with a pullet just coming into lay. Nothing you've described would have made me suspicious of her being eggbound or of any impending problems.

As for the oyster shell, it's always possible she had been eating some when you weren't looking. I never really see my girls eating it, but I do see the level in the feeder go down. Also, I didn't see if you mentioned what kind of feed you're feeding, but if you use a layer feed she may not have felt the need for additional calcium.

 

[townchicks]

I'm so sorry this happened. From the timeline you've told us, it seems to me that it was very unlikely that you could have saved her, so don't beat yourself up, you acted quickly and did your best.I don't think you did anything wrong. At this point, you will never know exactly what happened, and while scary and frustrating, that is often the case with chickens. Meanwhile, spend as much time as possible with your remaining girls as they are mourning too. Read up on the look but don't touch method of introduction so when you get the new girls you will be ready.

 

[ManueB]

First, I'm very sorry for your loss of Luna, especially in those circumstances. It's always sad loosing a beloved hen but a young pullet just starting to lay, like this, is especially hard. I've experienced like many chicken keepers the feeling of helplessness and guilt that you may be going through. It's important to be responsible, and to try doing better, but we also to have to acknowledge that sometimes there is nothing we could have done even knowing more.

I'm by no means an expert on prolapses but I kept ex-batt's for four years and a half so I've had some experience with reproductive issues. Here is my answers to your questions. And no questions are stupid, by the way. You'll see that we won't all answer exactly in the same way. It's always necessary to question things you read on the web about chickens, unless they actually come from a veterinary website (and even then).

Now for my stupid questions:
1) Should I not have tried to soak her, is this what sent her into the heavens?

The most likely explanation is that the prolapse killed her.m, not the bath. But I would also refrain from soaking or bathing a hen in great distress unless she was used to it and you know she enjoys baths. I know that is an advice often given for egg bound chickens because the heat is supposed to make their muscles relax and push out the egg. But many chickens hate baths and will actually stress from them. If it's really cold outside, I would eventually put a warm bag near them, but even that can be a stress.

2) I never observed her eating any OS on the side, always available to them however. Should I have given her Calcium when she started laying despite the fact she was laying perfect eggs without issue?

I personally don't think calcium would make a difference. I know the usual advice is to give human calcium citrate pills in case of trouble laying or actual egg binding. I've done that religiously for years since my first ex-batt was egg bound. I still do it now for one of my hen. It has never, ever, made a difference or actually helped a hen pass an egg, even when I gave huge amounts. I don't believe calcium deficiency would have caused such a sudden issue. Hens are able to take calcium from their bodies to make eggs especially when they are young ; the deficiency will show itself gradually through weaker shells.

That said, my ex-batt's never took to eating crushed egg shell or crushed oyster shell. All my other hens do. As long as I had my ex-batt's for this reason I made sure layer feed was always available in one of the feeders on top of the fermented grains and chick crumble mash I feed my chickens.

3) Should I have given her calcium and a soak on the 30th which was her second consecutive day without an egg and unusual at that point, albeit early in her laying career?

I would answer no for the reason I explained above.

4) Why couldn't I get the prolapse to stay in? What did I do wrong? What should I have done differently?

I have only seen two prolapse and got them back in because they were just beginning. From what I have read, but have not experienced myself, here is my thought. An advanced prolapse is a veterinary emergency. It doesn't hurt to try to get it back in because otherwise the chicken will die anyway ; but the chances of success are slim.

5) Could the extreme sudden heat have caused this issue? It was 80 and sunny and hot in the run even though it's surround by trees and had an opaque tarp on top. The temperature extreme happened overnight

Temperature extreme could be lethal ; I'm not sure it could happen in the way of a prolapse. Extreme heat does impact laying, that I know. I would get a thermometer and check the temperature in the run compared Tou outside. You possibly may need to prepare more cooling measure if you get another heat wave !

6) How does one listen for a chicken heart beat to verify life? Where does one place a stethoscope?
7) Until rigor mortis sets in, how do you verify if a chicken is dead? Do they always close their eyes or can they remain open?

The eyes can remain open in death. Often while the chicken dies it will thrash around like it has a seizure - I believe this is due to the nerves. There can still be movement after the chicken has actually died, and I've read it can last for a few minutes, although the chickens I've seen dying stopped seizing after 30 seconds to a minute. Liquid may come out of it's mouth and vent, and sometimes feathers may fall. I check for breathing ; I am not sure about using a stethoscope, as I've never done it.

One last thing I want to say. One of the possible cause of prolapse is an egg too big, and that is an issue one reads about with Australorps. Again, this is something I read but can not vouch for ; but I think it's a possibility, as hens that are just beginning to lay can lay eggs that are very small, which is the most common, but also huge. It was the case with my hen Vanille who laid huge eggs her first month, had reproductive issues all her life, and died from being eggbound before turning three.

I hope you will get more helpful answers, and gradually cope with the loss of your Luna.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

I will add:

6) How does one listen for a chicken heart beat to verify life? Where does one place a stethoscope?

I don’t use a stethoscope, and i've only ever done this on a alive chicken, but you can probably hear their heartbeat quite clearly if you put your stethoscope on their back. Just my experience, others may have different ideas.

7) Until rigor mortis sets in, how do you verify if a chicken is dead? Do they always close their eyes or can they remain open

When my Aspen died, her eyes remained mostly open, though her eyelids did droop down a little. I picked her up and held her after she died, but i noticed her vent area was very wet, and she was so cold, especially her comb and face and feet. Her face also went a very dark purple (though she did suffocate due to canker, so that could be why) and her beak was a little open too. Its mostly just that she was stone cold really

Again, i'm so sorry for your loss

 

[BigBlueHen53]