Chicken Dead in Coop

[NewMomma2017]

Hello friends,
So I came home today to find one of my ladies had suddenly died. No sign of predator or flock abuse. She was my strongest and dominant lady.
Anyone have this happen before?


Side note.... I have bobwhite quail as well. They are 4 acres a part so no chance of them being at all close to each other. I also had one dead quail in their coop today as well. Is there a silent killer I am unaware of floating around?
I live in Texas. The weather is always bi-polar but it was 70 today... don’t think it’s weather related.

Any thoughts!?!?!

 

[Wezdin]

Mareks is always a possibility ...
The best way to know would be to send It in for a neceopsy though.

 

[rebrascora]

So sorry for your losses
How old was the hen, what breed and what do you feed your chickens?
(I know nothing about quail so will leave someone else to respond regarding that)

Do you feel able to open her up and take a look at her organs and if so photograph them so that we can help you figure it out.
There are a few ailments which can cause sudden death, Marek's being one of them and Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome being another. If it was Fatty Liver it should be pretty easy to tell by looking in her abdominal cavity as she will most likely be full of fluid or blood and have a thick layer of yellow fat on her belly and often surrounding her organs and her liver will be pale and break apart when you handle it. Marek's would involve looking for visceral tumours.

 

[50-45-1]

Or, your hen may have had a heart attack. Sudden death does happen.
Also she may have been egg bound.
Just a couple other options to look into.
sorry for your loss.