Chicken died

[TawnyaD]

One of my chickens was not very active the last couple of days. Then this morning I found her dead in the coup. She does not seem to have any wounds and seems to be fine. Any ideas why she died. She wasn't even a year old yet.

 

[GAchickennewbie]

I'm so sorry for your loss

Was she vaccinated for Marek's? I don't have a lot of experience with sick birds, but occasionally, chickens will die of Marek's with no obvious symptoms.

I'm sure some of our more experienced members will be along shortly that can help further.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Chickens can die of many different illnesses. They may have symptoms that we don't notice right away, such as diarrhea, an impacted crop, egg binding, a blocked gizzard, and many others. If you lose another, send the refrigerated body into the state vet for a necropsy to find a cause of death. Also become familiar with common chicken diseases such as coccidiosis, and worm your chickens regularly. Here is a link for state vets: http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Most likely, your chicken had Marek's Disease or some kind of internal parasite (probably Coccidiosis), since those are the most common illnesses in chickens. If you want to know what disease your bird had, you could due a postmortem examination, however those are tricky with little experience.

 

[TawnyaD]

Thanks for all of the replies. I have been raising chickens for about three years and this is the first one I lost that had no signs of why.
I did feel her body to make sure nothing felt out of ordinary. I will look up the disease that others have suggested and go from there.
Thanks again