chicken mystery death. *graphic pics*

[mamaj323]

This morning Lumpy was acting normal. About1:30 pm she was laying on the coop floor. She got up when I came in, but I scooped her up anyways. I could tell something was off. She wasn't fluffed up but seemed tired. I checked her vent and it was normal. Felt her abdomen and it was normal. Checked for mites and there were none. Felt her crop... empty. I brought her in and crated her. Gave scrambled egg, cup of feed and water. We had to leave for my son's play. We got home at 11pm and she was dead. As I was taking her outside I noticed that her vent was now absolutely NOT normal.

What is this? How could it happen so quick?
I will add that Lumpy is 10 months old. She is named Lumpy because she had severe way tail. But has never had a problem laying. I'm not sure when she layed last as I am dealing with an annoying and unidentified egg Eater too.
Does anyone have any idea what went wrong? The rest of the flock is fine.

 

[Suzie]

Look like a prolapse...if you do not know when she last laid eggs...she may have had a problem internally which resulted in the prolapse.

Sorry...

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. In addition to being prolapsed, she may have been egg bound, which could have caused the prolapse. I would make sure everyone is getting plenty of calcium by putting a little pan of crushed oyster shell around their feed containers. All of my egg shells get crushed and fed back also, which are preferred to the oyster shell. Here is a link about prolapse: http://beautyofbirds.com/Prolapse.htm

 

[mamaj323]

Thanks for the replies. My girls have oyster shell free choice and get their shells back too. She didn't feel egg bound from the outside but I didn't do a cloacal exam since everything seemed in order back there.
Poor thing. So we're going with internal issue? Do you think her wry tail could have been a catalyst?

 

[mamaj323]

Can prolapse kill so quickly? Sorry for all the questions. I'm still relatively new to this.

 

[mamaj323]

That is an excellent link. Thanks again.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have never had a hen with prolapse or egg binding, but have read that egg binding can kill if it lasts for more than 2 days. Many people will discover prolapse after the hen has had it for a while, and the pink internal tissue can dry out and become dead. Other hens will peck it and cause vent damage, and some times hens are eviscerated by the other hens or by the insides coming out by themselves when a hen strains to poop or pass an egg.

 

[mamaj323]

Well after reading your link and looking at a few other resources, I double checked the coop. The oyster shell feeder was empty.
I filled it back up and will be keeping g a close eye on the other girls in case I need to do some liquid calcium. I must have just skipped over it in my chore routine while rushing the kids around.
Dang it. Now I feel horrible.
Thanks for helping me learn.

 

[Eggcessive]

Don't feel horrible--it can happen even though they are getting plenty of calcium. Some chickens have problems absorbing the minerals. I forget to put the calcium out too, even though I buy the 50 lb. bags. Mine spill the containers I place out, but at least they will peck it off the ground. I f I crack a shell that is too thin, it reminds me to add more, but there are a couple of hens whose shells are always thin or just thin in one spot.