Chicken panting can’t stand comb purpling

[Dynamissa]

She was fine this morning and I came out this afternoon and found her panting and weaning the dust bath and can’t stand, her comb is pale and purpling a bit and no doctors on call because of Labor Day… advice welcome. I have her in a small crate away from the others. I’m pretty sure she laid an egg this morning maybe minutes before this too.

She’s maybe 20 some odd weeks today. No discharge I can see or strange noises..


She started laying very early (14.5 weeks) and when the flock gets worked up her comb tended to purple a bit in the back.

EDIT:

Never mind, she just passed as I pet her.. what do I do with the corpse for autopsy? Mind you she went from normal to dead in approximately 2 hours.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She was fine this morning and I came out this afternoon and found her panting and weaning the dust bath and can’t stand, her comb is pale and purpling a bit and no doctors on call because of Labor Day… advice welcome. I have her in a small crate away from the others. I’m pretty sure she laid an egg this morning maybe minutes before this too.

She’s maybe 20 some odd weeks today. No discharge I can see or strange noises..


She started laying very early (14.5 weeks) and when the flock gets worked up her comb tended to purple a bit in the back.

EDIT:

Never mind, she just passed as I pet her.. what do I do with the corpse for autopsy? Mind you she went from normal to dead in approximately 2 hours.

I'm sorry about your pullet.

To send for necropsy, wrap the body in plastic and refrigerate it. Call your state lab in the morning and find out how to get the body to them. You can find your lab in the link below.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[Dynamissa]

Thank you…

Any ideas what this could have been? I’m thinking heart failure because it was so sudden .. I know I won’t know until testing but… not knowing and waiting before figuring out how to potentially protect my other birds is killing me.

But I heard alarm calls this morning. The first time my flock alarm called I noticed she got lethargic and her comb was faintly purple. I read sometimes purpling was normal particularly on the back of a large comb so I was okay, but any stressful event seemed to make it happen.

She had also laid a big egg this morning, within two hours of death I’d say…

Included is a picture of her just a few days before this with her face in the cam. She was social and talkative and so incredibly sweet, all snuggled and running around when I left for morning coffee.. now gone.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. Dehydration can cause similar symptoms, but it may have been heart failure. A necropsy by your state vet lab could be helpful in getting a diagnosis. Wyorp Rock already posted the list of state vet labs for you in post 2.

 

[Dynamissa]

So sorry for your loss. Dehydration can cause similar symptoms, but it may have been heart failure. A necropsy by your state vet lab could be helpful in getting a diagnosis. Wyorp Rock already posted the list of state vet labs for you in post 2.

So sorry for your loss. Dehydration can cause similar symptoms, but it may have been heart failure. A necropsy by your state vet lab could be helpful in getting a diagnosis. Wyorp Rock already posted the list of state vet labs for you in post 2.

Yes got it!

I don’t think she was dehydrated, she ate and drank like a beast all the time and definitely did it when she came out of the coop. We’re looking into sending her in.. the wait is going to drive me nuts though!