Cochin died of unknown causes...

[chiclet]

this isn't an emergency.
My 1 yr old cochin was fine when i let her out at 6 this morning. At 7, she was in the laying box. At 9, she was dead on the coop floor?!!! I had been worried about how she was going to deal with the extreme heat this summer (Virginia). It's been in the high 90's. She been breathing with her mouth open all the time.
How do i know if she died of natural causes, or a bad heart? i wont take her to a vet to find out. We're not allowed chickens in town, anyways....
ideas?

 

[Leslieb118]

You can send her in to your State vet or diagnostic lab for a necropsy. Most do them for free or a very low cost. I sent my Frizzle Roo to the state lab here. They charged me $20 and UPS charged me $12. Mine was sick though for about a week and I tried everything to save him. $32 is well worth it in my opinion to try to get an answer. I'm still awaiting the results. In order to do that though, you'd need to put her on ice in a cooler or in a refrigerator, double bagged. Do not freeze her.
Unless you do that, you might not ever know the cause of her death. Some things just happen that we can't foresee or control. In my case, I need answers, if I can get them, because I have 17 other chickens that might have been exposed to something..or not.
So sorry for your loss.