Dead Bantam, don't know why, HELP!

[Chickenfur]

Popcorn, my mystery bantam, died this evening, and i don't know why. she was acting kinda funny, so i took her inside, her pupils were dilated, and she had a broken feather on her wing. any help would be great, thanks in advance!

 

[micaheart]

I am so sorry for your loss. It is so sad. How old was Popcorn? I had one of my bantams die when she was about 7 for no reason that I could identify. Sometimes it is hard to know. Especially, if no others are sick, or there are no obvious signs of injury. Was she still laying?

 

[auntieLisa]

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With a broken feather sounds like maybe she fell and hit her head. Maybe a dog got ahold of her or charged her into a hard surface. I have read that chicken can have heart attacks easy. Hmmmm. Sorry for your loss.

 

[nuts4chickens]

Dilated pupils lead me to believe it could have been neurological in nature. Stroke or brain injury? Or a disease that affects the neurologic system? Just a guess. Maybe someone else has experienced something similiar and can help.

 

[Chickenfur]

she had just turned 1 a couple days ago, we have some pretty big cats hanging around, could they have done something to her? she hadn't started laying that we know of, (our chickens free-range). she had been acting weird for the last couple weeks, but it didn't look like anything was physically wrong with her. the same day she died she was having these spasms, and when we found her there were wood chips on the carpet, like she had kicked it out.

 

[Chickenfur]

i don't think it was any kind of illness, because none of the other chickens are acting weird.