Dead chicken on coop floor.

[hrayb]

I have 13, 8 month old chickens and when I went to lock them up, I found one laying on the coop floor in the corner with her head down, and she was dead. Seemed fine yesterday when we put them up and now one else seems sick. She doesn’t have any obvious marks or signs of struggle. Just wondering what a possible cause could be?

 

[azygous]

Need more clues than what you've given us. But here's one that is common at the change of seasons. If you have had a sudden change from being cold one day, and hot the next day, it can cause a sudden electrolyte deficiency and death can be very sudden.

 

[Jenbirdee]

oh no - Im so sorry
I dont know that much about chickens but I know someone who does will come by soon. One thing I heard of it is possible for them to just have a heart attack and die .

 

[hrayb]

Need more clues than what you've given us. But here's one that is common at the change of seasons. If you have had a sudden change from being cold one day, and hot the next day, it can cause a sudden electrolyte deficiency and death can be very sudden

Need more clues than what you've given us. But here's one that is common at the change of seasons. If you have had a sudden change from being cold one day, and hot the next day, it can cause a sudden electrolyte deficiency and death can be very sudden.

What more clues? I would be happy to give. It has been around 60-70 during the day and 40-50 over nights. Last night it got down to 29 and a high of 40 today. Could that be a problem?

They do not free range but have a very large run area, no body has mites or anything like that. We did run out of grit and oyster shell for about a week and got it back out last night. Could that have something to do it it?

 

[hrayb]

oh no - Im so sorry
I dont know that much about chickens but I know someone who does will come by soon. One thing I heard of it is possible for them to just have a heart attack and die .

Thank you
She was one of our favorites, so friendly and cuddly

 

[azygous]

None of those things would cause sudden death. Things that cause sudden death are exposure to a poison. Exposure to mold. Eating a poisonous plant. Laying an egg with low blood calcium levels. A genetic flaw where a chicken can have a heart attack.

 

[Kiki]

Fatty liver disease kills with no signs.
What were you feeding on a daily basis?


Do you have it in you to open the bird up and look at it's insides?

 

[hrayb]

None of those things would cause sudden death. Things that cause sudden death are exposure to a poison. Exposure to mold. Eating a poisonous plant. Laying an egg with low blood calcium levels. A genetic flaw where a chicken can have a heart attack.

Hmm there’s no way she would have gotten into poison. And there’s no new plants in the run. We gave them a bale of hay to scratch around in and jump on. It did get rained on. I guess it could have molded

 

[azygous]

Even the slightest exposure to mold can paralyze a chicken at the very least, and it's lethal in many cases when ingested, depending on type of mold. Hay is notorious for mold. Smell it. Mold has a very noxious odor. It's more often possible to detect mold by smell than by sight.

 

[hrayb]

Fatty liver disease kills with no signs.
What were you feeding on a daily basis?


Do you have it in you to open the bird up and look at it's insides?

Whew. I think I can, if it can help me know what happened. And possibly save my others

Even the slightest exposure to mold can paralyze a chicken at the very least, and it's lethal in many cases when ingested, depending on type of mold. Hay is notorious for mold. Smell it. Mold has a very noxious odor. It's more often possible to detect mold by smell than by sight.

oh man, okay. I’ll get it all taken care of tomorrow. Anything I need to be on the look out for with my other girls?