Dead hen

[Josey Wales]

She was fine SUN afternoon and even laid. Yesterday afternoon yellow runny poop and lethargic. This morning dead. Other 5 hens showing no signs. Had always had issues with runny stool and dirty vent with the hen that died but she always laid good and seemed fine. I know some of you will probably throw out Blackhead but I don't know. I'm hoping it was just something internal with her. Besides I've read that blackhead is carried by chickens but chickens don't get it, turkeys do. Anyway, y'all think I should Medicate the others with something? If so, what? Only thing I have ever used is D-earth. All the the hens are roughly a year old.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. without a necropsy, you cannot know for sure what killed her. But since she had runny droppings for awhile, she could have had coccidiosis, enteritis, or other intestinal problems. I would not recommend medicating with antibiotics without knowing what was wrong. If you see any runny droppings or anyone else sick, you could take in a few fresh droppings to a vet for a fecal test to look for worms and coccidiosis. Corid (amprollium) is a good non-antibiotic for treating cocci. If I lost another, I would refrigerate the body, and contact your state vet or poultry lab for a necropsy. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Josey Wales]

Thanks for responding. So far so good on the others. The more I thought about it the more I really think she just had something going on from birth. I would give her electrolytes or yogurt and it would seem to get a little better but her vent was always a little dirty. She never acted like anything was wrong and was a consistent layer. I'll keep an eye on the others with my fingers crossed. Btw.....u did bleach the roosting area lightly and the droppings pan just for the heck of it.

 

[cpait]

Thanks for responding. So far so good on the others. The more I thought about it the more I really think she just had something going on from birth. I would give her electrolytes or yogurt and it would seem to get a little better but her vent was always a little dirty. She never acted like anything was wrong and was a consistent layer. I'll keep an eye on the others with my fingers crossed. Btw.....u did bleach the roosting area lightly and the droppings pan just for the heck of it.

Hi. I had a hen get lethargic on Sunday and found dead this morning (Tuesday) she would not eat. Drank very little and had yellow and green runny poop. Comb was bright, eyes were bright, she was not a good layer. At 1.5 years old she maybe laid 6 eggs her whole life. She was always the runt if the litter. Now I’m terrified for the others. I have a couple with dirty butts. I smeared some fresh poop as cannot see any worms but I do see shinny crystal like objects. Is that normal?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi. I had a hen get lethargic on Sunday and found dead this morning (Tuesday) she would not eat. Drank very little and had yellow and green runny poop. Comb was bright, eyes were bright, she was not a good layer. At 1.5 years old she maybe laid 6 eggs her whole life. She was always the runt if the litter. Now I’m terrified for the others. I have a couple with dirty butts. I smeared some fresh poop as cannot see any worms but I do see shinny crystal like objects. Is that normal?

Hi @cpait

I'm sorry to hear you lost your hen.
Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure what caused her death without a necropsy/testing. If you still have her body, you can refrigerate her and arrange for her to be sent to your state lab for testing. Some people do a home necrospy, examining the vital organs and looking at the abdominal cavity for any evidence of internal laying/reproductive problems - if you decide to investigate yourself, you can post photos, we will be happy to take a look. We're not vets, but sometimes something may be obvious.

Now, I can take a "best guess" from the symptoms you describe - with her being 1.5yrs old and only laying 6eggs in her lifetime, if she was a layer breed, then most likely she had reproductive problems. Internal laying and cancer in hens can be common.

Can you post some photos of the shiny crystal like objects you found in the poop and the dirty butts? A lot of times worms can't be seen by the naked eye - if you have a vet that can perform a fecal float to check for worms, that would be best.