Do you think this would be coccidiosis??

[CrabbeCottage]

It’s a very sad day, my beloved Betty, the friendliest and most character full little black and white spotted Pekin bantam has just died. About 10 days ago I noticed she looked a bit pale but she had just gone into moult so I wasn’t overly concerned, after a few days she really did look quite lethargic too so I brought her in doors to keep an eye on her. Rather than picking up as I hoped she would, she continued to decline. There was diarreah but apart from that the only other symptoms were that she was pale and sleepy with not much interest in food or drink. Last night though I noticed a little streak of blood in her poo, and then today when I came home from work there was quite a large blob of blood and quite a foul odour from her rear end, shortly afterwards she died.
At times I find it so frustrating and upsetting being a chicken owner, I mainly have them as pets with eggs being a bonus but when something goes wrong like today I genuinely don’t know if I’m just to soft hearted for it! Being in the UK you can’t get your hands on any medication like you can in other countries, and my vet doesn’t deal with chickens... it just makes you feel rather helpless.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what they suspect Betty died of? I’m thinking perhaps coccidiosis but had thought blood in the poop was an early sign, but as I mentioned Betty only presented blood last night and today which would have been one week - ten days into illness.

Thanks in advance for any responses given.

Julie

 

[ackie]

I dont know if you have access to something like this, but there is a poultry lab where I live that I mail my dead birds to for a free necropsy to find out what killed them so I can treat the rest of the flock.

 

[DaisyG2317]

Hi, @CrabbeCottage. I see you are across the pond in UK. This is a list of poultry labs that are approved to treat salmonella in UK. I know that has nothing to do with your situation, but perhaps contacting some of then could help you locate a place that could perform a necropsy on your precious Betty to find out what happened?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...of-salmonella-in-poultrybroilersturkeys-order

 

[swampfox440]

@Isaac 0 Maybe this member can help !

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry for your loss.

How old was she again?

Bloody droppings can be a sign of Coccidiosis although that is mainly a problem with younger birds, if she was older, it could have still been Coccidiosis, but other problems like heavy metal poisoning, tumors/cancers, bacterial infections, among others can cause blood in the stool (melena), and may have been the culprit.

Ultimately, it's hard to know just basing off her symptoms. Ideally, a necropsy would be done on the bird. You can refer to the links above where to send her body. Or, if you're up to it, you could try to perform one at home.

I am more familiar with Waterfowl, so will tag @Eggcessive , and @Wyorp Rock , for their opinion.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry about your hen.
As mentioned, it would be very hard to know why she died unless you investigate further.
Looks like @Isaac 0 has made a good suggestion of some possibilities of why you saw blood in the poop.

 

[LaFleche]

I am sorry for your loss.

Could there be the possibility that she ingested some rat poison?

 

[CrabbeCottage]

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions it's much appreciated, I’ve contacted The British Veterinary Poultry Association to ask advice on chicken necropsy, I’ve already buried dear Betty under the tree in garden beside the family dogs ... an honour that hasn’t been bestowed to any other chook! But if the BVPA get back in touch with an answer then it’ll be good to know for future reference.

Isaac 0, Betty was 2 1/2 years old, I wish I had a stronger stomach to investigate and do a necropsy myself but I’m just too much of a wuss!!

LaFleche, although there is rat poison in the sheds I’m pretty sure it hasn’t made it’s way out into the garden, thankfully the dishes haven’t been disturbed in quite some time

As with any other chicken that has gone before Betty I don’t think I’ll ever find the answer. Despite frantic googling, flicking through books like the chicken health handbook and dipping into forums I always come up a blank. Most which have died prematurely over the years have unremarkable symptoms, Betty was slightly different as she had the blood in her poop towards the end but there’s never been a death which I’ve been able to say I’m 100% sure of the cause.

Thank you all once again for taking the time to get in touch x

 

[ackie]

I wish I had a stronger stomach to investigate and do a necropsy myself but I’m just too much of a wuss!!

I dont actually think doing one yourself would be very useful. I suspect the labs ability to run tests on samples is way more useful than just eyeballing the contents.

 

[DaisyG2317]

She was a beautiful girl, I'm sorry for your loss