Found Chicken Dead Today?!

[MisterZack]

So i check on my chickens and rooster everyday once a day. I fed and watered them yesterday they all stay in the same coop that i bought from tractor supply. They were all fine and all when i checked them yesterday and more importantly they were all alive. I went out today to check on them and right at the entrance to the coop i found one of my chickens dead. I saw no blood so i am thinking it might have somehow broken its neck. Is it possible that a chicken jumped off a roosting bar and landed on her or something? I also saw no missing feathers or anything to suggest an attack. The laying box was unlatched with the pin still going through but not locking it so i'm sure nothing got in because the other 14 chickens and the rooster are all fine. My chickens are mostly Rhode Island Red with some being Golden something i forget what i was told. They haven't started laying yet i was told they will be old enough to lay eggs in august so i'm not sure how old they are just kinda trusting the guy at what he said. Also the rooster doesn't seem violent sure he pecks at the scooper when i go to pour their food into the feeding thing but while he is eating i can pet him and he just don't care there are a few that like to peck me but it don't hurt. But anyways i'm trying to figure out what killed my chicken?

 

[JaeG]

Did she feel skinny at all? If you only have one feeding station, sometimes lower ranking birds aren't allowed to eat as the bossier birds will guard the food. If that's not it I don't have anymore wisdom to share. Hopefully someone else can shed some light on possible causes.

 

[MisterZack]

She did seem a bit skinner than the others i just figured maybe she was a runt but surely she would have been able to eat as i tend to pull up some grass and throw it into their cage so they can eat some grass because they seem to love it also recently i bought some oregano oil because i had read that it is good for them and is a natural antibiotic so i thought give it to them to prevent them from getting sick.

 

[FFAkids]

I know my last rooster ended up dying because he choked on a rock, his neck and face had turned purple/blue. If you were willing you could always do an autopsy on the digestive system if you felt it was necessary for the flock. Did u notice discoloration?

 

[MisterZack]

no there didnt seem to be no discoloration except her eyes which looked whiteish blue

 

[rebrascora]

The discolouration of her eyes might indicate Marek's disease. She is the right age to get it ie juvenile/adolescent. Have you noticed any birds looking lame? Lameness is one of the more common symptoms of Marek's, but it doesn't always show like that and can cause quite sudden death from tumours on the internal organs, as well as sometimes discoloured eyes or misshapen pupils. Marek's also causes muscle wastage and typically birds with it fail to thrive and appear runty, so that is another indication your bird may have had it.

The only way to find out is to have a necropsy done, or perhaps do one yourself if you feel able. Taking photos of all the organs and posting them here would enable those of us who are familiar with the insides of chickens to pin point what may or may not be abnormal. A "Warning of Graphic pictures" needs to be posted in the title of the thread if you decide to go that route. It can be really interesting once you get over the emotional aspect of cutting open a pet....if indeed she is a pet.

 

[MisterZack]

i wouldn't know if they looked lame or not but i know she did look runty smaller than the others all of them have kind of a thin build but she was by far the smallest of them when i first saw her dead and her location i thought maybe one of the other chickens jumped down off the perch and maybe landed on her and she wasn't really a pet she was more of another food source (eggs) even though she hadn't started laying yet but i also cannot handle the sight of a lot of blood and guts cant even do horror movies because I'm so squeamish also she has been cremated so doing an necropsy is kind of impossible.

 

[MisterZack]

The discolouration of her eyes might indicate Marek's disease. She is the right age to get it ie juvenile/adolescent. Have you noticed any birds looking lame? Lameness is one of the more common symptoms of Marek's, but it doesn't always show like that and can cause quite sudden death from tumours on the internal organs, as well as sometimes discoloured eyes or misshapen pupils. Marek's also causes muscle wastage and typically birds with it fail to thrive and appear runty, so that is another indication your bird may have had it.

Also it begs the question is this Marek's contagious to the other chickens also seeing that they all came from the same place could the others have it as well i think they were all related they are all the same age.

 

[rebrascora]

Chickens are remarkably tough so a broken neck would be extremely unlikely. I understand dissection is not something everyone can cope with. Let's hope her death is a one off, but keep an eye on the others for any sign of lameness or trailing a wing or neck problems and of course that eye discolouration, that might indicate another sick bird.

 

[rebrascora]

Yes Marek's is contagious, which is why I suggest you keep a close eye on the others for signs of it.