Heat exhaustion death?

[doreensav]

I have a coop cam and last night found my silver laced wyandotte named Karen laying on the floor. We ran out to rescue her but it was too late and she literally died right before we got to her; (yes, my crazy ass tried cpr). It was around 90 degrees here in PA. For reference it has been this hot many nights. She was one year old, a good layer and a healthy weight. She is the head of the flock and kept all the ladies in line. Needless to say we are very sad. Our chickens are our pets. There were absolutely no signs of illness. I thought if the heat would take any of my chickens it would have been one of my giants. I have an expensive coop with adequate ventilation. We put frozen jugs of water in the coop at night. After finding her, we added a fan in one of the windows. I can't get a necropsy done where I am, but if it was the heat, I would like to know how to avoid it happening again and any suggestions or opinions are welcome.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Heat is unlikely. You say those temps have been the norm recently, so she's likely acclimated. You have larger birds (who tend to be more heat sensitive), and while SLW don't huge big prominent single combs (helps with heat), they do have clean shanks, which help with heat.

Necropsy should be available state wide, thru the State lab, but if that's not an option, are you allowed to butcher on your property? If so, decapitate, disrobe, open the organ cavity and carefully remove the insides. Get pictures. There are a few things that might show visually internally which may not be obvious externally.

This is my "this is a healthy bird" inside pictures for comparison. I don't normally offer them to identify signs of disease, but rather signs of reasonable fat levels. You want to be alert for signs of grey white powdery residue around the organs, particularly the kidneys (up against the backbone on either side, likely won't come out when you scoop the rest). Also looking for levels of fat in the cavity, and color, as well as the band of fat around the heart and gizzard. How's the liver? Glossy, dark, firm, and uniform? or friable (crumbly), mottled, enlarged, buttery spots/yellowed? Are there signs of congealed blood? How do the entrails look - smooth and uniform, or swollen and irregularly colored?

Those signs can help a bit, though there are conditions with very similar symptoms, it at least offers a start.

Then sanitize/decontaminate real well. Bleach is your friend. You, your table, cutting implements, etc. Dispose of the bird appropriately.

 

[doreensav]

Heat is unlikely. You say those temps have been the norm recently, so she's likely acclimated. You have larger birds (who tend to be more heat sensitive), and while SLW don't huge big prominent single combs (helps with heat), they do have clean shanks, which help with heat.

Necropsy should be available state wide, thru the State lab, but if that's not an option, are you allowed to butcher on your property? If so, decapitate, disrobe, open the organ cavity and carefully remove the insides. Get pictures. There are a few things that might show visually internally which may not be obvious externally.

This is my "this is a healthy bird" inside pictures for comparison. I don't normally offer them to identify signs of disease, but rather signs of reasonable fat levels. You want to be alert for signs of grey white powdery residue around the organs, particularly the kidneys (up against the backbone on either side, likely won't come out when you scoop the rest). Also looking for levels of fat in the cavity, and color, as well as the band of fat around the heart and gizzard. How's the liver? Glossy, dark, firm, and uniform? or friable (crumbly), mottled, enlarged, buttery spots/yellowed? Are there signs of congealed blood? How do the entrails look - smooth and uniform, or swollen and irregularly colored?

Those signs can help a bit, though there are conditions with very similar symptoms, it at least offers a start.

Then sanitize/decontaminate real well. Bleach is your friend. You, your table, cutting implements, etc. Dispose of the bird appropriately.

I can't thank you enough for your reply. I did think of butchering, but my grief got in the way and I assumed it was the heat. Unfortunately I did not refrigerate her. Thank you for informing me it was probably not due to the heat. At least that relieves the guilt of an easily avoidable death.

 

[townchicks]

Egg laying issue can take a seemingly healthy bird down pretty fast. I have lost a couple to suspected egg issue overnight. One hen that I have gets egg bound frequently. I check her several times a day because of this, and she can seem fine, then a couple of hours later, is completely down, unable to move. Another sudden death I heard about lately was due to the hen eating a poisoned mouse. Without a necropsy, it is all just speculation. Sorry for your loss, my hens are also pets and it is hard.

 

[doreensav]

Egg laying issue can take a seemingly healthy bird down pretty fast. I have lost a couple to suspected egg issue overnight. One hen that I have gets egg bound frequently. I check her several times a day because of this, and she can seem fine, then a couple of hours later, is completely down, unable to move. Another sudden death I heard about lately was due to the hen eating a poisoned mouse. Without a necropsy, it is all just speculation. Sorry for your loss, my hens are also pets and it is hard.

Thank you so much for your reply. I did have an egg bound hen once and recognized it right away and was able to save her. I did know it was deadly but didn't realize it could happen that quickly! I feel like I never stop learning with my chickens, they always seem to come up with something new LOL. Thanks for your kind words.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

All of us are always learning. The chicken keeping journey keeps offering more forks in the road.

 

[The WinterWolf]

Heat is unlikely. You say those temps have been the norm recently, so she's likely acclimated. You have larger birds (who tend to be more heat sensitive), and while SLW don't huge big prominent single combs (helps with heat), they do have clean shanks, which help with heat.

Necropsy should be available state wide, thru the State lab, but if that's not an option, are you allowed to butcher on your property? If so, decapitate, disrobe, open the organ cavity and carefully remove the insides. Get pictures. There are a few things that might show visually internally which may not be obvious externally.

This is my "this is a healthy bird" inside pictures for comparison. I don't normally offer them to identify signs of disease, but rather signs of reasonable fat levels. You want to be alert for signs of grey white powdery residue around the organs, particularly the kidneys (up against the backbone on either side, likely won't come out when you scoop the rest). Also looking for levels of fat in the cavity, and color, as well as the band of fat around the heart and gizzard. How's the liver? Glossy, dark, firm, and uniform? or friable (crumbly), mottled, enlarged, buttery spots/yellowed? Are there signs of congealed blood? How do the entrails look - smooth and uniform, or swollen and irregularly colored?

Those signs can help a bit, though there are conditions with very similar symptoms, it at least offers a start.

Then sanitize/decontaminate real well. Bleach is your friend. You, your table, cutting implements, etc. Dispose of the bird appropriately.

Something like this happened to me a while ago. She was perfectly healthy, one year old hen not in the least bit over or underweight, I walked out to feed them and she just died. We had a possum problem and her feathers were everywhere, but she was fine, no injuries. I just assumed heat. Temperature was normal.