I went in the coop today and two of my black sexlinks were dead!! Laying on the floor. They looked healthy and were active the day before. What could it be??
I'm so sorry. I have 3 sex links left, myself. One died, and I don't know why, either. You need to give more information. Had she been sick? Laying normally? So many things can go wrong with chickens...
It seemed healthy so do all of the other birds in the coop. We have been getting our average winter egg amount, so i suppose that everyone is laying normally. I just wonder if it will effect the rest of my coop...?
One dead chicken is weird enough, but two... You should get a necropsy done. You've probably disposed of the bodies already, so if it happens again (I really hope it doesn't) you need to take the body to the state lab to be tested. My state does it for free if you're a backyard flock owner. Look on your state's website and see if there is a lab around you. If not, you could probably contact a vet and have them send the body to a lab for you.
Get all your homework done now in case this happens again. They usually don't put that information out where it's easy to find. Also, contact the lab to find out how they want you to preserve the body. I'm sorry about the loss of your other two.
The Department of Agriculture in Reynoldsburg Ohio will do a necropsy on them for you. Ohio State doesn't do them anymore, although they're affiliated with the guys in Reynoldsburg. They charge for a necropsy; around $40.00 -$60.00, but it's worth it
Also, they want the dead bird fresh; not more than 24 hours. But call them anyway, if you haven't already. If you need help finding out how to contact them, feel free to email me...we had our share of dealing with them last year year.