HELP! I had a sick hen I had to put down, please read!

[SantiagoTafoya1]

Moderation is key and if you're feeding anything more than a tablespoon worth to your bird per day it's too much.
Bread has zero nutritional value for them and everything that you feed besides the layer feed is taking away from a balanced complete diet.

Not getting a balanced complete diet can be deadly.

I try my best for moderation, I give the bread because I hate to throw it away and they really enjoy it, if they get bread one week, they wont get scratch until the following week

 

[coach723]

Scratch, bread, many other things they LOVE are very high in carbs and cause fat birds. Fatty liver disease is more common than people realize. Anything other than regular feed has to be considered a treat and only given in moderation. No more than 10% of the diet. No one can say if that is what happened here without a necropsy, but diet is one of the biggest factors in a healthy flock. There are loads of things that can make birds sick or kill them and symptoms can be similar for many of them. The absolute only way to know for sure is through necropsy, either a professional one, or an informal home one that can find obvious things. When viral or bacterial is suspected then a professional necropsy with lab work is the way to know for sure.

 

[SantiagoTafoya1]

Scratch, bread, many other things they LOVE are very high in carbs and cause fat birds. Fatty liver disease is more common than people realize. Anything other than regular feed has to be considered a treat and only given in moderation. No more than 10% of the diet. No one can say if that is what happened here without a necropsy, but diet is one of the biggest factors in a healthy flock. There are loads of things that can make birds sick or kill them and symptoms can be similar for many of them. The absolute only way to know for sure is through necropsy, either a professional one, or an informal home one that can find obvious things. When viral or bacterial is suspected then a professional necropsy with lab work is the way to know for sure.

Awesome, the doubt I have is that she was losing weight rather than gain any/ being bloated (I forgot to mention that, sorry!) If I end up losing another bird, or I get any symptoms in the next week or so, I will definitely try to get the necropsy, and Ill be more careful with diet. Thanks to everyone that helped!

 

[Sally PB]

@SantiagoTafoya1, if you have questions about sick birds, it helps if you can give as much information as possible. Here are some things to note:

Feed, including all treats.
How many birds do you have, how old are they?
Has the bird in question laid recently?
Have any new birds been added?
Pictures of the sick bird's poop, if you can get them. (No, we don't think that's gross.)
Anything else you think might be relevant, and pictures always help.

You can add your location to your profile, and then it's always there. Advice would be different if you lived in Florida, versus Michigan, for instance.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[aart]

being bloated (I forgot to mention that, sorry!

bloated, like water balloon belly, from just under vent to down between legs??

Best not to jump to conclusions about diseases without necropsy and labs.

 

[theoldchick]

I'd send the bird off to the state lab for necropsy. Being overheated can cause white feces in chickens.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Awesome, the doubt I have is that she was losing weight rather than gain any/ being bloated (I forgot to mention that, sorry!) If I end up losing another bird, or I get any symptoms in the next week or so, I will definitely try to get the necropsy, and Ill be more careful with diet. Thanks to everyone that helped!

Welcome to BYC Im sorry for your loss .