Help! Need answers!

[backyardflock1]

Around 5 minutes ago I realized my hen (a barred Plymouth Rock) was breathing heavily and had its neck limp. I immediately took it out and it was still alive in my lap. As i was stroking it it started throwing up (possibly water) and was flipping around. What the hell happened!? Did water somehow get in it's lungs? Please answer ASAP, thanks ;(

 

[backyardflock1]

this is her

 

[The Farm]

Sorry I don't know but the same thing happened to me last week.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. My guess is that your chicken was in the throws of death as you found her, and water just came out of her crop. She may have had a seizure as she was dying. Can you contact your state vet to possibly do a necropsy on her refrigerated, but not frozen body?

 

[backyardflock1]

I have no idea what would cause the death though. I put her in the refrigerator

 

[Eggcessive]

Unfortunately, when there haven't been symptoms obviousto us such as diarrhea, not eating, huddling, an impacted crop, or lying around, it's hard to tell. I had one die in my hands just like yours once without knowing the cause. They can die of heart, liver, or kidney ailments suddenly. It makes you go around and look for signs of illness in the others.

 

[backyardflock1]

What if those symptoms occurred? What would that mean? If I saw would that mean I could've somehow prevented its death? It was one of my favorites- she fell asleep in my lap

 

[quinaldey]

do you have a vet or a lab reasonably close where you could take her for necropsy? If so, do not freeze her body just keep in fridge as you have said. sounds like seizure, could she have gotten into anything strange? Otherwise I would think it would be hard to tell without a necropsy

 

[Eggcessive]

Well, most chicken diseases especially if you look on the emergency forum, will come with symptoms. Coccidiosis, crop impaction, respiratory diseases, Mareks disease, and others have certain symptoms out of the ordinary. But sometimes they can just drop dead, and those are the internal problems such as heart attacts that you can't do much about. Just remember that we all will lose a chicken now and then, and it is never fun, but at least you gave that chicken a good life.

 

[backyardflock1]

This chicken was sneezing when we got her home but then it stopped, is this something?