Help... New hen dropped dead

[cmom]

She could have had a heart attack.

 

[Wi_Pida]

She could have had a heart attack.

That’s possible. But her heart didn’t show signs of one. I just lost a roo 2 weeks ago to a heart attack and he showed lack of oxygen to the heart where she didn’t. But anything is possible.

 

[Eggcessive]

@casportpony is very experienced with necropsies and might want offer her opinions.

 

[Allthefloofs]

I came here to comment on her fat levels too. That much yellow fat is a lot for a backyard chicken. If you are concerned about Marecks I believe you can look for major nerves and see if there are any lesions present along the nerve tracts. My dissection skills are more along the lines of humans, but nerves usually look very distinct, and the internet can provide pictures of Mareck's tumors, that might help. It is possible that her poor care previous to now and the stress of the changes set something in motion. I'm interested in your findings!

 

[Wi_Pida]

I came here to comment on her fat levels too. That much yellow fat is a lot for a backyard chicken. If you are concerned about Marecks I believe you can look for major nerves and see if there are any lesions present along the nerve tracts. My dissection skills are more along the lines of humans, but nerves usually look very distinct, and the internet can provide pictures of Mareck's tumors, that might help. It is possible that her poor care previous to now and the stress of the changes set something in motion. I'm interested in your findings!

Thank you for responding. I was able to locate the nerve and there are no signs of any lesions. According to a vet that responded on another forum I belong to, the brown patch between her skin and breast looks like it might have been a tumor (possible beginnings of cancer). He believes that since she hadn't been eating or drinking one of two things happened, 1 - she became weak and fell from her roost that was only 2-3 feet off the ground and broke her neck or 2 - she did have a heart attack even though her heart looked fine externally (I forgot to dissect it) fell from the roost and broke her neck. In both cases he believed it was due to a broken neck caused by depression, not eating or drinking and someone throwing in a stray rooster in with them (something I had forgotten about).

 

[Allthefloofs]

Thank you for responding. I was able to locate the nerve and there are no signs of any lesions. According to a vet that responded on another forum I belong to, the brown patch between her skin and breast looks like it might have been a tumor (possible beginnings of cancer). He believes that since she hadn't been eating or drinking one of two things happened, 1 - she became weak and fell from her roost that was only 2-3 feet off the ground and broke her neck or 2 - she did have a heart attack even though her heart looked fine externally (I forgot to dissect it) fell from the roost and broke her neck. In both cases he believed it was due to a broken neck caused by depression, not eating or drinking and someone throwing in a stray rooster in with them (something I had forgotten about).

Ah, I'm glad you had some success in identifying some of the abnormalities that could lead to a diagnosis. The lack of eating and drinking certainly pointed to something significant. I'm sorry you lost a new girl before you had time to enjoy her, that always makes a responsible owner feel pretty bad, and also kind of scared for the other birds. I'm super impressed that you necropsied her yourself! The information the vet gave makes a lot of sense.