Help on why one of my chickens died.

[MaybeMay]

Hello everyone. Unfortunately this morning one of my Pullets left for chicken heaven. And I was wondering if I could get some help on guessing why she died to help me protect my other chickens.
yesterday morning when I went to let them out of the coop I noticed that my favourite Hen didn’t come out so I opened it up to find her just sitting inside the coop trying to sleep, it was a cold-ish day and the previous day had been horrible with wind and rain so I though maybe she’s caught a cold or something at first but checking her over her eyes and nose seemed fine breathing was a deeper but not to bad. I tried to put her near the food to see if she’d eat and her wings where basically dragging on the ground and she stumbled a little before just sitting down on the floor. So I took her inside to isolate and try keep her warm. All of yesterday I tried to check on her every hour and gave her electrolytes in her water. She would only eat and drink when I held it up to her and would only stand up to poop before stumbling slightly and sitting back down again. She seemed to be breathing normal except straight after she had water she would take a few deeper gasp like breaths. She eventually stopped getting up all together and didn’t even move when I picked her up to change her straw/bedding. I didn’t think she’d make it over night because she started not wanting to eat or drink at all and I was giving her water with a syringe. And this morning she refused to eat or drink and passed away.
she was a blue production cross at 14 weeks old. As I said the previous day had been horrible so didn’t see her too much but she seemed fine running around the backyard with the others. Any advice on what could have happened? I’ve been keeping a close eye on my other chickens and they seem fine so far but I’m worried something will happen to them too. I’m also due to pick up some day olds on the 18th so want to make sure I take care of them. I started with 5 chicks 3 ended up being rooster 2 of which I’ve re homed so now I have 1 rooster and 1 hen and I really wanna make sure they’re safe.
I try to raise them organically so have been giving them things like acv in water once a week and lots of fresh herbs from my overgrown garden. Any advice on what else I could have done or what happened would be appreciated as I’m a bit upset she died and I don’t know why.

 

[demonic]

The only experience I’ve had with stumbling chickens was when

1.) they had mites or lice
2. They had an egg broken inside them and couldn’t poop/ pass out anything or the yolk already went into their blood stream

If you have poultry mite spray on hand, it wouldn’t hurt to spray your chickens between their feathers and in their “armpits”. Has your flock been vaccinated against Mareks?

 

[MaybeMay]

The only experience I’ve had with stumbling chickens was when

1.) they had mites or lice
2. They had an egg broken inside them and couldn’t poop/ pass out anything or the yolk already went into their blood stream

If you have poultry mite spray on hand, it wouldn’t hurt to spray your chickens between their feathers and in their “armpits”. Has your flock been vaccinated against Mareks?

I do have a spray that I use on them now and then but it’s been a couple weeks so I will spray again just incase. There legs seem fine too though. Can they get lice/mites without the scaly leg?
I’m pretty sure she was to young for it to be an egg issue. Though I’m new to chickens so don’t know if there’s such a thing as early laying.
No they have not been vaccinated for anything. Is there a way to prevent it without the vaccine.? Husband doesn’t want to pay for them.

 

[demonic]

I do have a spray that I use on them now and then but it’s been a couple weeks so I will spray again just incase. There legs seem fine too though. Can they get lice/mites without the scaly leg?
I’m pretty sure she was to young for it to be an egg issue. Though I’m new to chickens so don’t know if there’s such a thing as early laying.
No they have not been vaccinated for anything. Is there a way to prevent it without the vaccine.? Husband doesn’t want to pay for them.

Good. Use the spray. So the chicken that died hasn’t started laying eggs yet? Or just recently started laying? Mareks is not treatable and the only way to prevent it is vaccination usually at day one chicks, but fortunately it is VERY rare and I doubt your flock has it

 

[Lizzy733]

How was her comb color? White as a sheet, pinkish, typical pullet blush, blue tinged?

How were her poos? Bloody, watery, green, yellow, normal?

Chickens can decline fast, but usually not overnight fast. Did she feel lighter than usual when you picked her up?

Was she laying, or nearing point of lay?

Lots of possibilities at the moment, the above can help narrow things down a bit and help us piece together what happened.

You could always look into a necropsy and know for sure.

 

[MaybeMay]

Good. Use the spray. So the chicken that died hasn’t started laying eggs yet? Or just recently started laying? Mareks is not treatable and the only way to prevent it is vaccination usually at day one chicks, but fortunately it is VERY rare and I doubt your flock has it

She had not started laying yet.
my other 2 are still happily running around haven’t noticed anything odd so hoping they’ll be fine.

 

[demonic]

She had not started laying yet.
my other 2 are still happily running around haven’t noticed anything odd so hoping they’ll be fine.

Very strange. There could be so many realistic possibilities. It could be ventilation in your coop and her oxygen levels, or digestion issues.

 

[Eggcessive]

At 14 weeks old, she would not have been laying. Do not spray chickens for lice or mites unless you see them or the eggs. Look under the vents, lower bellies, and under wings. Here is how to examine and what to look for:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Could your chicken have been kept from food or water byt the other chicken? Losing one this early could have been an organ problem, heart failure, or something like Mareks. Very hard ro know without sending her body in to the state vet for a necropsy and testing. What state are you in? Do you still have the body, and could you wrap it in 2 garbage bags and refrigerate it or put it in a cooler? Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[Lizzy733]

Was she due to start laying soon? Had she started squatting or the comb started reddening up recently?

Egg laying problems are something that can kill a bird quickly. Egg binding, egg yolk peridontitis, salpingitis, internal laying... All pretty serious stuff and pullets coming into lay for the first time can run into issues.

There could have been a fault with her internal anatomy - did you have a feel of her abdomen for any out if place lumps, local fever, or swelling?

Have you started offering them grit or layer feed? The extra calcium isn't just for bones and shell, it also aids in muscle contractions like the kind used to push out an egg, which is why the best first treatment for suspected eggbinding is a direct dose of liquid calcium with vitamin d to speed up absorption.

 

[MaybeMay]

How was her comb color? White as a sheet, pinkish, typical pullet blush, blue tinged?

How were her poos? Bloody, watery, green, yellow, normal?

Chickens can decline fast, but usually not overnight fast. Did she feel lighter than usual when you picked her up?

Was she laying, or nearing point of lay?

Lots of possibilities at the moment, the above can help narrow things down a bit and help us piece together what happened.

You could always look into a necropsy and know for sure.

This was her the morning I found her in the coop before I took her inside. Her poop the previous day was normal but once I brought her inside it was white and watery I assumed from her not wanting to eat the whole day. She was about 4-5 weeks away from laying.
husband does not want to pay for anything he’s not an animal person and I was lucky to get chickens at all. She felt slightly lighter then my other hen but not a big difference. My husband has been working in the backyard with screws, nuts and bolts ect. Could her having eaten one do something like this?