hen did a backflip & died...

[shirauo]

I'm more vexed than anything. Our 2-y-o Buff Orpington chicken was sitting happily- had been acting normally all day-- then suddenly craned it's neck & gagged like it was choking. It tried to feel it's crop or neck to see if there was anything lodged--- I didn't feel anything out of the norm. It kept heaving & jerking it's neck to the side & down to the floor. Then it did a backflip (I kid you not), jerked for a few seconds and then died on its back. It was quick-- less than a minute. Her comb & waddle were very purple today.

I'm wondering if it could have been poisoning? If it was choking, I would think that with all of her jerking & flipping it would have dislodged. Like I said, an hour earlier she was happily scratching & pecking. This was so sudden... The other 5 hens in the flock seem to be happily pecking around in their run (they were free-ranging earlier- I put them away when this one died) with bright eyes & red combs.

Any ideas?

-Lenore in California

 

[Ms.FuzzyButts]

OMG!! I have no clue what it could be but..

 

[Sillystunt]

maybe a heart attack???

 

[Soccer Mom]

Quote:
This is what I was thinking. It could also have been fluid in the body cavity. Was this particular girl very fat?

 

[paulf]

Sounds very Heart attack to me,
Orps can get fat n lazy..

An autopsy will find your answer..

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
Was this color new today? I have read that purple comb/wattles indicates heart and circulatory problems.

I have a young Rosecomb cockerel who has gradually gone purple. I am not sure what to do with him, he is a doll.

 

[shirauo]

Quote:
This is what I was thinking. It could also have been fluid in the body cavity. Was this particular girl very fat?

Not really- as a Buff Orpington, she's a bigger bird, but she wasn't really fat. In fact, I was noticing as she was all splayed-out that she's actually not as "big" as I usually think of her (lotsa fluffy feathers)

The heart-attack angle is interesting... there was activity around her with the kids in the yard, but certainly not as much as there HAS been, and she was being calmly held when she started wigging out. A good lesson for the kids either way, I s'pose...

 

[usschicago1]

Sorry Hun....That Stinks...I would cut way down on the corn intake for a while

 

[shirauo]

Quote:
Was this color new today? I have read that purple comb/wattles indicates heart and circulatory problems.

I have a young Rosecomb cockerel who has gradually gone purple. I am not sure what to do with him, he is a doll.

This was a new color for her. She was a broody hen that had raised some chicks. Once she un-broodied, her comb & waddle became larger and deeper red. I had never seen it as purple as it was today, tho.

 

[TriciaHowe]

Wow, I am really sorry that happened

I am with the majority here that it sounds like a heart attack. When broiler chicks get "flip" from heart failure they end up on their backs.