My heaviest and prettiest Ameraucana hen died a little while ago and I have no idea what was wrong with her. Yesterday she was fine, running across the yard with the girls and acting normal. Now this morning I went to let them out of their coop and she stayed in, not wanting to walk. Her feathers were puffed up but otherwise she looked fine. No wheezing or runny nose, eyes were clear, she just acted like she was going to lay and egg so I put her in the nest. I went back out 1/2 hr later to find her still acting funny and breathing hard, and since during that 1/2 hr I was on this site researching what could be wrong, I thought maybe she was egg bound. So I brought her inside and set her in a bathroom sink full of warm water and rubbed her abdomen towards her vent as instructed. Nothing. So I did the olive oil vent check and there was no egg inside her that I could feel within about 2 inches from the vent, I checked both internally and externally and I saw no signs of an egg or shell.
So I wrapped her in a towel and sat with her on the sofa for about an hour and occassionally she would jump up and look around, otherwise she was lethargic and just wanted to put her head down. She began to sort of stumble when she tried to walk. Eventually I went to take her back into the bathroom to put her in a box and as I was carrying her she started becoming very limp, then her body went into spasms and she died in my arms. I have absolutely no idea what was wrong, does anyone have any ideas? She was 1 1/2 yrs old and as mentioned was the biggest hen I have with nice color, always good appetite. No respiratory issues, and there was only one medium sized spot of what looked like loose stool in the coop, it was dark brown. And just before she died she expelled what looked like urine a few times, not egg material, it was light yellow water. Would greatly appreciate any assistance in learning what may have killed my "Precious". My only thoughts at this point might be calcium deficiency, haven't learned the signs of that yet, or some sort of internal infection but you would think she would have shown signs of trouble. Our weather has been cold and rainy, 40-50 degrees and I have the coops 90% sealed with plastic with one area open for ventilation. I know chickens sometimes go without warning, leaving us heartbroken and wondering what happened but if I missed something I need to know. My rooster bud who used to ride around in my car with me died last year without warning. Found him upside down in the coop 15 minutes after he was fine. Frustrating.
So I wrapped her in a towel and sat with her on the sofa for about an hour and occassionally she would jump up and look around, otherwise she was lethargic and just wanted to put her head down. She began to sort of stumble when she tried to walk. Eventually I went to take her back into the bathroom to put her in a box and as I was carrying her she started becoming very limp, then her body went into spasms and she died in my arms. I have absolutely no idea what was wrong, does anyone have any ideas? She was 1 1/2 yrs old and as mentioned was the biggest hen I have with nice color, always good appetite. No respiratory issues, and there was only one medium sized spot of what looked like loose stool in the coop, it was dark brown. And just before she died she expelled what looked like urine a few times, not egg material, it was light yellow water. Would greatly appreciate any assistance in learning what may have killed my "Precious". My only thoughts at this point might be calcium deficiency, haven't learned the signs of that yet, or some sort of internal infection but you would think she would have shown signs of trouble. Our weather has been cold and rainy, 40-50 degrees and I have the coops 90% sealed with plastic with one area open for ventilation. I know chickens sometimes go without warning, leaving us heartbroken and wondering what happened but if I missed something I need to know. My rooster bud who used to ride around in my car with me died last year without warning. Found him upside down in the coop 15 minutes after he was fine. Frustrating.
