Hen died suddenly

[ash42287]

One of my girls passed away suddenly over night. My husband said she was running around and acting normal yesterday. In the evening, my daughter was in the back with them and we heard a high pitched chirp that we’ve never heard before. We’re not sure who made the sound, but we heard it twice. My daughter checked on them, and everyone seemed to be moving around fine. (My daughter thought maybe it was a sneeze, but it didn’t sound like a sneeze to me.)
They all went to bed just fine, but when I went to clean the coop this morning, I found her lying on the coop floor in the back corner (where they normally don’t go). She looked fine physically, so I have no idea what happened or if I should worry about my others. The others seem ok…stools normal, eating and running around fine.

I put out some probiotic/electrolyte water just in case and will keep an eye on them. Is there anything else I should do? Does anyone have any idea what could have happened?

She was such a sweet/pretty girl…I hate that we lost her. She was a Rhode Island Red, and would have been a year old next month.

I have a picture of her the way I found her this morning, but not sure if that would help or not. I won’t attach unless someone is interested in seeing.

Thank you for any help/advice that can be given.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Pictures are always welcome here. How old was she? Did she lay eggs regularly? Was she low in pecking order, or could she be kept away from food and water? If she were mine, I would consider doing a home necropsy to look at her abdominal organs and take pictures to post here. Or contact your state vet lab to ask for a professional vet necropsy. What state are you in?

 

[Eggcessive]

For a necropsy, the body should be placed in 2 clean plastic bags, and refrigerated, but not freeze it. Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...MerWYc8RFlHm3GUg6o5FBy264b9G4-pUBc2ciqwpLrVbk

Here is a good video of a vet necropsy where the organs are identified, and you can do a very brief one:

 

[ash42287]

Sorry for your loss. Pictures are always welcome here. How old was she? Did she lay eggs regularly? Was she low in pecking order, or could she be kept away from food and water? If she were mine, I would consider doing a home necropsy to look at her abdominal organs and take pictures to post here. Or contact your state vet lab to ask for a professional vet necropsy. What state are you in?

She would have been a year old next month. She did lay eggs consistently (every day), and I don’t believe she was low on the pecking order. I only had 6 girls (including her), so they were pretty good at sharing food/water. She seemed happy and healthy. She may have been our Rhode Island that had a prolapse when she was a chick, but if it is her, she hadn’t seemed to have any issues since laying eggs.

I’ve attached the picture of the way I found her this morning.

I live in Texas. We’ll look more into the necropsy. Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

There are 4 labs in TX that do necropsies. Some labs will send you a prepaid label for overnight shipping if it is too far to drive to the lab. They are better than a home necropsy because they take tissue samples to look for certain diseases. When I do one at home, it can tell you if there is reproductive infection, cancer or spots on the organs, internal laying, water belly or fatty liver disease. If you do one, and get final results, please post them here.