Hen (Miss Sadie) Suddenly Died

[Spiritsmeadow]

Hey all. I started a thread back on Oct 25 when my Buff Orpington (Miss Sadie) got sick. People were great help and I was able to nurse her back to health. Original post was HERE.

I have a new update. Miss Sadie just suddenly passed today. She was fine this morning when I let them out of the coop and then later when I let them out of the run to free range. I went out at lunch to give them some mealworms and found her by herself laying down. I picked her up and she was almost motionless. I rushed her around to the garage where I have my isolation coop to attempt to get her separated and nurse her again. As soon as I got her in the garage she nuzzled into my arms and passed. I have a call into my vet to see if they would do a necropsy. Does anyone have any ideas this was so sudden absolutely no warning signs I am absolutely devastated and now worry for my other girls. Thanks in advance for all of your feedback.

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[Michael Propst]

It is common in any breed fed too much fat in the diet. Sunflower seeds can be a big fat producer. What types of treats do you feed? My buff Orpington are generally a long lived breed.

Most treats are mealworms and grubs. Along with vegetables. They do get oatmeal in the mornings with a couple tablespoons of pumpkin in it and occasionally i give them a piece of a flock block I make myself (which does have sunflower seeds in it but very little). All of their feed and grains come from Scratch and Peck and are all organic and gmo free. There daily food consists of some regular layer feed in a gravity feeder, 2 cups total of fermented layer feed, and about 2 cups of sprouted grains (wheat, barley, oats, peas).

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/feeding-your-chickens-to-death/

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's where I read about hemorrhagic liver disease. Their diet sounds good, it may have been an individual thing with her.

 

[theoldchick]

Sorry for your loss. Yes, there can be a genetic connection but much more research needs to be done to prove this.

 

[bruceha2000]

I got the necropsy results back from my vet last night. Sadie had a fatty liver which resulted in Hepatic Rupture which caused her to hemorrhage internally. I have done some quick searching in these byc forums and have found several other cases involving Buff Orpingtons. Buffs are a larger breed and Sadie was by far my largest hen but compared to other Buff's I have seen not excessively larger. Does anyone know if Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome is common with Buffs just due to the nature of their size?

I had an EE do the same thing at about 14 months summer last year. Never showed any signs of illness, fine at 6 PM, dead on the ground at 6:30. I did the necropsy and posted pictures. What I THOUGHT was the liver based on pictures showing a nice red liver was actually the giant blood clot from when her liver ruptured. I had another bird (Partridge Chantecler) do something similar at under 2 years back in 2014 but I didn't do a necropsy so I don't know if it was the same thing.

That's where I read about hemorrhagic liver disease. Their diet sounds good, it may have been an individual thing with her.

Most likely. My girls have always gotten BOSS pretty much every morning, scratch every night. Only the 2 mentioned above died without something else being obvious (like a fox, raccoon and in 1 case what was likely heart attack or stroke) 5 of the original 12 (2012) are still going at 5.6 years old.