I got the results back! All samples they sent off to be tested for disease were negative. As I told them I was thinking about trading some of my chickens and I was worried about passing on disease. Mildred, our silkie, died from being horribly egg bound. That's one of the very first things I tried checking her for. Gave her a warm bath, felt her abdomen and also didn't feel an egg up in there. The vet said it was WAY up in there and he was completely surprised she lasted a week that way. He said they usually go very quick from that. This gives me no answers on the pullet. However... I have my ideas. This may be my fault. She was being humped pretty aggressively by a young rooster. She didn't have any outside wounds but he could have hurt her. Once she and Mildred were sick and they were in quarantine, I wasn't feeding them layer food. Mildred never laid many eggs. 9 in the entire year I've had her. She was not a prolific layer. So she was sick, I assumed she wouldn't be laying. I was feeding her chick starter for the extra protein because she was sick after my exam of her didn't show any stuck egg that I could feel. I assumed she was sick and wouldn't be laying until she got better. I also assumed the pullet was too young to be laying even though she was being humped. Her sister has started laying tiny little eggs for me. So she could have been injured and then I wasn't giving her calcium. The pullet was a game bird and they are only 5 months old. I've never had a game bird start laying that early. They are pretty slow maturing birds. Also... since spring has come my flock has been ignoring layer pellets in favor of the new green grass and plants and the multitude of bugs that also showed up. It wasn't until around the time the girls were sick that I noticed and put out oyster shell. The chickens hadn't really touched it all winter, as they were filling up on layer pellets and obviously had plenty of calcium from that. When I checked Mildred for possibly being egg bound I noticed they untouched feeders and the empty oyster shell bowl. I had no idea being egg bound could have caused her to have neurological symptoms like that. It does explain why she went so quickly. It also sort of explains why my pullet seemed to be recovering and standing on that bad leg again just to very quickly go downhill again. I will never again assume a hen is not egg bound just because I couldn't feel an egg. I also won't ever not give layer just because I assume a hen is not laying. :'(
