Hen's sudden death

[radiusranch]

We had an otherwise healthy 8 month old Blue Copper Maran pass away the other day after falling ill. She had been fine until I went out the other morning and saw her laying on the coop floor. I scooped her up and she didn't resist at all, and her comb and wattle were very pale gray. I brought her in and put her in a comfy box and gave her food and water which she took willingly. She wasn't injured so I treated her as if she were egg bound, just in case. By the end of the day, her color had improved and she was alert and still eating and drinking but not very active. By the next morning, i realized that she could not actually stand up. She was still alert and eating and we soaked her again, thinking maybe she had a high bound egg which was affecting her mobility.
By the third morning, she refused to eat or drink and passed away quietly later that day. In all the research I did, I could not find anything that was definitive matching her symptoms. She was vaccinated for Merek's which seemed to be the most common search result, and the rest of the flock is fine.
Any suggestions as to what could have killed her?

 

[Eggcessive]

Very sorry for your loss. Had she been laying eggs recently or had she had any egg shell issues? Did she seem to be losing weight before? Did she have any lice or mites, or had she been wormed recently?
Many of us do home necropsies to look at the abdominal organs for signs of illness which can give clues to the cause of death. Also most state vet labs can perform a much more thorough necropsy with lab tests, if you take or send the body in.

 

[radiusranch]

We have a relatively large flock so it is hard to tell who is laying every day but we only have three Marans and we were getting 2-3 chocolate eggs each day so I would assume they were all laying. She had not lost any weight and there were no signs of mites or lice. I don't think I have the stomach for a home necropsy but I guess I should contact the state and see if they offer that service.