How did my chicken die?! What happened???

[margaret1657]

so I had an ameracauna hen who for about the past few weeks had started to walk around making gurgling sounds/gasping for air as she walked around. It was weird bc besides that she was fine, eating and drinking normally and still laying. I had asked around and people were telling me to take her to the vet but I unfortunately can not afford that I found her dead in the coop last night after a good 3 weeks of this going on and I have no idea what happened or if it’s contagious. Those were her only symptoms. If anybody could help me figure this out I’d greatly appreciate it!!! I don’t want my whole flock to be in danger

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. She might have had a respiratory disease or it could have been a crop disorder causing the crop contents to come bak up in the throat and cause the gurgly sounds. The best way to know what was wrong is to get a necropsy by your state vet to look for a cause of death. The body must be kept cool but not frozen, and shipped over night or delivered to your state poultry lab M-F. Here is a link where to find contact info:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[pennyJo1960]

Sorry for the loss have to agree watch your others try to budget for if any others are lost send that one in for a necropsy

 

[alcstreetman]

Yes, what Eggcessive said, if you have her and she isn't frozen, peace of mind with a necropsy is everything and it could help the rest of your flock. If she's frozen, they cannot test for viral illnesses but could maybe test for other things. I'm no expert but in my short time with chickens I've encountered quite a bit of issues and have had to do serious research. My first thought is a type of mycoplasma. If so, it can be manageable with antibiotics during flare ups, it isn't really treatable though. Tylan has worked for us, if going to a vet is out of the question, you could get the injectable. I gave it orally but if you can inject or get the water soluble, that would be best. I gave .25 2x a day orally for 7 days. She's small, I've heard .25 per lb of body weight as well as other mixed opinions on dosage. I've heard 3xs a day, only 5 days, etc. My next thought, just given my research is gapeworm, I have no experience with this though. Good luck, I hope everything else goes well!

 

[margaret1657]

Unfortunately it’s too late for a necropsy. She’s already been buried for a couple days now. Does anybody think it may have been infectious bronchitis? The weirdest thing about it, in my opinion, is that she had the symptoms for a full three weeks and besides that acted normal. Like it took that long

 

[micstrachan]

Sorry for your loss. I agree it was either respiratory or crop related. I almost lean more toward crop based on the symptoms seeming the same for three weeks and then her suddenly passing. I would expect respiratory to gradually worsen. I would totally be wrong.