I can't believe she's dead!

[biretta]

I am sad: I left the house in the late morning and all appeared to be well with my 2 EEs. When I opened the run door to let them out 5 hours later, one ran outside and the other went into the hen house which was strange as they both always want out; they can't get out fast enough when I open the door. Then I noticed that the one who ran out was wheezing, with her beak gaping. There was no obstruction visible when I looked down the throat. She was sneezing and I producing clear discharge from the nostrils. When I brought her in I noticed that her droppings were watery. I kept her in a heated room, thinking things might improve by morning. When I went into the room 20 minutes ago, she was dead! What was also weird was that when I first opened the run door the other chicken didn't come out but went into the nest box , and although it was getting close to their bedtime, they never have tried to sleep in the nest boxes. She was all nestled in. It was almost as if she sensed something was really wrong and was hiding out! I don't know. I still can't believe it happened so fast. They are pets; I had only 2 and the one that died was my favorite

Can anyone guess what could have caused this? A virus? Bacteria? Parasite? The onset and death were so sudden!? The other one is not displaying any symptoms but now I feel bad because she'll be lonely.

 

[texaschickmama]

I'm so sorry to hear of your favorite. I hope your other hen is okay and nothing was passed to her. I would keep a close eye on her. Again, sorry.

 

[chickbea]

I'm so sorry.
There are so many things that can be the cause, but maybe someone more knowledgeable than I will be able to give it a good guess. It's always hard with chickens; they are very good at hiding illness until it is too late to do anything.
If you want to know for sure, you can always have a necropsy done.
Again, I'm sorry.

You may want to think about adopting another lonely hen from somewhere to keep your remaining girl company...