I lost one :( Cocci? Impacted Crop? What else????

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I had my hubby help me catch my orps for photos & they didn't want anything to do with me, so they were running & hiding in the coop. When I went in there, I noticed one of my lemon blue cochins (a pullet) hiding in there. Her eyes were half-closed & she was lethargic. I picked her up & she barely moved.

I brought her inside & checked her from top to bottom. There were no visible injuries on her. She did not want to eat/drink. I managed to get some sugar water into her but she continued to go downhill. She spit out/up anything I tried to get into her. She would not/could not stand & wanted to lay with her legs off to one side (on her side).

Last night, I got some more water into her but she was MUCH worse. She just wanted to lay on her side, couldn't keep her head up, put her head down & all of the water spilled out. I felt her crop area & it wasn't enlarged or very hard...her comb was pale. She did not poop at all from the time I got her from the coop to the time she was in the house. I got some Baytril into her and tried to give her some more water, along with mushed up layer feed, but she spit it up/out. I stayed up with her past midnight & she was breathing deeply & slowly...and I found her dead this morning. I did not bury her, yet...I'm considering doing a necropsy to see what I can find....

Their diet consists of chick grower, scratch, free choice grit, vegetables & table scraps (no bones or anything like that). She was not old enough to be laying yet, either.

What happened? Ideas?

What prevents this?

What should I do if it happens again?

No one else in the coops looks sick or off at all.

 

[wegotchickens]

So sorry for your loss. I sure hope someone with more experience can help you figure this out. I think a necropsy is probably a good idea, just in case.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Thanks. This was my first lost of a chicken that I have raised from a hatching egg to a juvenile bird.

I'm not sure what went wrong, but I'm really hoping I can learn from it & up my chicken first aid kit. Luckily, I had the baytril because of my reptiles & the syringes & stuff from the horses...

 

[Mrs MIA]

Are there any signs of bloody poopies in the pen where she was when you found her? Was she all fluffed up, neck and head scrunched down into her shoulders? It's possible she had cocci, and was too far gone when you found her?
:aww I'm so sorry.

 

[wegotchickens]

It especially hurts when it's one of 'your' babies! :aww

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Are there any signs of bloody poopies in the pen where she was when you found her? Was she all fluffed up, neck and head scrunched down into her shoulders? It's possible she had cocci, and was too far gone when you found her?
:aww I'm so sorry.

Nope, no signs of bloody poop or diarrhea. Her head & neck were kind of scrunched, but that's how I put her (I was hoping to keep her from spitting up the water/food). If it was up to her, her head would hang down.

I thought Cocci was the reason for feeding medicated foods?​

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
Sighs. I know.

I'm just hoping it was not something contagious because she was in with everyone else!

 

[Mrs MIA]

Not all medicated feeds use the medication for Cocci... but it sounds like it might be something different. :aww

 

[gumpsgirl]

So sorry.

Is there any way she could have eaten any moldy feed? I'm asking this because my nephew lost quite of few birds due to them eating moldy feed last month. They were very lethargic and wouldn't eat anything, like you stated. If you can rule that out, maybe a necropsy wouldn't be a bad idea. You do have to understand that they can't always tell exactly what happened when you have a necropsy done and it usually costs around $50 + the getting the bird where you need it to go. I would monitor the other birds closely for any signs of illness meanwhile. Again, so sorry for your loss.

 

[jaybme]

SO sorry for your loss- it is so sad to lose one.

The only thing that comes to mind is anemia, as caused by worms, but I believe that is a slow process, not sudden.

Sometimes there are internal problems that do not manifest until the animal grows too big to compensate. I had a puppy that was wonderful, perfect in everyway; one day he acted tired, took him to the vet and the vet said he would be fine, but he died that night. We never did find out what caused it, all tests $$$ were negative, so the vets conclusion was a birth defect that grew with the pup. It was really painful for our family.

Anyway, I hope it is something like that- not an illness, so the rest of yours stay healthy.

Good luck!