infectious bronchitis???

[snmeyer]

I just lost a 22 week old pullet. I came out a few hours ago to notice she was not free ranging with her two friends like she normally does but instead she was inside her coop breathing hard. I separated her into a smaller pen with fresh water and food thinking she just needed some space and fresh water since she gets bullied by my older hens. I came out 45 mins ago to find her laying on her side breathing very hard. I picked her up and she squealed and started convulsing. She then just died in my arms. I am heart broken. The reason I question infectious bronchitis is because I have some (not all of them) 1 year old pullets that are laying eggs but their whites of their eggs are a bit runny...So much that when I break them into a skillet they will sometimes even separate from the yolk. But I have not noticed any breathing issues or coughing from them. Could these two things be related or separate issues? What would you do?! I do not know of any vets nearby that take care of chickens.

 

[dawg53]

You're not dealing with Infectious Bronchitis (IB.) You would see symptoms throughout your whole flock, it's very contagious.
Stress can cause all kinds of problems with chickens, including egg content ie, watery whites. Heat can be a factor, the type of food they are given, too many treats and so on.

I'm sorry for the loss of your pullet.
She was definitely stressed by getting picked on by older birds. When was the last time she laid an egg? Is it hot where you live? Finally, did the older hens allow her to eat and drink?

 

[snmeyer]

You're not dealing with Infectious Bronchitis (IB.) You would see symptoms throughout your whole flock, it's very contagious.
Stress can cause all kinds of problems with chickens, including egg content ie, watery whites. Heat can be a factor, the type of food they are given, too many treats and so on.

I'm sorry for the loss of your pullet.
She was definitely stressed by getting picked on by older birds. When was the last time she laid an egg? Is it hot where you live? Finally, did the older hens allow her to eat and drink?

It has been pretty darn hot the last few weeks. We make it a point to get the bully hens out of the coop at least twice a day while allowing the 3 younger hens run in the run and have as much access to food and water. They have recently been roaming around the run together more and allowing more access to food and water than they used to. I am not sure if she has ever laid. We have 3- 22 weekers and they just started laying 2 weeks ago. We have never gotten more than 2 eggs from them in a day and I have never been able to determine who was laying them since they have been laying them all over the yard, run and coop.

Could the breathing heavily been gapeworms? Is there a way for me to tell?

 

[dawg53]

No, not gapeworms. Your other birds would be showing symptoms.
I suspect the heat got to her plus being picked on by the older birds was just too much. She couldve been egg impacted, but that's unknown.
Perhaps putting a box fan in your pen may help. I have box fans in my pens and inside the coops as well., smaller stand up fans in a couple other smaller coops. They help circulate air, especially inside the coops at night.
Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. If you still have her body, you may keep it cold in a cooler on ice or in the fridge, but don’t freeze it, and early tomorrow call your state vet for a necropsy. It varies in price from state to state but delivering the body in person costs less. They can send you a shipping label for overnight shipping via ups or Fedex, and add that to your cost. Some of us also do a home necropsy, but that can only show obvious problems or abnormal organs. Heart problems or heat stress might have been possible, but a necropsy is best to find a cause. If you are in the US, here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[snmeyer]

No, not gapeworms. Your other birds would be showing symptoms.
I suspect the heat got to her plus being picked on by the older birds was just too much. She couldve been egg impacted, but that's unknown.
Perhaps putting a box fan in your pen may help. I have box fans in my pens and inside the coops as well., smaller stand up fans in a couple other smaller coops. They help circulate air, especially inside the coops at night.
Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

Well it is hard to say if the others are affected or not since it has been warm and I am just used to seeing them with their mouths open trying to cool down. Today wasn't nearly as hot as it has been the last week or two. She was out walking around fine this morning and then by evening she wasn't. She definitly acted as though she was choking when she died. She squaked (something came out of her mouth when she did that) and when I put her down she rolled to her back and started to kicked and gasping for air. I thought she was having a seizure but now that I am looking back and reading info I feel like she was suffocating. Would it hurt to treat for it just incase. We are about to leave out of town in 5 days and I don't know that my nieghbor would look out for them enough while I am gone to know if one was sick.

 

[dawg53]

Well it is hard to say if the others are affected or not since it has been warm and I am just used to seeing them with their mouths open trying to cool down. Today wasn't nearly as hot as it has been the last week or two. She was out walking around fine this morning and then by evening she wasn't. She definitly acted as though she was choking when she died. She squaked (something came out of her mouth when she did that) and when I put her down she rolled to her back and started to kicked and gasping for air. I thought she was having a seizure but now that I am looking back and reading info I feel like she was suffocating. Would it hurt to treat for it just incase. We are about to leave out of town in 5 days and I don't know that my nieghbor would look out for them enough while I am gone to know if one was sick.

Take fecal samples from your birds and put them in a ziplock bag. Then take the ziplock bag to a vet and have them look at it under a microscope for gapeworm eggs. That's the only way you'll know for sure.
If they have them, your birds will require multiple days of treatment.
Gapeworms are rare in poultry. I guarantee you that you would be seeing symptoms in your other birds.
https://wagwalking.com/bird/condition/gapeworms