Lethargic, no appetite, shivering, not wet

[thebiggerkin]

I could not find another sick chicken today. Should I take the deceased hen to a cooperative extension or would that be a little over the top considering this is the second bird to die over the course of a year (last bird to die was last November).

 

[d.k]

*Shoot!!! Hate to hear that. . . Sorry. Have you got a uni nearby that might be able to find out what happened?? Almost sounds like acute shock reaction to me but to what??

 

[dlhunicorn]

Was this an "older" bird??? Often sudden death in a layer is found to be with an egg in the shell section ...the bird dies shile "shelling" ... here is some info for you on that:
http://birdflubook.com/resources/0Julian350.pdf
".....If medullary bone is depleted by egg shell formation and Ca is not available from the diet, the hen then starts to withdraw Ca from cortical bone. ......
Phosphorus deficiency-induced osteoporosis in high
producing cage layers is called cage layer fatigue
(Riddell et al., 1969). Phosphorus is required to rebuild medullary bone since both Ca and P are withdrawn and replaced during the shelling–non-shelling cycle. Hens on the floor pick up excreted P from their droppings, so more dietary P is required when hens are in cages. Signs and lesions are similar to Ca deficiency. Fractured backs are more common.
Vitamin D3 deficiency will result in osteoporosis in
laying hens because it affects Ca metabolism. It is usually seen as a flock problem and may be accompanied by poor shell quality.
4.3. Hypocalcaemia
Hens may become paralysed or die from acute
hypocalcaemia while shelling an egg. These are healthy hens, in full production, found dead with a shelled or partly shelled egg in the shell gland. They may be diagnosed as ‘‘egg-bound’’. To diagnose this condition cut across the femur, with scissors, at the mid-point. The femur will be fragile and there will be little or no medullary bone in hens that have died from hypocalcaemia
..4.3.1. Prevention of osteoporosis and hypocalcaemia
In most flocks osteoporosis is the result of the high
production. To prevent osteoporosis, without reducing production, hens must absorb enough Ca from the digestive tract to provide for daily egg-shell formation.
Egg-shell formation requires that 2 g of Ca be put in each shell over an 18–20 h period every 24 h. At the peak of egg shell production, the hen is removing all of the Ca in her total pool of circulation blood ever 15 min. This Ca must be replaced or the hen will die.
Since the most intense shell production occurs during the dark period, it is important that enough easily available Ca is available to be absorbed from the digest tract while the shell is being formed. Large-particle size Ca that is retained in the gizzard and which is slowly dissolved by stomach acid will help prevent osteoporosis and hypocalcaemia......"