lost a chick, but I don't know why

[southernsibe]

I lost one of my cochin bantams. She was about three weeks. I don't know why she died, and I didn't do a necropsy on her, which in hindsight, I wish I had waited until dh was home so I could have gone and done it. With the kids around , it just seemed like a better idea to bury her. I found her in the back of the brooder, laying on her side under the light. She was barely breathing. I gave her sugar water and put her in iso. She died about 5 hours later.

My questions really are,
1. Other then regular vigilance and watching the chicks for abnormal signs or behaviors, is there something else i should be doing to the rest of the birds?

2. If/when this should happen again, is there a way to preserve the body to do a necropsy on it at a later time, other then freezing? In this instance I would have needed about 24 hours.

thanks
Rachel

 

[Dodgegal79]

They just die sometimes. I have been finding one in the yard, I have about 40 chicks in a pen with 2 heatlamps as a brooder, but some find their way out and hang with the big chickens. Some don't find their way back in, but sleep in the coop, but I have found some in the mornings and they look dead, but when i move them their legs slowly move. Ones like that I take and put under the heat lamp with my day olds and usually they jump up and run around in an hour or so. She may have gotten too cold, or just had something wrong with her.