Lost our first chicken overnight

[MarlaMac]

Been tending chickens for 4 years now. Lost our first overnight.

She had been sick for a while (probably longer than we knew). Had been finding soft shell eggs in the coop. Finally found one still part way inside her. Starter her on calcium and amoxicillin 3 days ago.

Heat has been brutal, so brought her in yesterday afternoon and put her in a dog crate inside. She ate a few bites of wet mash and hard cooked egg and drank a bit of sugar water. Her poop was a yellow liquid.

Got up this morning and she was gone.

Then...found another discolored poop (yellow urates) and a broken egg under the roost bars this morning (although not together), so I have another possibly, although the egg was not soft, just broken, so maybe just a girl who could not wait for the nest boxes to open.

Will take some poop up for a float test on Monday just to make sure I don't have parasites in abundance.

Pretty sad.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like your hen had a reproductive disorder or infection, and salpingitis and egg yolk peritonitis are very common in hens over 2-3 years old. They can become egg bound with soft or shell-less eggs if the oviduct and shell gland are not working, or if they need calciu. It sounds like she could also had some liver problems and possibly water belly which can cause the yellow urates, and is also common with egg yolk peritonitis. It might be helpful to do a home necropsy to look for any yellow fluid in her belly as well as look at the organs. Take pictures if you can to post. Of course not everyone can do a necropsy, and your state vet could do one on Monday if you keep her body cold and wrapped in 2 plastic bags, but don’t freeze. Sorry for your loss. Here is a list of state vets to contact for a necropsy:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...L5h4Xt137GBu32pWJZSRUY5DYhQyVrd4ODmF-Ab8otocc

 

[Eggcessive]

This video below shows a vet necropsy with the organs identified, and the ones I do at home are very brief and I just look at the abdominal cavity to see the liver, intestines, the gizzard, and oviduct. Some also will look at the crop, heart, lungs, but just look to see if there is something abnormal. Take pictures to post if you like.

 

[MarlaMac]

It sounds like your hen had a reproductive disorder or infection, and salpingitis and egg yolk peritonitis are very common in hens over 2-3 years old. They can become egg bound with soft or shell-less eggs if the oviduct and shell gland are not working, or if they need calciu. It sounds like she could also had some liver problems and possibly water belly which can cause the yellow urates, and is also common with egg yolk peritonitis. It might be helpful to do a home necropsy to look for any yellow fluid in her belly as well as look at the organs. Take pictures if you can to post. Of course not everyone can do a necropsy, and your state vet could do one on Monday if you keep her body cold and wrapped in 2 plastic bags, but don’t freeze. Sorry for your loss. Here is a list of state vets to contact for a necropsy:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...L5h4Xt137GBu32pWJZSRUY5DYhQyVrd4ODmF-Ab8otocc

Yes. This is what I figured. We have been dealing with her and soft-shell eggs for a while. My husband already buried her somewhere on our land. I didn't want to cut her open b/c I am pretty sure it was EYP. Her belly wasn't bloated or squishy, so I don't think it was water belly. I think I simply didn't start the antibiotic soon enough to help her get over the infection. I am glad I brought her in yesterday. I would have hated to find her dead in the coop with the others picking at her.

Thank you for your kind words.