My hen died. She twisted her neck all over then died! Help!

[WooingWyandotte]

OK. Better start from the beginning. Got a banty roo from the flea market with a runny nose and cough. Blah. He never got better, duramycin and vitamins/electrolyte water didn't help either. One afternoon I walked over to his pen to check up on him, he was shuffling - could barely walk, when he drank he couldn't lift his head to swallow. His wings were drooping on the ground and his head would droop lower and lower till his comb was on the ground and his eyes were shut. I said "That's it, get out the hatchet." We killed him, he just laid his head on the chopping block, it seemed like he wanted to die.

I couldn't bring myself to kill him, so called my dad and he did the dirty work.

NOW, back to the hen(bantam Golden Sebright, also new). She was with him for awhile to be his buddy when he seemed like he was getting better. Then yesterday afternoon she started acting like Oliver - droopy wings, panting, and shut eye. Her comb was almost purple...actually it was. "Well shoot." I thought, so I picked her up and me and my mom couldn't decide what to do. Then she starts to jerk her neck around like she was losing air. I quickly set her on the table, I seriously thought she was going to break her own neck, jerking it around like she was. A couple worried little clucks then one last stretch of her neck backwards and then a sickening *thump* on the table. She was out, like a light. I told my mom to set her on the ground, I headed to the side of the house to get a killing tool. I couldn't let her suffer. When I came back she was on the ground sprawled out, breathing heavy shallow breaths. I knew she would die in five seconds. One last shallow breath, uttering one last *bok*.

She was dead. I couldn't believe my little Chiquita was dead! I couldn't stop crying, when I got her I've always felt she was never quite right. Her time was coming, I got the sense that it would be soon so I've been letting her free range for the past week with her buddies. They haven't been sleeping together, but playing all day together.

My dad, me and my brother decided to disect her. If she choked on something I at least wanted to see what it was. I slapped on the gloves and armed with an Xacto knife I slid it down her throat. I peeled off her skin. In some places her underskin was weird. Bumps at the base of the feathers under the skin that were white, black, and blue. I followed her trachea and felt all around. Nothing anywhere. I've never disected a chicken before so I couldn't tell you about what all the organs where. But, the gizzard was a weird shiny white with yellow. Is that normal? I split open her crop to see what she had been eating....Chick feed! Ah! Chiquita. I miss her.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to ask me questions about her insides. I would have posted pictures but they would be little nasty and I couldn't find the camera. Thank you.

WW

 

[crystalchik]

Sorry for all that you are going through.

I will start by saying, you should almost never buy poultry from a fleamarket or an auction. Most birds from fleamarkets come from auctions the day before. The birds are usually very poor quality and sick, unless you find an exception which can happen. But if you dont buy from a reputable breeder, you dont know what you are bringing in to your flock, even if they look healthy.

Secondly, Sebrights are not hardy birds. They can be very succeptable to disease, and dont recover easily. This is why most people who have chickens as pets and are not real serious show exhibitors tend to stay away from Sebrights. So who knows what they had.

The thrashing and gasping on the hen is typical prior to death. She was minutes away, as you knew. While it can, this doesnt typically give insight as to what the bird was suffering from.

The pale gizzard (not to be mistaken for the crop) is typically and off yellow or almost flesh color. It is usually firm and contains many small pebbles or stones. Ive done many autopsies on my birds, and it is difficult to tell!

If those two were the only two that were sick or that you had, thats good. Now you need to take proper sanitary measures to clean and disinfect your coop. If you have more sickly, separate them, and treat them.

If you have any more questions or details, please let us know!
Good luck, again Im sorry for your losses

 

[WooingWyandotte]

They were both seperated from my main flock, and I'm never going to a flea market again! The birds there were in horrid condition. Thanks for answering