My hen just died...I have some questions *Graphic pic*

[Trish1974]

How warm was it
It could have shocked her or made her scared after already feeling not to great
I don’t know
but warm epsom salt bathes can be good for egg bound hens and injuries

I made sure it wasn't too warm. I thought she was having laying issues is why I opted to soak.

 

[Trish1974]

You need hugs, I think. Here's a virtual one:

I do. Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

There looks to be a huge amount of fat. She might have have fatty liver hemorragic disease. Sometimes they may have ascites as well, or blood inside. It would have been good to see her organs. Since you found mites, I would get some permethrin 10 spray concentrate to treat your birds and the coop. The bedding will need to be removed and put into a garbage bage and tied or burned. Spray the coop, nests, and roosts, and put in new bedding. Straw can harbor mites and pine shavings is better for that reason. Martins or Gordons permethrin 10 is a available in pints for $8 or quarts for $18. It is mixed 37 ml in a gallon of water, in a spray bottle or a garden sprayer.

 

[staceyj]

Well, as I started to cut her open, little, almost microscopic black dots started moving all around her skin and onto my hand. She had a massive mite infestation! That is so frustrating. I check them for bugs, but when I do a check I never see any. When I look I move their body feathers, look under their wings, around the vent. I don't know if that is what killed her, because the other hen I bought with her and the one she was housed with is just fine. She will be getting sprayed tonight, though, and the coop cleaned and sprayed tomorrow.


A really shiny clear fluid came out when I pierced the abdominal cavity. In this picture, I assume the yellow is fat and not egg material?
View attachment 1715529

That's as far as I got. I was frustrated, pissed, sad, and uncomfortable kneeling on the deck. I buried her remains next to the only other bird I've lost, my Buff Orpington.

For future reference, is soaking in warm epsom salts a bad idea? She wasn't in good shape when I put her in there, but she rapidly went downhill during the soak. I can't help but think I killed her.

It was not the bath.
NOT the bath.

Say it out loud.

Because it’s true. It wasn’t you or the bath. If you’d come here and described her symptoms we’d have all said put her in the sink.
It’s a tried and true treatment.
This was just a matter of timing. The liquid she vomited looks like bile that was backing up in her crop.
She may have had an impaction somewhere along the line.
It’s multi system.
If she had ascites, and that looks probable, and that much fat in her abdomen, her heart might have been under a great deal of stress as well. She may have had a host of things going on including reproductively, and digestively. On top of all that you had the dang mites (all parasites really) they are such opportunistic creatures!
They didn’t cause this either. They just took advantage of the opportunity.

I’m so sorry for what you’ve experienced.
It’s always hard.
Even if it’s your least pretty or meanest bird or even one you don’t necessarily feel a tremendous connection to,
It’s still a loss.
Lots of hugs sent your way.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are a couple of necropsies of chickens with fatty liver disease:

https://htrchickens.com/2013/04/15/...er-hepatic-lipidosis-contains-graphic-images/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ndrome-warning-graphic-autopsy-photos.874329/

 

[casportpony]

I am very sorry for your loss.

 

[Trish1974]

It was not the bath.
NOT the bath.

Say it out loud.

Because it’s true. It wasn’t you or the bath. If you’d come here and described her symptoms we’d have all said put her in the sink.
It’s a tried and true treatment.
This was just a matter of timing. The liquid she vomited looks like bile that was backing up in her crop.
She may have had an impaction somewhere along the line.
It’s multi system.
If she had ascites, and that looks probable, and that much fat in her abdomen, her heart might have been under a great deal of stress as well. She may have had a host of things going on including reproductively, and digestively. On top of all that you had the dang mites (all parasites really) they are such opportunistic creatures!
They didn’t cause this either. They just took advantage of the opportunity.

I’m so sorry for what you’ve experienced.
It’s always hard.
Even if it’s your least pretty or meanest bird or even one you don’t necessarily feel a tremendous connection to,
It’s still a loss.
Lots of hugs sent your way.

Thank you so much @staceyj . That makes me feel better!

 

[Trish1974]

Thank you everyone for your help and kind words.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi Trish I'm so sorry about your girl.

I agree with the others, you didn't do anything wrong.
There is quite a bit of fat for such a young bird, but you did not do that either. You've only had her for a short while. I'm like you I suspect that she was having a reproductive problem. Even though we would have liked to see more, you did very good with your investigation.

 

[Claires Poultry]

Sorry about your loss. I wonder if she was egg bound. A few years ago my favorite duck was egg bound. She had a pasty vent and a swollen abdomen. I could feel an egg inside of her abdomen. She kept trying to lay the egg but it wouldn't come out. I read in a Backyard Poultry magazine that giving them a warm bath and massaging their abdomen would be relaxing and should help them to pass the egg. So I gave her a warm bath and massaged her abdomen for several hours but it wasn't working. Since nothing else was working, I had to crack the egg open and try to let her pass it that way. (It should be known though, that you are not supposed to crack the egg open unless nothing else is working. More times than not, that parts of the egg stuck and won't pass and can be fatal.) This is probably what happened to my duck because unfortunately she died a few weeks later.