Mystery death

[ArthurFleck]

This morning I went out to go feed me chickens like I do every morning and I have two separate cages and I saw that the cage next to the chickens we had hatched our own, the water was already low so I had went into their coop to fill it but when I looked at the side of the coop I saw our only ayam cemani hen dead and I had concluded that she had just died recently because she was still limp and she was still warm. I'm not sure how she died though because the other day she was still eating, drinking, and laying and had no odd behaviors. We didn't know how old she was but she didn't show any signs or didn't appear to be old. My parents and I had thought maybe she was egg bound because I found her at the side of the coop where she usually lays her eggs and she also didn't have any abnormalities in her skin or feathers so, I am unsure of what caused her death. Any ideas?

 

[Jersey giant lover]

Holy cow, could it be a heart attack do you think?

 

[ArthurFleck]

Holy cow, could it be a heart attack do you think?

I don't think so since I haven't done anything or nothing has really happened to stress her out

 

[ArthurFleck]

I don't think so since I haven't done anything or nothing has really happened to stress her out

Also because she's the only one who died

 

[ArthurFleck]

Holy cow, could it be a heart attack do you think?

But it could be because she jumped out of the coop the other day and ate something but I highly doubt it since she was eating and laying fine

 

[One Lucky Momma]

I’m so sorry. I hope you’re able to figure out what happened. i don’t have any answers but I’ll gladly share your pain.

 

[microchick]

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's never easy to loose one but not knowing how they died is just fuel for the fire as they say.

Remember that chickens are low on the food chain and sick birds are often bullied by healthier birds so they hide their illnesses so their flock mates do not suspect that they are weak. Unfortunately that means that we don't notice them being 'off' until they are either too far along with their illness that they are beyond help, or like your girl, you find them dead without knowing why or what happened to them.

Without a necropsy you will probably never know. I had a hen die suddenly a few years back and decided to necropsy her myself as I have had Marek's disease in my flock for 4 years now. To my surprise, I discovered a huge infection near one of her ovaries that was nearly the size of one of her eggs. Bingo! That was her cause of death. Like your bird, she appeared completely normal. I went in to gather eggs and found her dead in her nesting box.

You may never know what killed your birds but it could be a lot of things from a hidden infection to a birth defect that just materialized as she matured.

Once again, condolences and hugs.

 

[ArthurFleck]

Do they go out to free range ?

No

 

[ArthurFleck]

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's never easy to loose one but not knowing how they died is just fuel for the fire as they say.

Remember that chickens are low on the food chain and sick birds are often bullied by healthier birds so they hide their illnesses so their flock mates do not suspect that they are weak. Unfortunately that means that we don't notice them being 'off' until they are either too far along with their illness that they are beyond help, or like your girl, you find them dead without knowing why or what happened to them.

Without a necropsy you will probably never know. I had a hen die suddenly a few years back and decided to necropsy her myself as I have had Marek's disease in my flock for 4 years now. To my surprise, I discovered a huge infection near one of her ovaries that was nearly the size of one of her eggs. Bingo! That was her cause of death. Like your bird, she appeared completely normal. I went in to gather eggs and found her dead in her nesting box.

You may never know what killed your birds but it could be a lot of things from a hidden infection to a birth defect that just materialized as she matured.

Once again, condolences and hugs.

Thank you but do you still think I couldve been a disease if she was still eating and drinking or was that only a way to hide it?

 

[swampfox440]

Time for necropsy