Need help ID'ing cause of my first dead chicken :(

[Jenn1399]

Update on reply posted 6/14 @5pm.

One of our cuckoo marans seems to be coughing. Maybe sneezing? She makes a little chicken-y squeek-y noise & her body shakes when it happens, so it seems like a cough...??? I first noticed it last weekend, a few times here & there & now she is doing it a lot more - half a dozen times & then a break for a few minutes & then she'll do it again. Today, I also thought that she was wheezing a bit too. She is about 2 years old & from the # of eggs we are getting, I believe she is laying just about daily.

Any insight on what this could be or what I can do to help her? I am very new at this, been a chicken momma for just 2 months now, so I have no idea!!!

 

[CMV]

Give us the following information. The more you tell us, the better we will be able to help you.

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

 

[dawg53]

It's possible she couldve snorted a granule of feed in her nostril or some other environmental issue. If not, it could be the onset of a respiratory disease. In any case, I recommend you seperate her from the others til you determine what it might be.

 

[doublejfarm]

I am a newbie as well and I have the exact problem. I have a thread on here about it somewhere.
Anyway, most on here told me to use duramycen 10. And I am on my second day of 14 of treatment. You desolve it in there water. So far so good

 

[Jenn1399]

Thanks all. So so sadly, Pop died yesterday. Found her in the coop "asleep" among the other ladies. So sad!

My 4 year old grew up a little yesterday. He already misses Pop, feathered feet & all!

BUT. I am really interested in trying to learn what happened & stopping this from ever happening again! So, I'll answer the questions & I appreciate if you all can help me get to the bottom of this!

1) What type of bird , age and weight. Cuckoo Maran, 2 years old-ish, weight?? No clue. Average?? Not bantam...
2) What is the behavior, exactly. coughing, maybe sneezing. Cute little chicken noises, while the body moves, making me think it is a cough or sneeze. More a cough...
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? 8 days
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? No others, thank god!
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. Nothing that I noticed
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. I have seen her eating kitchen scraps/veggies/corn/bread crusts. I assume she was eating/drinking pellets & water when I wasn't with her. She laid an egg the day before she died, since I had one from each girl. I had one dark brown egg yesterday, when she died, but it could have been from the other cuckoo maran...
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Not sure, I did notice 1 squirt out poop like water, but I do not recall which chicken it was
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? None
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Home treatment, if this ever happens again!
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. I have a photo of my son crying over her while burying her. I would break your heart though.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use DLM with leaves in the coop & in the run, newspaper changed daily in the nest box area (as I have 1, not her, that sleeps in there!)

 

[Jenn1399]

Bumping

 

[Jenn1399]

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[CMV]

Unfortunately, there is not enough information to go on. Sometimes chickens just die for no apparent reason. I think this may be the case here.

Chickens are masters at hiding illness and infirmity. They are evolutionarily predisposed to this because if they show illness or weakness in a flock, they will be attacked, ostracized, or sometimes killed. The only time a chicken shows it is ill is when it has involuntary signs (ie. wheezing, bubbling eyes, bloody poops, active bleeding, an obvious wound), or is so far gone that it actually looks and acts ill.

Your bird had few overt signs of illness that may have been missed by anyone not paying so close attention to the flock. Good for you for noticing these very few signs. But, there is simply not enough info to make a realistic guess as to what could have been going on.

I am sorry for your loss. I am sorry I couldn't be more help.

Good luck.

 

[Jenn1399]

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your response!

 

[OHmamma]

Chicken sneezes are serious.

Look up CRD caused by MG. There is a very good "article" on here about "chicken colds" it explains it better than I could right now. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=123652

If you notice it right away you can give them Raw apple cider vinegar to help clear the mucus out. The best short term treatment for it is Lincomycin/Spincomycin. Some use denegard as a cure and preventitive.

Sorry about your pullet.