Newbie question - Found Silver Wyandotte dying and had to put her down

[todd615]

I'd like some help figuring out what happened to my chicken.

I had to leave town this weekend and left my 6 chickens in the care of my wife & son. Came back yesterday to discover my Silver Wyandotte lying on her side under the coop. When I go under there, she was obviously dying - could hardly lift her head and had labored breathing.

The chicken was 20 weeks. This was my first experience with a sick girl (I got my first ones in June) so I called my brother-in-law. He said to massage her craw, which I did (I think). It did no good. She was so bad off I decided to put her down.

I noticed in the coop that some of her feathers were strewn around. Also, my son told me that when he went to close the coop door at 9PM Friday, that it had blown shut and 2 of the chickens were trapped outside. My polish was fine and roosting on the composter. But my Wyandotte was on the ground behind the composter. He picked her up and put her in the run. She didn't resist his picking her up and didn't immediately enter the coop, which was unusual, but she was standing and looking normal. The chickens were not let out Saturday or Sunday until I got home, which is when I found her.

When I pulled her out from under the coop, she had a matted area on her side. It could have been a wound that she sustained Friday night, or it could have just been where the dirt and pine straw had matted. My sense though is that she was sick.

Any thoughts?

 

[Judy]

The others could have pulled the feathers, seeing that she was sick. If there was a wound under there, of course, that could explain it, and might also explain the feathers. You might have had your answer if you had cleaned the wound (I'm guessing you didn't examine the body closely, from your post.) Two days and nights in a warm climate and some setups could also overheat chickens; some tolerate overheating better than others.

Some people do their own "necropsy," which sometimes reveals something obviously wrong, even to a nonmedical person. If you are in the US, you might consider checking out what is involved in having the state vet or an ag college do a necropsy, for future reference. They have different requirements for the conditon of the body. Usually it is inexpensive or even free. You could try this link, or just ask your vet if he knows:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/40141/link-find-your-state-vet-for-a-necropsy/0_20