One of my hens passed away... any ideas what could have happened?

[BesideStillWaters]

**I do want to say, the hen passed away two days ago, this isn't currently urgent. I'd just like some answers, and a necropsy isn't possible right now. I also know that without one, there is no definite answer with 100% certainty, but I'd like to hear any ideas any of you reading this may have.

I found Banshee in the popular egg laying spot just standing there, so I thought at first she was going to lay an egg, so I left her alone. I gave out some scratch to the flock and she wasn't interested. Again, I thought she was going to lay an egg and didn't really worry about it.

About ten minutes later, I checked back and she was still there, no egg, and it was time for her to roost. I thought that was a bit odd but I left her alone.

Checked back about five minutes later and saw that she was sitting down awkwardly, her beak was opened but it looked like she was breathing okay. No weird distress sounds. Still, I decided at this point to check her over and make sure nothing was up. When I picked her up, she let out some white stuff. Never seen poo like that.

Checked her abdomin, it may have been slightly swollen, but I didn't have another chicken nearby to compare with so I can't be sure. Her crop was full, but then, she had been eating earlier in the day so that was probably normal.

I've had two chickens get snakebit recently (copperhead), so I checked for snakebites but found none.

Her comb was bleeding just a little, but her sister Helga probably did that. I've had to remove Helga from the flock before for bullying issues. But Banshee didn't have a lot of damage.

She had no fight left in her, her eyes kept trying to close. She couldn't stand or sit up, she just fell over. I went inside to tell my mom what was going on because I recognized the symptoms from a different chicken last year. By the time we got back out there, she was gone.

Any idea what would have caused this? I've heard chickens can hide illness very well but this happened so fast. Her sister Ellie May died in March of 2021 with very similar symptoms. Could this be some sort of reproductive issue? Hereditary? Surely it wasn't an age issue, she was only two years old.

 

[SmiYa0126]

May have had a calcium deficiency... Caused a heart attack. Did you ever get soft shelled eggs?

 

[BesideStillWaters]

May have had a calcium deficiency... Caused a heart attack. Did you ever get soft shelled eggs?

Yes, I have. I haven't given crushed oyster shells in a while, but doesn't layer feed have calcium in it?

Also, we had our roof replaced (some plywood and support beams replaced too, so lots of wood cutting noise) last March. I got all sorts of eggs I've never seen. Shell-less, soft shell, crumbly shell, fairy eggs, and one completely deformed egg that looked like the robot in Big Hero 6. I figured out who the hens that gave me those eggs were, it wasn't Banshee. (It was Esther Sue and Helga.)

Does this mean I need to spread out some crushed oyster shells today for the other hens? I had one hen eating so much of it at once that I was afraid to leave it out 24/7. Can they eat too much and make their crop impacted?

 

[SmiYa0126]

Some chickens have a higher need for calcium than others.

See if you continue to get soft shell eggs after Banshees passing.

If you're worried about compaction, give them crushed egg shells.

The egg like the robot from big hero six may have come from a gen that has salpingitis, infection of the reproduction system.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Some chickens have a higher need for calcium than others.

Ooohh good to know.

See if you continue to get soft shell eggs after Banshees passing.

I don't think I've gotten any since. There was one slightly odd one but it was still okay.

If you're worried about compaction, give them crushed egg shells.

The egg like the robot from big hero six may have come from a gen that has salpingitis, infection of the reproduction system.

Is that something a hen will get over on her own? Her eggs haven't been shaped right since. They are like round golf balls now, not egg-shaped at all, but the inside looks fine. Is this something that they can get over without help or would she need meds? This has been going on since April. Here are two examples she's given me. Picture one and two are the same egg.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Mine never got better, she's not laying anymore. Yesterday she had a lash egg, which looked like a chicken nugget with layers and layers of tissue inside.

I did three rounds of antibiotics, two weeks of anti inflammatory treatment and she's been in my chicken hospital every couple of months. I think I'm going to put her down before winter, she's more susceptible to getting ill since her immune system is compromised, and I don't want the rest of the flock getting sick.