Our little runt didn't make it

[MamaBelle5]

This flock hatched March 29 of this year.

Last night when we went to take care of the chickens, we noticed our runt, Eleanor, sitting by herself, not really moving.

We picked her up and she barely responded, her eyes would flutter open, but that was about it. We checked her crop and her vent and both were clear (or at least appeared clear). She was breathing normally.

We brought her inside and gave her some nutri-drench thinking that maybe she just hadn't eaten enough because the bigger birds always shoved her back. After 1ml of nutri-drench and some water she perked up!

She started walking around our dining room, pecking at the floor and exploring, her wings were droopy but that's it. No other signs of illness.

I cooked her an egg and gave her a dish of water and put her in a cat carrier for the night so we could keep an eye on her.

She pooped in the carrier and it was normal in color and consistency. But poor Eleanor was dead this morning when I went to check on her. Any idea what it may have been. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures, but there wasn't anything to take pictures of, she looked normal, just lethargic.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. It may have been something wrong with an organ, heart, kidneys, liver, etc which caused her runtiness. Also, a chronic case of coccidiosis might cause the inability to catch up. Without having your state vet perform a necropsy, it would be hard to know exactly what happened to her. To do that, you would need to keep the body cold, and take it into them. Here is a list of most state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html