Please help me

[inplacebo]

I lost Pearl today. I need to find some closure because I'm not sure what killed her.

She had been ill over a couple of weeks but my mother decided not to take her to the vets because they would just put her down apparently.

Her symptoms were her comb was pale and flopped over. She had little to no appetite and in her final days, she would not eat anything at all nor drink. She had really bad Diarrhea, I don't think she had any solid droppings. She was breathing very heavily and deeply. She could not stand or walk and she would lose balance when she tried to move, accompanied with lethargy with her eyes closed.

We have 3 other chickens and they are fine. So I'm not sure what was wrong with her. She just suddenly got ill and I watched her die over the 2 weeks...

 

[MrsBachbach]

I lost Pearl today. I need to find some closure because I'm not sure what killed her.

She had been ill over a couple of weeks but my mother decided not to take her to the vets because they would just put her down apparently.

Her symptoms were here comb was pale and flopped over. She had little to no appetite and in her final days, she would not eat anything at all nor drink. She had really bad Diarrhea, I don't think she had any solid droppings. She was breathing very heavily and deeply. She could not stand or walk and she would lose balance when she tried to move, accompanied with lethargy with her eyes closed.

We have 3 other chickens and they are fine. So I'm not sure what was wrong with her. She just suddenly got ill and I watched her die over the 2 weeks...

Could have been disease, but a pale comb and diarrhea probably means she was suffering from worms which sapped her strength, or it could have been coccidiosis, which is a protozoa which can kill them also if they don't get treatment. A heavy lice infestation on a bird can kill it too (they suck the blood)and that is also treatable. So it was likely parasites, but it could have been a disease too. Just hard to tell without seeing them, inspecting them etc. Chickens try to hide their illness until the end so it is sometimes hard to catch that they are ill early on unless you are really observant of their behavior, eating and drinking habits, etc.
Birds need to be treated for worms and lice periodically to prevent or treat infections. Prevention is the best cure. Clean water, fresh food, clean pens, etc., help prevent disease and the spread of it.

Sorry you lost your bird, but it 's a good time to go check the others for lice and maybe find a treatment for them for worms. Plenty of topics on it here on BYC.

 

[inplacebo]

Could have been disease, but a pale comb and diarrhea probably means she was suffering from worms which sapped her strength, or it could have been coccidiosis, which is a protozoa which can kill them also if they don't get treatment. A heavy lice infestation on a bird can kill it too (they suck the blood)and that is also treatable. So it was likely parasites, but it could have been a disease too. Just hard to tell without seeing them, inspecting them etc. Chickens try to hide their illness until the end so it is sometimes hard to catch that they are ill early on unless you are really observant of their behavior, eating and drinking habits, etc.
Birds need to be treated for worms and lice periodically to prevent or treat infections. Prevention is the best cure. Clean water, fresh food, clean pens, etc., help prevent disease and the spread of it.

Sorry you lost your bird, but it 's a good time to go check the others for lice and maybe find a treatment for them for worms. Plenty of topics on it here on BYC.

The chickens have special pellets for worms. As for parasites, we have treat them for parasites. She was old and stopped laying a year ago. When we took her to the vets about a year ago she had a virus and the vets offered to put her down but she lasted another year. Might have been a disease either way she was far gone. She wouldn't eat or drink.

 

[mg15]

Our Flock Mistress Almost Red 4-years-old passed away this Wed. The X-Ray confirmed an Enlarged Heart.
I wrote a long note to you here but lost it in trying to find a picture.
I will write more later.
mg.

 

[mg15]

Almost Red August of 2016. she passed away this Thurs 13, 2017.
Last year in April of 2016 she had pneumonia diagnosed with an X-ray.
We gave her nebulizer treatments with liquid Baytril. She was fine. I have a video of that.
This year she was 4-years-old and she really slowed down. she was the best Flock Mistress.
She moved slower she was breathing in the house here with open beak. The vet took an
X-ray and on diagnosis she had an enlarged heart. She was surrounded by flock members during
the day and we brought her in at evening. She ate only apple and egg. She also seemed hot to me.
Her body just seemed to be flattened out because she did not have the energy to stand. She succumbed
peacefully.
I wrote this to those who knew her and know me. ALMOST RED Passed away 1:30 a.m. Thursday April 13 2017. She is the Flock Mistress. This picture is last summer 2016 August. Everyone respected her. She stepped up and took on the job. She is a New Hampshire Red 4 years old. Not very old actually, she developed an enlarged heart of this year. I was sitting out Wed. afternoon and had Andulasia on my lap talking to her, Almost Red and Quiet were under the picnic table and I heard a bird doing the cooing they do. At first I thought it was Quiet because Almost Red had been really ill on Wednesday. As I looked there she was cooing away as I spoke and told them how pretty the ladies are. I couldn't believe Almost Red had it in her to talk. She hadn't moved all day. And there she was talking. When I talk to them and tell them they are beautiful they talk back in a soft tone to me. They have a society and they communicate with us and we with them. Just how God made it to be.
I think over the year since last August her heart was enlarging. Altho without an X-ray I would have not know what the diagnosis was.
I too have felt sick and awful and cried so much. She was an excellent Flock Mistress and Friend.
mg

 

[mg15]

Almost Red August of 2016. she passed away this Thurs 13, 2017.
Last year in April of 2016 she had pneumonia diagnosed with an X-ray.
We gave her nebulizer treatments with liquid Baytril. She was fine. I have a video of that.
This year she was 4-years-old and she really slowed down. she was the best Flock Mistress.
She moved slower she was breathing in the house here with open beak. The vet took an
X-ray and on diagnosis she had an enlarged heart. She was surrounded by flock members during
the day and we brought her in at evening. She ate only apple and egg. She also seemed hot to me.
Her body just seemed to be flattened out because she did not have the energy to stand. She succumbed
peacefully.
I wrote this to those who knew her and know me. ALMOST RED Passed away 1:30 a.m. Thursday April 13 2017. She is the Flock Mistress. This picture is last summer 2016 August. Everyone respected her. She stepped up and took on the job. She is a New Hampshire Red 4 years old. Not very old actually, she developed an enlarged heart of this year. I was sitting out Wed. afternoon and had Andulasia on my lap talking to her, Almost Red and Quiet were under the picnic table and I heard a bird doing the cooing they do. At first I thought it was Quiet because Almost Red had been really ill on Wednesday. As I looked there she was cooing away as I spoke and told them how pretty the ladies are. I couldn't believe Almost Red had it in her to talk. She hadn't moved all day. And there she was talking. When I talk to them and tell them they are beautiful they talk back in a soft tone to me. They have a society and they communicate with us and we with them. Just how God made it to be.
I think over the year since last August her heart was enlarging. Altho without an X-ray I would have not know what the diagnosis was.
I too have felt sick and awful and cried so much. She was an excellent Flock Mistress and Friend.
mg