Please tell us what happened to our pullet!!!

[realsis]

Alage is fatal and will cause the bird to contort into strange positions at death. This could be a possibility.

 

[ten chicks]

Certain types of algae are toxic to chickens.

The heat is still an issue,a chickens body temp is around 104-107 degrees Fahrenheit,when their body temp reaches 113-117 they are in serious danger. Chickens have no sweat glands,they rely on their respiratory system to cool themselves down,that is why they pant,spread out wings,etc.

 

[riverdreamer]

Certain types of algae are toxic to chickens.

 The heat is still an issue,a chickens body temp is around 104-107 degrees Fahrenheit,when their body temp reaches 113-117 they are in serious danger. Chickens have no sweat glands,they rely on their respiratory system to cool themselves down,that is why they pant,spread out wings,etc.

We bought lots of mulches today to make dust bath pools, spreading out pails of water. All my other breeds are not fluffy like light brahma, so I am taking precaution as yesterday was only 1st day of summer.

 

[muddyfeathers]

Depending on the type of algae, it can certainly be fatal. I was more referring to algae from a stagnant water hole..puddle, ditch, sewer seepage,etc...I'm not certain that the algae from the water dish can do much harm unless a person just never cleans it out and lets it get ridiculously out of hand, but I'm no expert so it may very well be of danger as well.
I only mentioned algae because you gave a pretty detailed description of the chickens death and what stuck out was that she was foraging a couple hours before. Of all the info I've read about diseases, I don't recall many if any that will kill a bird in a matter of minutes..toxic algae will.
It may have nothing to do with anything and could very well be the heat

.
--Edit--
I just checked in the disease handbook and thought I'd pass along some of the info and add a bit more for you to ponder. It obviously can be helpful to know the cause so as to try and prevent it from happening again, especially if the issue appears to be a virus, bacteria, etc..Just remember that chickens can die a thousand ways and it doesn't do you any good to stress about each and every one.

For algae poisoning it states the symptoms are--
weakness, staggering, collapse, convulsions, lying on breast with legs extended toward rear, neck extended and curved backward until head almost touches back, paralysis, rapid death
It also says that it resembles botulism which is basically food poisoning and can cause a very rapid death as well. You should look it up because there are many things that can attribute to it that may surprise you..spoiled food, decaying animals, ammonium sulfate fertilizer, castor beans, even your compost pile. Even if your birds don't have direct contact with such things, a fly or a beetle that does, is a risk as well.

Which makes me want to repeat myself...chickens can die a thousand ways... stopping them all isn't just shy of impossible, its ludicrous. Just enjoy them!!

 

[muddyfeathers]

One more thing..

I just read the symptoms of botulism and it appears to have a couple things listed that may be of interest to you. Not that algae poisoning wouldn't have them too, but they weren't listed.

botulism symptoms-
sudden death or leg weakness and drowsiness followed by progressive flaccid (not rigid) paralysis of the legs, wings, and neck..difficulty swallowing, ruffled, lose feathers (raised hackles on cocks), lying on side with outstretched neck and eyes partly closed; sometimes trembling, diarrhea, coma and death due to heart and/or respiratory paralysis

Your bird panting would of course make any person think it was just too hot and got overheated, naturally, but could it be possible that if a birds respiratory system was being affected that it could mimic that? I'm no vet so I truly can't say

Good luck

 

[riverdreamer]

The sy

One more thing..

I just read the symptoms of botulism and it appears to have a couple things listed that may be of interest to you.  Not that algae poisoning wouldn't have them too, but they weren't listed.

botulism symptoms-
  sudden death or leg weakness and drowsiness followed by progressive flaccid (not rigid) paralysis of the legs, wings, and neck..difficulty swallowing, ruffled, lose feathers (raised hackles on cocks), lying on side with outstretched neck and eyes partly closed; sometimes trembling, diarrhea, coma and death due to heart and/or respiratory paralysis

Your bird panting would of course make any person think it was just too hot and got overheated, naturally, but could it be possible that if a birds respiratory system was being affected that it could mimic that?  I'm no vet so I truly can't say

Good luck

The symptoms described in botulism is very similar to what happened to my pullet. As I recall a few days ago, my leghorn picked up a frog, yanked to death and dropped its carcass to the root of the tree. I wonder if a decaying frog carcass in a hot weather can cause botulism if my brahma swallowed it. Like you said, there may be a thousand ways, but heat stroke is prime suspect. We are learning as we go along. It's just hard that she's our first bird and we're so attached to her.

 

[muddyfeathers]

You just never know. I will say that Brahmas can tolerate the heat with the best of them but it would do them well if you were to add some electrolytes to their water..especially being in TX.

I also wanted to add that I have water bowls scattered around for the free rangers...they can get a quite a bit of algae in them and I've never lost a chicken that I suspected to have been poisoned by it.