Possible cause of death?

[Arkelanor]

Help, my 6 month old Wyandot died today and I'm afraid it might be contagious to my other girls. Half an hour before death, she was sitting down, flexing her neck and gulping air (like opening and closing her beak frequently) and occasionally closing her eyes. When we tried to get close to her, she got up and walked away, although a bit slower than the others. I thought she might have been laying her first egg, but as I've never seen the process, I didn't know. We decided to wait and 20 minutes later, she was dead. Could she have choked on a big pellet? (She had nothing else this morning, maybe an old bone) Maybe her first egg got stuck and she died (although no egg was obvious). Does my description match any disses you may know of? We are so sad, like we failed our girl.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. She had some sort of respiratory issue. It could have been one of several things--something lodged in her throat, a respiratory infection, gapeworm, or ILT which is one of the respiratory infections, but it causes bloody mucus in the nose and mouth. It looks a lot like gapeworm. Respiratory symptoms get a lot worse at night, just like when people get colds. Sorry for your loss. Here is a link for common diseases--in this you will find mycoplasma gallisepticum, coryza, and ILT or infectious laryngotracheitis:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Eggcessive]

The treatment for gapeworm is fenbendazole (Safeguard Liquid Goat Wormer) 25mg per pound of weight for 3 straight days, and repated in 10 days for 3 days. Valbazen and Thiobendazole will also treat gapeworm. This is a recent thread with a chicken who probably had gapeworm for those who haven't seen it (warning: it is hard to watch.) https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/831466/hen-breathing-very-heavily-advice-video-included

 

[Eggcessive]

I doubt if there was anything you could do if this came on that fast. It is also hard to pinpoint exactly what the cause of death was without a necropsy. These can be done by your state agriculture department or state vet. Here is how to contact your state vet, and any chicken to be necropsied should be refrigerated, not frozen. Sorry for your loss. The link:
http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalHealth/statevets.aspx

 

[Chicka and Co]

My hybrid hen had the exact same symptoms before she died, we are not certainly sure what it was either but it was very sudden and none of the other hens caught it. It was possibly some sort of respiratory infection.

 

[Arkelanor]

Thanks for the video. That's exactly how she looked like but without the wheezing. I'll research tapeworm to see if it's contagious and will check in my other girls frequently. Thanks for the advice and sympathy.

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks for the video. That's exactly how she looked like but without the wheezing. I'll research tapeworm to see if it's contagious and will check in my other girls frequently. Thanks for the advice and sympathy.

Be sure and research gapeworm, not tapeworm.

 

[Didymus]

I am so sorry. I know you loved her very much, but it obviously wasn't your fault.

 

[Arkelanor]

Thanks to all for the support. My husband researched that to help fight worms like gapworm and others, it's good to add diatomaceous earth on their feed. Does anybody have experience with it? http://poultrykeeper.com/health-suppliments/diatomaceous-earth

 

[Arkelanor]

Thanks to all for the support. We read about adding diatomaceous earth to help chickens against worms like gapeworm. Any experience you can share?

"Added to poultry feed - daily use of diatom as a feed additive may result in fewer worms, less mortality and better feathering. There are many different trace minerals contained in diatomaceous earth that are beneficial to poultry. The dose that is commonly used in most animals from poultry to cats, dogs and even cattle is between 2 and 5% (follow the manufacturers recommendations) added to their feed."