Pullet died, don't know what happened. Enlarged vent? Egg bound?

[Smokin Silkies]

Everything was fine, I didn't notice anything different with my birds. Left at 1:30 pm today and all the chickens were happy. Came home at 7:30 pm and checked on them and one was laying next to the nest box. I slowly picked her up and she was very lethargic. I noticed another hen had some blood on her face. I then turned the pullet on her back and noticed blood everywhere! She had an enlarged vent, like the size of an egg. Looks as if the it was pecked at also. She had alot of feathers missing from that area. She was still breathing so I ran her up to the house and put her in the sink with very warm water. She could barely move except for breathing. I had my daughter keep an eye on her so she didn't drown while I ran to the computer to get help from BYC. I didn't get too far when I heard my daughter screaming! My pullet was flopping everywhere like she was having a seizure. Blood and water was everywhere. I got her out of the water and put her in the tub and she just layed there and quit breathing. I re-checked the vent area and didn't see a stuck egg? I've never seen the inside of a vent before so I don't know what I was seeing, but there was no egg. I just don't know what happened? There was no sign of being egg bound. I just feel so horrible because I didn't see any signs and now she's dead. Its just so sad. I'm waiting for my husband to come home so he can take her. I can't bare to go back in the bathroom. I'm going to do some research about this but wanted to post this first. If anybody would like I can have my hubby take some pics of it if that'll help any? I feel so bad, what an awful sight and my poor daughter...I left her in the bathroom alone and she had to see that. I never thought that would happen.

 

[chickensioux]

So, so sorry for your loss. I know it hurts. I have had similar incidents happen. I have taken mine for necropsies and without one you may never know. I have had cancer as a result as well as other issues that I had no control over. Unfortunately, that's the only way you will know for sure. Sometimes they mask an illness until it is too late. Heart failure as well as other issues can just happen and there would have been nothing you could have done. I'm sorry you and your daughter had to experience it.....

 

[fancbrd4me02]

First of all, i am so sorry that happened and that your daughter had to see that. It sounds like your hen was attacked or picked by another chicken. It is possible that the hen had a problem that caused bleeding and the blood attracted the other hens into picking at her. The picking may or may not have caused her death. It's hard to say.

 

[Smokin Silkies]

I know for sure one of the hens was picking at her but I don't know if they caused it or not. I just know that her vent area was so stretched and enlarged that I could see the insides very clear. It was the size of an egg. I did find a pretty bloody egg on the other side of the coop on the floor. It was a little smaller than usual. For the last couple of weeks my girls have slowed down alot....from about 5 eggs a day to 1 a day, sometimes 2. Today I got 1 this morning and when I came home tonight I had 4 more between 4-5 hens (1 may be a roo?) Anyways, after I saw the eggs and the 1 bloody one (rest were fairly clean) I started to think she was egg bound. She may have bled a little when she passed the egg(s) and the other hen started picking at her? Sound about right? I never had this happen to me before so any input would be very much appreciated. Do you think she could've passed more than one egg today and it was just too much for her & thats why she was so stretched out? I don't know what to think?

 

[Smokin Silkies]

Somebody was saying it may have been a prolapsed vent? Would that explain the bloody egg? It still just doesn't fit.....when I was looking at pics of prolapsed vents, they seemed to protrude outwards instead of inwards where it was supposed to be. My pullet just had an egg size opening, like a big stretched out hole. Beings that it was late when this happened, we just put her in a bag for now and my hubby was supposed to take care of her this morning before he left for drill....but I just noticed she is still out there. I think I'm going to take a picture soon here and post it hoping somebody can help figure out what happened.