Pullet suddenly dead, what happened?

[topochico225]

Hey everyone, sad news tonight.

We came home tonight, and found our 8 month RIR pullet Mahalia face down dead. She's been having some health issues- here's links to the past posts I've made about her:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/possible-nystatin-aspiration-in-pullet-help.1436981/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-puffier-neck-and-liquid-around-nose.1436698/
Anyway, she finished her liquid Nystatin dose yesterday morning. Nothing odd since then, she seemed just fine since finishing the dose. She was alert, bright eyed, and happy this morning. When we came home, she was face down, legs splayed out, looking like she fell off the roost dead. She hit the waterer on the way down. What could have happened? She was cold when we got home, so it had been a good bit. No signs of trauma, obvious injury. It's not crazy cold here (42 F), and she had a space heater next to her coop. She was isolated by our back door, and the coop she was in was like Fort Knox. Hardware cloth over the large gratings, reinforced locks, the whole 9 yards. Nothing could have gotten in. What could have happened?
She was such a sweet girl. Would fall asleep when she was wrapped in a towel being held.
Pictures are from removing her from coop and putting her in better lighting.

Tagging for assistance: @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous @casportpony

 

[topochico225]

Also for help _ @Overo Mare

 

[Eggcessive]

I am very sorry for your loss. I would keep her body wrapped in a plastic bag, and keep it cold, but not frozen, to send it in to your state poultry vet at LSU for a necropsy. That way, they could tell if she had yeast/fungus, or canker, and any other disease. Her aspiration earlier may or may not have been related. It sometimes gives closure to know the cause of death. Here is a link:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[topochico225]

I am very sorry for your loss. I would keep her body wrapped in a plastic bag, and keep it cold, but not frozen, to send it in to your state poultry vet at LSU for a necropsy. That way, they could tell if she had yeast/fungus, or canker, and any other disease. Her aspiration earlier may or may not have been related. It sometimes gives closure to know the cause of death. Here is a link:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

Thank you. How should we keep her cold? We're trying to keep it low-cost, and some of our friends work at LSU Vet so we're trying to see if we can get a necropsy done.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I am very sorry for your loss. I would keep her body wrapped in a plastic bag, and keep it cold, but not frozen, to send it in to your state poultry vet at LSU for a necropsy. That way, they could tell if she had yeast/fungus, or canker, and any other disease. Her aspiration earlier may or may not have been related. It sometimes gives closure to know the cause of death. Here is a link:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

I am so sorry. Such a pretty girl....


I ordered a ne rosy when I lost my Australorp Magnolia last month. I was relieved that it wasn't something infectious that killed her. It also helped to know there was little I could have done as she was probably already too sick by the time I got her. And now I know to start treatment right at the onset of symptoms for any of my other birds.

 

[topochico225]

I am very sorry for your loss. I would keep her body wrapped in a plastic bag, and keep it cold, but not frozen, to send it in to your state poultry vet at LSU for a necropsy. That way, they could tell if she had yeast/fungus, or canker, and any other disease. Her aspiration earlier may or may not have been related. It sometimes gives closure to know the cause of death. Here is a link:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

We were thinking to put her body in a plastic bag back in the coop she was in outside so we don't have a dead chicken in our fridge and so nothing eats her. It's refrigerator-cold outside tonight.

 

[M Brennen]

So sorry for your loss. Keep us posted if you find out what she had.

 

[Chookchicken]

So sorry for you’re loss

 

[topochico225]

I am very sorry for your loss. I would keep her body wrapped in a plastic bag, and keep it cold, but not frozen, to send it in to your state poultry vet at LSU for a necropsy. That way, they could tell if she had yeast/fungus, or canker, and any other disease. Her aspiration earlier may or may not have been related. It sometimes gives closure to know the cause of death. Here is a link:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

@Aunt Angus as well
She dropped dead tonight around 36 hours after finishing her antifungal. Could it be that the yeast overgrowth was under control while she was on the meds, and just went crazy and killed her as soon as she went off it?

 

[azygous]

I'm sorry. Such a shock to find such a young one suddenly dead. This happened to me recently at the end of summer. A one-year old hen had been normal, laying normally, and was free ranging all morning, came into the run and collapsed in death as soon as she came through the pop hole.

I cut her open to do a quick visual determination of death if it presented itself, and found that she had been laying internally for a few days.

You can do this easily if you don't want to bother with an expensive necropsy. Just open the abdominal cavity and see what's in there that shouldn't be.