Random chicken death

[Doris29]

One of my 3 girls died last night and I’m not sure what happened. The temp dropped 20-30 degrees overnight and it was super windy.
She was acting totally fine yesterday… at my back door begging for treats.
We’re in the city and they have a smallish coop and run fur just the 3 but have free rein of the yard when the weathers not so brutal. I’ve been getting in there and cleaning it out pretty good.
I worry about the other two now.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I’ve had a few of these. Without a necropsy it’s hard to say. Was she laying?

 

[Doris29]

I’ve had a few of these. Without a necropsy it’s hard to say. Was

I’ve had a few of these. Without a necropsy it’s hard to say. Was she laying?

Yeah but it slowed down the last few days. I’m not sure the last day she layed. I have 2 brown layers and she was one of them. Is it hard to get a necropsy? Worth it?
Are her recent eggs ok to eat?
I don’t know what to do.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

It’s possible she was egg-bound. That can kill a chicken pretty quickly. I wouldn’t bother with sending her away for a necropsy but if you have the stomach to perform your own it might ease your mind. If you lose another hen put her in two plastic bags and refrigerate the body. I will tag someone who knows about how to find the labs that do necropsies @Eggcessive @azygous

 

[Doris29]

That was kind of my thought, but still nerve wracking. I tried to look/feel around her vent but don’t have the stomach for even that. Thank you, appreciate it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Small coops for only 3 birds might be too small to keep them warm enough and out of the cold. Hard to know without pictures. How old was the hen? I do like to recommend a necropsy if one loses a bird just to rule out something contagious. I also do home necropsies to look the major organs of my own birds who die. Pictures can be posted here for opinions. Birds sent for a necropsy need to be wrapped in 2 clean plastic bags and kept refrigerated, not frozen. Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/

 

[Doris29]

Small coops for only 3 birds might be too small to keep them warm enough and out of the cold. Hard to know without pictures. How old was the hen? I do like to recommend a necropsy if one loses a bird just to rule out something contagious. I also do home necropsies to look the major organs of my own birds who die. Pictures can be posted here for opinions. Birds sent for a necropsy need to be wrapped in 2 clean plastic bags and kept refrigerated, not frozen. Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/

Well I made my husband get the coop that said it holds up to 8. It seems to be plenty of room for the 3, i would not have more than 4 for sure in there. They only go in there to sleep and lay eggs. 4 nesting boxes but they always fight over one . We attached a bigger run to it for winter, so they have more space, but they’ve been out in the yard most days. We’ve had a few cold snaps but overall so far winters been pretty mild .

She was also my big girl and also kind of the outcast. She started out as the big bully but the two smaller two buddied up and often she ended up off on her own while the other two paired up more. They never were really mean to her though. Does make me wonder if she got pushed off the roost or something last night. I can maybe post pictures tomorrow. I had a hard time trying to get a closer look at her today. Thank you so much.

 

[Doris29]

Also yesterday she had a bunch of white poop (so I thought it was) on her fluffy butt feathers but she was fluffier back there and I’ve noticed it in the past, so I didn’t think anything of it. But maybe it was a sign of something. It’s hard not to overthink.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is really hard to know. White urates inna larger amount than normal could mean that she was dehydrated or having kidney issues. State vets can look over the whole body and they take tissue samples for testing. Many times they can pinpoint a cause of death. If you contact them in early morning, some states will send a prepaid label for overnight shipping if you live too far from the lab. I think that many of us have lost a young hen in her first year of life for no apparent reason.