Rooster was high stepping, now passed away

[Sunni_Chick]

Please note: I have already contacted my vet who actually doesn't treat chickens but does have her own chickens for some feedback. I am sending this guy off to Purdue for a Necropsy tomorrow. But wanted to post here to see what others might have to add.

Opie, lavender Orpington Rooster was 22 weeks old when he died. He was vaccinated for Marek's which I know is 90-95% effective so there is room for this is to be the cause, but low. On the evening of October 8th, I was watching the flock after finished their routine run cleaning and notice that one of our 2 Lavender Orpington Roos was walking with a high step (high-stepping I guess is a real term - I didn't know). Almost like he was marching or strutting. I told my husband that it seemed odd and he just said "they do that sometimes." Still felt strange.

Friday morning (Oct 10th) I checked the cam in the coop to see one of our roosters laying flat on his side on the ground in the hemp. When I got out there I found Opie dead. He must have died over night as his head was limp but body stiff. Looked like he just fell off the roost?

I immediately reached out to my vet for her thoughts. She is worried about Marek's or something neurological. When I checked him over, I didn't see any lifting scales to indicate leg mites, or any injuries to feet that looked like bumblefoot, or any injuries to his body to indicate he was in a fight with Ace (our other roo). Honestly they were buddies, always together so that felt unlikely. I even checked inside his mouth and nothing odd there either. We do not free range as we have zero tree coverage so instead they have a huge run (12X24 ft for 14 birds - now 13 ) and a 8X6ft coop with 4 lateral roosting bars and 5 nest boxes. Vitamin deficiency was another thought that I had but no one else is behaving oddly.

I will note that Opie was always HUGE compared to Ace. I mean like nearly double his size, so did he just have a heart attack? Just feels like 22 weeks is very young. I know things happen, chickens die. I am just trying to be proactive and protect the rest of my flock if at all possible.

I'm taking a fecal sample to my vet clinic on Tuesday as well...so those results should be back in just a few days.

Thoughts? Questions? I am new to all of this and this is my first chicken that has died.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are doing what you can with the necropsy and fecal count. I hope you get some results from that. That is rough to go through. Not knowing what actually happened makes it even rougher.

All I can do is speculate. It could be a heart attack or stroke. Maybe some type of birth defect where everything was fine until it wasn't. Maybe something neurological that affected his balance. I could see him falling off of the roost and hitting his head on the way down and breaking his neck, maybe against a wall.

I wish you well.

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree, sounds like sudden death syndrome. Which is just that, an old timer told me, that sometimes they have a genetic internal defect, that they can compensate for until they get full grown, and the body just could not keep up.

I have seen birds high step - but something sticky was on their feet. I don't think it had anything to do with the death. I would be dumbfounded if there was Mareks. A lot of chickens are just not real long lived, and often times die.

Nothing you did, or could have done. It just happens. Years and years ago, I was raising up chicks, and when we got to 4 months, one died. A month later, another one, a month later another one. I was getting a bit worried...but never had another one. I figured that I got hatch mates with a genetic problem.

Mrs K

 

[Sunni_Chick]

Thank you both for this! I have never touched a chicken until we got these guys in May - it has been a rewarding experience and my husband and I got to work together to build a beautiful coop/run for them. You can imagine how shocked we were to see Opie had just died.

I did some reading on Sudden Death in Chickens and it seems very possible - I always remarked on how HUGE Opie was compared to Ace and I suppose that it is possible he had a heart issue.

I got him to Purdue as planned yesterday and just waiting on the gross necropsy results that are expected in the first day or 2. The pathology report will take up to 2 weeks. The necropsy wasn't bad $109 plus my travel, etc...but I got a parking ticket for backing into a parking spot (improper display of my plate)...so that was an additional $35.
The fecal was the real hit...who would have thought a fecal would be $276! Planning to ask my friend about it because I feel that was way more than just a simple fecal.
Anyway - I will keep you posted on anything we learn from all of this. And thank you both again

 

[Mrs. K]

Oh course one can spend what they want, but really unless you have chickens dying right and left, it just might not be necessary.

Good water, good feed adequate protection is what chickens really need. Do know that chickens often are not long lived. It happens, but as my granddaughter say, “well that is tough, but now we can add chicks.

I have had chickens for decades, never had an egg bound chicken or any disease. Not that I don’t believe people on here that do, but people tend to post about trouble, which in turn makes it look like that they are very fragile. I am just saying you can have a healthy flock without that.

It really has been a life long hobby for me, I hope you enjoy it for years to come.

Mrs K

 

[Sunni_Chick]

Oh course one can spend what they want, but really unless you have chickens dying right and left, it just might not be necessary.

Good water, good feed adequate protection is what chickens really need. Do know that chickens often are not long lived. It happens, but as my granddaughter say, “well that is tough, but now we can add chicks.

I get it. And I am pretty naive about all of this so my actions are mostly an abundance of caution. I made these steps this based on my friend/vet's suggestion and to learn if my husbandry needs any tweaks. My flock has a large secure coop/run as I cannot let them safely free range...they have ample space and lots of enrichment items inside their run. Since I am so new, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have things checked out. Plus we are going into winter and I want to be sure I don't need to worm them or take care of anything else...I have no idea if worming is something to routinely do or only if needed. I've never seen a clear direction for this in my research. So I did the fecal.

$$ wasn't a factor in my previous response but rather thought it was funny to go do all this and get a freaking ticket for something so stupid like backing into a parking spot.

 

[Mrs. K]

I did not mean to condemn your decision, and we all need to be where we are comfortable. I am just trying to point out that you have a young flock, really should be pretty darn healthy. Especially if there have never been chickens there before.

And I have never heard of a ticket for parking backwards!

 

[Sunni_Chick]

I did not mean to condemn your decision, and we all need to be where we are comfortable. I am just trying to point out that you have a young flock, really should be pretty darn healthy. Especially if there have never been chickens there before.

And I have never heard of a ticket for parking backwards!

Oh no, I didn't take it that way at all! I appreciate all the feedback ...and yeah there have never been chickens here that I am aware of. We have been here 6 years but the house is 150+ years old. Surely if they did have chickens years ago, that wouldn't be a factor now.

I can't believe how much I have enjoyed these chickens so far. My husband laughs at me because from the start I have always said "baaaabbbies" in a sing-songy voice and they come running. They only come to me when I say it. A few just follow me and some think they own me - like Delilah (Rhode Island Blue)...sweet girl but she doesn't like to share me with the others at all. She runs them off. She comes when called and behaves like a puppy - jumping in my lap if I am in a sitting position. Then we have Squirt (Green Queen) who is also special as she comes when called too and likes snuggles. My husband saw her in my lap asleep with me petting her head - I stopped and she looked at me as if to say "why did you stop." Who would have thought they would have such unique personalities!

 

[Sunni_Chick]

Thought I would update everyone on the Necropsy results - things have been crazy here so I am delayed in posted them.

Gross Diagnosis:
Splenomegaly
Suspect thymic enlargement
Airsacculitis, mild
Pulmonary edema
Keel bursitis, mild to moderate

Comment on Necropsy:
Gross findings are not specific for any disease process or cause of death. Keel bursitis is most commonly secondary to
trauma, hard flooring, or increased or prolonged recumbency, which may indicate that this bird had decreased activity or
weakness for some time before death. Final diagnosis is pending histopathology.


Histopathology conclusion:
Inflammation and random necrosis seen in the liver along with perivascular inflammation in the conjunctiva and lungs are
most likely consistent with acute bacterial septicemia as the cause of death in this case. This syndrome is most commonly
seen with Escherichia coli infection, but can also be associated with multiple other primary pathogens and opportunistic
infections. No evidence of Marekâ€TMs disease as clinically suspected is seen in this bird.

Then fecal came back unremarkable as well. Nothing at all except for Campylobacter which my vet said was pretty common and "just don't lick your chickens"...LOL

The important thing is that I must be doing ok here with my husbandry practices so far...and poor Opie just had a rough time. I didn't seem him inactive at all or sitting more than usual. Just high stepping a few days before (possibly due to a painful keel?)...

​

 

[Sunni_Chick]

oh and I was able to appeal my ticket and it was reduced to $5