Seemingly healthy Maran dies in the night

[Alliecluck]

we woke this morning to our first loss, our Maran Raven who was seemingly healthy and laying (just yesterday) died in the night with no signs of trauma. The only thing that was not of sort was a large pile of non watery stool.... and ideas? From what I’ve googled there are a million diseases and cures and I am overwhelmed and heartsick! I want to do everything I can to prevent whatever happened to happen again. Please help

 

[Kiki]

I am sorry for your loss. Couple of quick questions...

Do you know how old she was?

What exactly do you feed your flock? (Type of complete feed and any treats.)

Any new birds brought home recently, last few months?

Was yesterday her very first time to lay an egg, if so was the egg normal?

Lastly, do you still have the body and would you be willing to send it for a necropsy to your state lab, if you are in the US?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry for your loss.

How old was she? If you still have her body you can send in for a necropsy to find out what cause of death was. It is often cheap or free to back yard keepers..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

Adding your general location to your profile can help others make the most relevant suggestions possible at a glance without haveing to ask first.

 

[Alliecluck]

I am sorry for your loss. Couple of quick questions...

Do you know how old she was?

What exactly do you feed your flock? (Type of complete feed and any treats.)

Any new birds brought home recently, last few months?

Was yesterday her very first time to lay an egg, if so was the egg normal?

Lastly, do you still have the body and would you be willing to send it for a necropsy to your state lab, if you are in the US?

We no longer have the body, our farmer neighbor came by as a was cleaning the coop in case of illness and he took her. She was 8months and she was our newer chick, that and the EE and H. We’ve had them for a month now. She was a regular layer and her egg yesterday was maybe a hair smaller (could be my imagination it’s so minute) but it did have darker brown spots. The yolk looked normal. She is on a pellet feeder with a pellet and corn mix (corn, sunflower, etc). They get treats of greens, pumpkin (right now), oats, etc. yesterday they did not get treats as it was raining buckets but the day before was a pumpkin from the garden. I look up all treats before giving them anything as I am newish and don’t want to inadvertently hurt them. They also have a ranging “playpen” that they can scratch around in. We haven’t let them free range yet due to predators and for some reason they want to go to the woods where the coyotes hang out. Sigh

 

[Alliecluck]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry for your loss.

How old was she? If you still have her body you can send in for a necropsy to find out what cause of death was. It is often cheap or free to back yard keepers..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

Adding your general location to your profile can help others make the most relevant suggestions possible at a glance without haveing to ask first.

I did not know this... thank you. I will keep in mind in the future

 

[Kiki]

So she was one of three new ones that you have only had a month, correct?

Do you mix the corn/sunflower treat with the pellets? If so stop.
I would first slow down on the treats and insead of offering them daily skip a few days in between and then only offer about one tablespoon worth of treats per bird.


Unfortunately it could be a lot off different things that happened and we can only just guess.

Fatty liver disease comes to mind only because bit sounds like they get a lot of treats but what you wrote and how I read it are two different things.

Since she is new to you she could very well have cone with a disease, like Marek's, but you didn't mention any symptoms.

No nasty poops around?
No lethargic girls?
No limping?


Any coughing or sneezing/ running noses?

 

[Alliecluck]

So she was one of three new ones that you have only had a month, correct?

Do you mix the corn/sunflower treat with the pellets? If so stop.
I would first slow down on the treats and insead of offering them daily skip a few days in between and then only offer about one tablespoon worth of treats per bird.


Unfortunately it could be a lot off different things that happened and we can only just guess.

Fatty liver disease comes to mind only because bit sounds like they get a lot of treats but what you wrote and how I read it are two different things.

Since she is new to you she could very well have cone with a disease, like Marek's, but you didn't mention any symptoms.

No nasty poops around?
No lethargic girls?
No limping?


Any coughing or sneezing/ running noses?

No symptoms at all and will stop mixing, thank you. Are veggies considered treats?

 

[FishMtFarm]

Definately limit or even stop giving corn. Corn is a sugary carb and has no nutritional value. It can cause so many problems for all sorts of species, including chickens. I agree with @Texas Kiki that it could be fatty liver disease.

 

[Kiki]

No symptoms at all and will stop mixing, thank you. Are veggies considered treats?

I say that anything besides a complete poultry feed is a treat.

 

[FishMtFarm]

I would think that veggies aren’t a treat. People free range their birds and they eat grass and other plants all day along with their feed so what’s the difference?