SGDS? - Sudden Guinea Death Syndrome

[Jerank]

So I've been keeping guinea fowl for about three years now. Their run is just outside my window, and thirty minutes ago I heard a violent staccato thrashing sound from it. Ran out and opened the door to their hutch, and there's a dead hen there. Less than two years old, perfectly healthy and active until today. The only warning sign is that she was maybe a small bit reluctant to go up the ramp and spent about an hour sitting down in the bottom of the run before going up with her mate.

A year before this, something similar happened. I just found one of the hens sitting in the field. She let me walk up to her, pick her up, all without protest or complaint. I put her in a bed to examine later, and within four hours she was simply dead. I don't know if she thrashed, but judging from the disturbed bedding I think it was likely.

This is now my second bird to die in this manner, a year or so apart. Both females, both perfectly healthy and laying, a good weight and apparently happy. Both dead with no warning within hours of the first symptoms, apparently having had a brief, violent and completely non-telegraphed seizure before passing.

Anyone have a clue what the cause of this might be?

Quick edit: To answer any inevitable questions; they get a diet of mealworms and mixed game bird seed. Oldest birds are two years old. We also keep chickens.

 

[R2elk]

So I've been keeping guinea fowl for about three years now. Their run is just outside my window, and thirty minutes ago I heard a violent staccato thrashing sound from it. Ran out and opened the door to their hutch, and there's a dead hen there. Less than two years old, perfectly healthy and active until today. The only warning sign is that she was maybe a small bit reluctant to go up the ramp and spent about an hour sitting down in the bottom of the run before going up with her mate.

A year before this, something similar happened. I just found one of the hens sitting in the field. She let me walk up to her, pick her up, all without protest or complaint. I put her in a bed to examine later, and within four hours she was simply dead. I don't know if she thrashed, but judging from the disturbed bedding I think it was likely.

This is now my second bird to die in this manner, a year or so apart. Both females, both perfectly healthy and laying, a good weight and apparently happy. Both dead with no warning within hours of the first symptoms, apparently having had a brief, violent and completely non-telegraphed seizure before passing.

Anyone have a clue what the cause of this might be?

Quick edit: To answer any inevitable questions; they get a diet of mealworms and mixed game bird seed. Oldest birds are two years old. We also keep chickens.

The only real way to find out the cause of death is to have a necropsy done. You might check with your state veterinarian to see if that person knows of any economical means of obtaining a necropsy.

Meal worms are 50% protein and should be fed as a treat only. Treats should not be more than 10% of their total diet. I recommend that you feed your guineas a good all flock feed.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

So I've been keeping guinea fowl for about three years now. Their run is just outside my window, and thirty minutes ago I heard a violent staccato thrashing sound from it. Ran out and opened the door to their hutch, and there's a dead hen there. Less than two years old, perfectly healthy and active until today. The only warning sign is that she was maybe a small bit reluctant to go up the ramp and spent about an hour sitting down in the bottom of the run before going up with her mate.

A year before this, something similar happened. I just found one of the hens sitting in the field. She let me walk up to her, pick her up, all without protest or complaint. I put her in a bed to examine later, and within four hours she was simply dead. I don't know if she thrashed, but judging from the disturbed bedding I think it was likely.

This is now my second bird to die in this manner, a year or so apart. Both females, both perfectly healthy and laying, a good weight and apparently happy. Both dead with no warning within hours of the first symptoms, apparently having had a brief, violent and completely non-telegraphed seizure before passing.

Anyone have a clue what the cause of this might be?

Quick edit: To answer any inevitable questions; they get a diet of mealworms and mixed game bird seed. Oldest birds are two years old. We also keep chickens.

I’m so sorry that you are losing some birds! If you are in the US, your state veterinary diagnostic lab might be willing to necropsy as part of their avian influenza monitoring program.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

 

[Aquira]

Is there a possibility she broke her neck on the ceiling or something of the hutch?

 

[Jerank]

Is there a possibility she broke her neck on the ceiling or something of the hutch?

If so, it would be the first in that hutch, ever, in over twenty straight years. I'm not entirely discounting the possibility, but I would only accept it after absolutely incontrovertible proof. It was something I thought of, but as I'm not an expert on guinea anatomy and they're naturally rubber-necks, I don't know what signs to look for when it comes to a broken one.

Having read other posts, I'm strongly leaning towards some kind of spontaneous organ failure brought on by diet. A family member hands out mealworms to the birds very often, and I've had suspicions in the past that it's not been good for them. Considering that every bird that has died like this before (I think one of our quail died like this as well) has been a female in laying season and definitely hasn't been egg-bound, I feel it might be stress combined with the underlying health issues of a high-fat diet.

 

[R2elk]

Having read other posts, I'm strongly leaning towards some kind of spontaneous organ failure brought on by diet. A family member hands out mealworms to the birds very often, and I've had suspicions in the past that it's not been good for them. Considering that every bird that has died like this before (I think one of our quail died like this as well) has been a female in laying season and definitely hasn't been egg-bound, I feel it might be stress combined with the underlying health issues of a high-fat diet.

I would not be surprised if a necropsy showed fatty ovaries, fatty liver or kidney failure due to the diet.