Sudden Death (8.5 mo old Buff Orpington Hen)

[Redhead Rae]

Today is a sad day. It looks like one of my 8.5 month old Buff Orpington hens just keeled over. There's no sign of violence. She's just dead. I now have two questions to figure out.

What could have killed her? It seems odd that a seemingly healthy hen (I counted them all yesterday) would just die.

What do I do with her body? I was considering putting her in the maggot bucket (I have a bucket with holes in it that I put chicken guts in so maggots will eat the carcass drop out for the chickens to eat), but I'm reconsidering that option because I don't know if an illness can transfer through the maggots.

Don't worry about the loose feathers on the ground under the hen, they are from a when I clipped the wing of an escapee.

 

[sawilliams]

That's sorta like a question a few weeks ago about feeding a carcass to a dog out other animal...

I my opinion, if i didn't kill it or see it killed any dead hen should be consider a sick hen.

Through that bird out for the trash, if trash pickup is a few days out bag it and stuff it in the freezer till trash day so it doesn't start to stink, bad fish experience there.

 

[sawilliams]

As to why she died? Heat, stress, parasites (check for lice and mites watch poops for signs of worms) or she just just sick and you didn't see it.

I had 1 die we assumed of heat stroke, a week later I discovered the flock had tapeworm.
I had another suddenly get sick one day died 3 days later in isolation she was the only one that ever showed any signs of illness.

Its really hard to say without an autopsy or tests what really took the hen down, but your best bet is dispose of it away from your flock and keep an eye on the others at least for a little while to make sure

 

[Redhead Rae]

Thanks, I'll be keeping an eye on things. I really hope it isn't catching. I have 58 other birds to worry about. I haven't seen any signs of lice or mites on my birds. Maybe I should feed some DE just to be sure about intestinal parasites.

 

[microchick]

Personally I would start by worming the whole flock with something stronger than DE, especially since you had a suspicious death.

Have you considered having the hen necropsied? That would give you something concrete to go on and give you a definite answer as to what killed her. It isn't normal for a healthy Buff O hen to just keel over. Something caused it either bacterial, parasitical, viral or genetic.

So starting with worming, Wazine, Safeguard and Corid are my wormers of choice. In the mean time, keep your eye on the rest of your flock for symptoms. Chickens are funny animals. They have been domesticated for centuries but in their little pea brains, they are still dinosaurs. In the wild, appearing weak=equals winding up as the main course for somebody's dinner table. Best to hide it is their SOP. Unfortunately that means you don't know they are sick until they usually have one foot in the grave and the other on the proverbial banana peel.

I'm so sorry for your loss and hope you get some answers soon as to what happened to your girl.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I don't know of anyone in our area (central WV) that would do a necropsy on a chicken. Plus, I'm not sure we would have the money for it.

Also, I mentioned DE because we are spending the money to feed organic, so we want to maintain and organic standard or higher. Are commercial wormers organic certified?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss.

Unfortunately, there is no way to know what caused her death without testing/necropsy.
If you still have her body, you can refrigerate it and contact your state lab for shipping details West Virginia state lab site: http://www.agriculture.wv.gov/divisions/animalhealth/Pages/default.aspx

Since she died of unknown causes and if you don't send her for necropsy - either do as suggested, freeze the body and dispose of her in the trash or bury her.

Watch your other chickens for any signs of illness, if you happen to lose another in a short period of time, then consider having a necropsy performed.

fwiw - I would not put her in the "maggot bucket". Some people do feed maggots and/or guts of dead animals back to their chickens, but I would be concerned about birds contracting Botulism from consuming the maggots - that's just me though.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

.

 

[microchick]

I don't know of anyone in our area (central WV) that would do a necropsy on a chicken. Plus, I'm not sure we would have the money for it.

Also, I mentioned DE because we are spending the money to feed organic, so we want to maintain and organic standard or higher. Are commercial wormers organic certified?

I doubt it. At least I haven't seen any of the wormers I used marked as such. I have a different set of circumstances though as I have Marek's on my property and have to treat everything aggressive. I too started out wanting to be 'natural' as possible with my flock.

Since you are striving to be organic, I assume then that you didn't have your flock vaccinated. Unfortunately MD is on the list of diseases that can cause sudden death without previous symptomology. Unfortunately I lost a nice OEGB cockerel a couple months ago the same way. He went to roost healthy, I found him dead the next morning when I opened the coop.

As I posted earlier and in complete agreement with @Wyorp Rock, if you loose another bird do try to necropsy. Contact your local Extension office. Many times they can help defray costs or can aim you towards somebody who can help you out. Ask your vet also. Sometimes they will do a basic necropsy where they can check for internal parasites or diseased organs at a reasonable price.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I doubt it. At least I haven't seen any of the wormers I used marked as such. I have a different set of circumstances though as I have Marek's on my property and have to treat everything aggressive. I too started out wanting to be 'natural' as possible with my flock.

Since you are striving to be organic, I assume then that you didn't have your flock vaccinated. Unfortunately MD is on the list of diseases that can cause sudden death without previous symptomology. Unfortunately I lost a nice OEGB cockerel a couple months ago the same way. He went to roost healthy, I found him dead the next morning when I opened the coop.

As I posted earlier and in complete agreement with @Wyorp Rock, if you loose another bird do try to necropsy. Contact your local Extension office. Many times they can help defray costs or can aim you towards somebody who can help you out. Ask your vet also. Sometimes they will do a basic necropsy where they can check for internal parasites or diseased organs at a reasonable price.

Only my Delaware chickens are vaccinated for MD. I got them from a breeder that vaccinates all chicks they sell but otherwise have an organic certified operation. I got my Dominiques and Leghorn crosses as baby chicks from a couple of neighbors, so they aren't vaccinated. I choose not to vaccinate my Buff, New Hampshire, and Cochin chickens. I might change my mind in the future.

I made this bird Waste Management's problem (bagged her up first). But I think I'll look into local resources for necropsy just in case we have another suspicious death. Other than some chicks that were less than 2 weeks old and 2 roosters that were killed by a coon, this is the first bird that we've lost. I'm really hoping this isn't MD. Most of the neighbors have chickens and it would be a nightmare to deal with long term.