Sudden death cause any ideas ?

[Boergoatlover]

I don’t know if anybody can advise my lovely 8 month Silkie Dottie died today. She was as far as I could see absolutely fine she had been broody but other than that no illness. I checked her at 8pm she was fine this morning at 6:30am I found her slumped in the corner of the coop when I picked her up she couldn’t put any weight on her left leg and fell onto her side with her head shaking. I rushed her to the vets and twice she was flapping her wings but she died on the way to the vet.

My vet has done a post mortem which showed nothing he said evetyijng was normal and she seemed very healthy. He has sent away samples to the lab as my fear was mareks but he said the nerve which is usually inflamed with mareks was completely normal. He did wonder if something had given her a fright and she has had a heart attack. I’ll try give you all the information on her:

By way of background when these hens came to me they were unwell we had outbreak of mycroplasma and one died. When I called the breeder she was very defensive and told me I couldn’t have a post mortem on that bird as it could damage her business. Having looked today online it appears she has got rid of her whole flock and I wonder if she did have an outbreak of something hence her reaction. My other 3 birds are sneezing and very quiet and one has crop emptying issues these girls are all on tylan. But I’m worried I’m going to loose the whole flock. The breeder said they were vaccinated with a dropper ?

Dottie was on organic layers pellets and mixed corn I supplemented their water with NAF lifeguard which has the following:

NutritionalBiotin35000 mgNicotinamide8000 mgPantothenic Acid2000 mgpara-amino benzoic acid200 mgVitamin AE 6722000000 I.U.Vitamin B1600 mgVitamin B124000 mcgVitamin B21070 mgVitamin B6800 mgVitamin D3E 671300000 I.U.Vitamin E8000 mgVitamin K660 mgSensoryAstragalus tincture16.6 mlBlueberry tincture44.2 mlEchinacea tincture16.6 mlGinger tincture44.2 mlLicorice tincture33.1 mlMilk thistle tincture99 mlOregano tincture8.84 mlTurmeric tincture55.3 ml

And a calcium supplement in her feed that contains: Analysis: Total Phosphorus (P) 18.2% Calcium (CA) 24.5% Oil: trace Protein 0% Fibre 0.1% Ash 82%

They also had oregano oil in their feed

In the afternoon they have fruit such as watermelon, grapes and tomatoes chopped up in tiny bits and in a very small ration.

I kept taking her out the next box 5 times a day and she did eat and drink.

I’m absolutely heartbroken but also absolutely terrified I’m going to loose my girls. Rhe vets are at a loss and I just wondered if anybody on her has any idea. I’ve checked the garden they graze in there are no plants and if I’m not out with them they are in their run which is concrete and childrens playground chip bark. I was worried she had something toxic but the vet said he’d expect to see evidence of this on the post mortem.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. The best way to get a diagnosis is to let your state vet do a necropsy, since they probably have more experience with chickens and know more about recognizing diseases. The sciatic nerves in Mareks are enlarged, not inflamed I believe. They also take tissue samples and cultures to look for common diseases. I hope that she doesn’t test positive for Mareks. Did she exhibit most of the signs that broody hens have?

 

[APK]

"It has been suggested that Mycoplasma pneumoniae might also play a role in the development of atherosclerosis "

Sudden death and deterioration like that usually means some sort of catastrophic failure. It might be heart failure or stroke caused by vascular degeneration.

It might be that the previous infection had weakened her organs particularly her heart or the veins or arteries ? Not a vet, but that is my theory.

You mentioned that you are feeding them all kinds of sweet fruits and treats. This could cause fatty deposits to build up, elevated levels of sugar. You could be totally fine on the diet side, but something to consider. I generally just give them the layer ration, and then they walk around and eat grass or worms and small bugs for supplement. Fruits are given once in a while not daily as the layer ration provides their complete nutritional needs.

 

[Boergoatlover]

Sorry for your loss. The best way to get a diagnosis is to let your state vet do a necropsy, since they probably have more experience with chickens and know more about recognizing diseases. The sciatic nerves in Mareks are enlarged, not inflamed I believe. They also take tissue samples and cultures to look for common diseases. I hope that she doesn’t test positive for Mareks. Did she exhibit most of the signs that broody hens have?

Thank you for replying I think the vet did say it was not enlarged and therefore he didn’t suspect mareks. The issue we have is it’s a bank holiday and the vet hasn’t sent samples for a hen before and the lab didn’t call him back in time on Friday so we’re not sure if the samples will keep till the Tuesday. She did she was broody I’d say for about 6 weeks can this cause this to happen? I took her out numerous times a day to eat but I’ve also noticed my 3 remaining hens are now all sneezing so they are on Tylan not sure if it’s connected.

 

[Boergoatlover]

"It has been suggested that Mycoplasma pneumoniae might also play a role in the development of atherosclerosis "

Sudden death and deterioration like that usually means some sort of catastrophic failure. It might be heart failure or stroke caused by vascular degeneration.

It might be that the previous infection had weakened her organs particularly her heart or the veins or arteries ? Not a vet, but that is my theory.

You mentioned that you are feeding them all kinds of sweet fruits and treats. This could cause fatty deposits to build up, elevated levels of sugar. You could be totally fine on the diet side, but something to consider. I generally just give them the layer ration, and then they walk around and eat grass or worms and small bugs for supplement. Fruits are given once in a while not daily as the layer ration provides their complete nutritional needs.

Thank you so much for your reply. I’ll cut down on the fruit for sure as they do get to free range and grass etc. I think you are right because the other 3 hens have started to sneeze so they are on tylan I lost one when I first got them within 24 hours due to the mycroplasma and I wonder like you say this one just didn’t get over it. The vet said he thought that they were not from a healthy flock just so praying my other 3 pull through.