Sudden Death...help...

[Girl43]

Hi everyone. I have a bit of a mystery on my hands. Spring has somewhat sprung here in Eastern Canada after a very hard and cold winter. I recently cleaned out my coop which was pretty bad with ammonia and the like. All was going well and everything seemed to be great until I went into the coop this morning. My americauna was dead on the floor. I checked her over carefully...no outward causes of death. She was running around yesterday enjoying the sun, good appetite, drinking, lively. She was only 1.5 years old. Does an apparently healthy chicken just keel over? She moulted two months ago and had quit laying if that helps. I'd love to know what could cause this. Thanks

 

[TwoCrows]

Actually chickens can keel over all of a sudden. I have never had it happen to me, but I have heard that if a chicken the day before was in perfect health and then the next MORNING you find them dead beneath the perch, many times the bird suffered from a heart condition and possibly had a heart attack during the night.

If you don't see any really obvious signs, to be 100% sure, you would need to have a necropsy done.

 

[Girl43]

Thank you for the advice...I hate when this happens altho I should be used to it.

 

[Haunted55]

I know what you mean by the hard and long winter. It is possible that in cleaning the coop you may have uncovered a mold or something that she got into. I never thought this could be possible but in cleaning mine I found black mold growing in the corners near the floor.

 

[hrhta812]

I had a young pullet die suddenly and it turned out to be coccidia. She seemed perfectly fine, and I put her and her sisters in a playpen outside. A few hours later, she was just dead. That evening, one of the others seemed puny, and I checked really closely in the area where they'd been and found tiny traces of blood in the feces. I treated for cocci right away and everybody was fine.

I thought cocci showed symptoms but the one didn't have any that I noticed before she died, and I spent time with them every day, at feeding time, watching them eat, etc. just because it was fun, so I would like to think I'd have noticed if she was "off" but I swear I saw nothing to warn me.

 

[Haunted55]

I had a young pullet die suddenly and it turned out to be coccidia. She seemed perfectly fine, and I put her and her sisters in a playpen outside. A few hours later, she was just dead. That evening, one of the others seemed puny, and I checked really closely in the area where they'd been and found tiny traces of blood in the feces. I treated for cocci right away and everybody was fine.

I thought cocci showed symptoms but the one didn't have any that I noticed before she died, and I spent time with them every day, at feeding time, watching them eat, etc. just because it was fun, so I would like to think I'd have noticed if she was "off" but I swear I saw nothing to warn me.

I've been through the same thing myself. No symptoms except the sudden death of the bird. A week later I found a lot of blood from one of them and treated them all. Most made it, but a few didn't as it was so far along.

 

[chickydee64]

I've been through the same thing myself. No symptoms except the sudden death of the bird. A week later I found a lot of blood from one of them and treated them all. Most made it, but a few didn't as it was so far along.

All I can say is I am sorry for your loss.
We had a similiar situation a few months ago....
Beautiful English hen.1/12 years old.seemed in perfect health.
Went to feed and she was dead on the floor....not a visible sign of anything and the reat of the flock has been doing well.
Fine the night before.dead in the morning.........
Kind of makes a person crazy trying to find a reason...............