Sudden death in year old pullet

[Mrs J]

Unfortunately not possible. I thought it would have been too graphic and didn't do it at the time, she is now buried in the garden. I'll keep that in mind if it ever happens again though, especially considering I have no experience in autopsies outside of a few college science classes it would be greatly appreciated to have the opinions of more educated individuals in the matter.

Nothing is to graphic

Unfortunately not possible. I thought it would have been too graphic and didn't do it at the time, she is now buried in the garden. I'll keep that in mind if it ever happens again though, especially considering I have no experience in autopsies outside of a few college science classes it would be greatly appreciated to have the opinions of more educated individuals in the matter.

nothing is to graphic for here, we love it it’s how we learn. I’m hoping there is not a “next time” but if ever you do find yourself in this situation again, yes do please share

 

[Drukkar]

I just looked though one of @the_peanut_coop's threads, and one of the suggestions there was the cold. I didn't read though it all, but

I would highly doubt the weather had anything to do with her sudden death, as winters in Kuwait are basically summers as cool as summer in any of the northern United States. The temperature only got down to around 14 deg C, which is about 57 deg f. Besides much of her body was still quiet warm when I found her, but she was stiff, and her legs / neck were cold.

 

[theoldchick]

Here's a eyeful about cardiac disease in chickens.


https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/61614

 

[azygous]

I'm with @-Flash- that she died from sudden death syndrome. This can happen to any hen, not just production breeds.

The little clues you presented to us, that she'd been laying an egg every day without fail and that there was an egg in position to be laid when you did the necropsy point to SDS.

What happens is that calcium levels are low in a hen and as her egg reaches the shell gland, it draws heavily on her calcium levels and not finding enough calcium in the shell gland, her body sucks all of the calcium out of her blood and this causes a heart attack.

It's so tragic, but especially so in such a young layer.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

I'm with @-Flash- that she died from sudden death syndrome. This can happen to any hen, not just production breeds.

The little clues you presented to us, that she'd been laying an egg every day without fail and that there was an egg in position to be laid when you did the necropsy point to SDS.

What happens is that calcium levels are low in a hen and as her egg reaches the shell gland, it draws heavily on her calcium levels and not finding enough calcium in the shell gland, her body sucks all of the calcium out of her blood and this causes a heart attack.

It's so tragic, but especially so in such a young layer.

Is a heart attack or any other sudden death problem painful for them? And how do you ( try) to prevent it?

 

[azygous]

Is a heart attack or any other sudden death problem painful for them? And how do you ( try) to prevent it?

Very good questions. Yes, it's possible the hen feels pain just before sudden death. Heart attacks can be excruciating.

To prevent sudden death, it's important to make good quality oyster shell available. Good quality is oyster shells that are of a good size and not powdery residue. Good size pieces remain in the intestines longer than powdery residue so it gets absorbed better. The powder just goes straight through and doesn't do nearly as good a job.

Then, if you see a hen with egg shell quality issues, such as thin shells or shell-less eggs, treat her with a calcium supplement to prevent these problems, then there's going to be less of a chance of an egg issue that may end up drawing all the calcium from her blood stream to make a shell, causing the heart to be deprived of the calcium, ending up in heart attack and sudden death.