Sudden death of a chicken

[rlouie246]

Hi,
I am new to this, I bought some chicks in March and they have all been healthy until today. They are free range but I put them in at night,
This morning I went to let them out and one of my Barred rocks had her neck outstreched and looked like she had trouble breathing. A short time later she died. When I was walking around I discovered one of my male cornish rocks had died under the coop (Probably yesterday).
There were no injuries on either one of them.
What could be happening?? I tried ask a vet, but I don't have $50 dollars right now for an answer.
Can anyone help me?

Thanks

 

[buckboy101]

First off,

And about the chickens. They could have choked due to something they ate, or They may have been alergic to what you were feeding them but that is very rare.

 

[buckboy101]

First off

And the chickens could have choked or they could have been alergic to what you were feeding them altough that is really rare

 

[chickenbuttsowhat]

what color was their poop, any signs of blood if so they could have had Coccidiosis. if not maybe the heat just got to them. here's a web site i go to if my chicks or chickens start dieing i'll try to look up what they might have then see what ppl on here have to say http://www.raising-chickens.org/poultry-ailments.html. im sorry that ur chicks r dieing i know what its like it really sucks

my very first hatch chicks died of cocci i was new to the chicken thing and didnt know really how to take care of them but now all my chicks r living and growing im over run with baby chicks lol best thing to keep cocci out is keep their area clean of poop as much as u can i have them in a brooder box with a screen bottom of their feet so their poop falls right threw and they cant peck at it also got med chick starter feed also keep their water clean as well and doesnt hurt to get them fresh boiled eggs every once in a while hope things work out for u and once again im srry

 

[rlouie246]

Thanks so much, I have not seen any blood in their poop, nor any signs of illness, their poop does go back and forth between runny and firm does that mean anything? But I am new to this so I probably wouldn't know. Some of them have just started laying.

 

[CluckCluck18]

Hang in there....I'm also new to chicken-keeping since May 2010. I had a 14 month old chicken who was fine yesterday morning, sick last night and dead today! I'm racking my brain and feeling guilty...was it the heat, was she egg bound? Why couldn't I figure it out and save her. But I've learned alot from this site......the people are AWESOME and I've learned sometimes it happens and we may not know why. I'd like to have a necropsy just in case it was something serious or contagious that I could prevent but they are expensive and I'm too "chicken" to do it myself. In the last year, my little flock has been a blessing to me in so many ways and even though I feel defeated today I'm going to keep going. Was planning to get more in the fall, guess I'll add one extra! I'm so sorry for your loss

 

[Echobabe]

Don't forget the heat! Sure, these deaths might be due to disease. But let's starts with the obvious first and rule that out. Do they have ample access to fresh, cool water? Shade? How hot does it get in the coop? If it's too hot you should probably add a fan. I say this because the bird under the coop may have been trying to find a cool spot. Heat over multiple days takes a cumulative toll on our livestock. Watery poop can mean heat stress.

This heat is a real bugger, and sometimes these birds don't know how to take care of themselves very well. One of my girls was holding out her wings, walking with her neck extended and mouth wide open, gasping like crazy. I picked her up, carried her to the big water dish I keep on the porch and set her feet in it. Within 5 minutes she was acting back to normal. Hopefully she will do it for herself next time. I also throw them xtra goodies in this weather--melon, cukes, tomatoes, grapes, etc. Anything cool and mostly water. Do not give them anything with salt.

Check everyone else out in the flock to make sure there are no other symptoms (pox, nodules, swelling around eyes or anywhere on head, or any goo). Check the poops & rears. Let us know if you notice anything else. And watch the flies! They can kill a bird within a day--if a bird has any poo stuck to it or an open cut the maggots can be deadly.

And, BTW, the first loss is always the hardest. I hope you figure this out and don't lose any more. I can't tell you now how often I notice something off, or have an emergency come up, and in hindsight the start of the problem was right in front of me, but I didn't recognize it for what it was. Or even if I did, how to handle it properly. Lots of us on here learn how to do post mortems on our own birds so we can learn what went wrong--you might want to check with the nearest agricultural college to find out if they offer a workshop.

On top of all that, I am so sorry for your loss.