Sudden Hen Death

[OrpingtonHopeful]

This morning I found my 1 yr old BO hen dead in her run, at the foot of the ramp to the coop. She was on her side and dead. Not a mark on her body. Dew was collected on her, so I don't know if she went into the coop last night at all. Yesterday she was out in the yard free ranging- having a grand ole time. I have noticed fewer eggs lately, but I thought that was because my girls seem to be molting.

What diseases should I be on the look out for? Should I do anything to treat or protect the rest of my gals?

Ugh, I am so sad- this is my first loss (please be the last for years!) and she was such a huge, happy hen until boom-dead. I really want to be sure I protect the rest of my tiny flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can call your county extension agent, in the phone book under county government, and see what is the best way to get her autopsied and how much it will cost. That's the fastest way I know of to find out what your options are. With chickens being the big business they are, many states offer fairly cheap and quick options. If you do that, you need to refrigetate her immediately.

There are different things that could cause a chicken to drop dead. It could be a disease, poisoning, or an injury. I always suspect fatty liver syndrome in these cases, but it could be anything.

I know that one out of four is a lot to you. I personally would not get one hen checked out but would immediately call the county extension agent if a second one died or if the others looked sick.

Good luck. I know it is rough.

 

[rcentner]

sorry about your loss, I hope it is the last for many years for you. You don't close the coop at night? I would be worried about night time predators coming in, before you lose a bird to a hungry coyote, fox, mink or racoon...please close them up at night. trust me.....learning the hard way stinks.
As far as your BO, it could be anything, was she eating and drinking fine? any changes in the environment? Have you or any neighbors used lawn chemicals? Could be as simple as a heart attack if she was fine and dandy and suddenly died.
Sorry again, just know that she was a happy, well cared for bird during her short life. As said previously, If another bird dies suddenly like that, I would have an autopsy/necropsy done. If you live by a veterinary school, they will have that service available. The other option (no so nice) is to contact Cornell university (NY) or Michigan State and they can tell you how to package and ship the bird for a necropsy. (those are 2 schools that I KNOW do these). I bet Texas A & M does them too. If you ever need phone number for any of those schools, PM me and I can get them for you.

 

[cray4en]

hello,

Sorry for your loss. I had one die and wanted to know why. I called the state livestock and poulty comm and took the bird to the state vet lab office. Ridgerunner is correct. keep the bird cool not frozen. good luck

 

[Rennie]

Sorry for your loss ..Ive just had the same thing happen to me so i know how you feel ... One of my cockerels was fine and then suddenly dead ..

I have no idea what caused it .. im hoping it was something like a heart attack so it dont take the other 2 i have ..

 

[OrpingtonHopeful]

Quote:
Thanks for all of the replies- I truly appreciate them all-

She seemed to be eating and drinking really well and was really peppy yesterday when I let her run in the yard. We hadn't used chemicals but I wonder if she snuck into the butterfly garden- we do have a small foxglove over there that isn't flowering yet, but she did seem fine all day....

We don't close the coop at night once it is warm because the run and coop are totally contained- The girls go into the solid wood coop, elevated 18" at night- the run is roofed and enclosed in heavy gauge hardware cloth, the hardware cloth is buried 18" out all around so closing the pop door just diminishes the air flow in the coop (we do close it in winter as well as cover the "windows"(hardware cloth) with clear vinyl to allow light but block drafts...We have had large neighborhood dogs attack the coop/run and have not been able to breach it- We live in a subdivision in the middle of the city

Ok, I think we'll skip an autopsy this time, but if any more gals dies we'll look into that. From the other replies- What is fatty liver disease? Is there anything I can do to prevent it- signs so I can help cure/correct it?

Thank you all sooo much!

 

[Ridgerunner]

http://msucares.com/poultry/feeds/poultry_laying.html

 

[OrpingtonHopeful]

Quote:
Great site! Thanks for posting. I guess this certainly could be the case- She was a fat gal. Are there any external signs (would she bleed from her vent or anything?)

In reading this and some of my chicken books, hopelessly looking for cause and to prevent this in the future- I wonder how you exercise chickens or make sure they aren't overweight (my book says to exercise them, lol) ? Also I have one hen (don't know which) who's eggs are hard but have one wrinkled-but again normal shell hardness- end lately and

another hen - not the now dead hen who always lays chalky eggs- I read wrinkly can be a vit A def and chalky can be a vit D excess- How do I balance this?

Over winter I did give them scratch regularly to keep them warm, but not more than a treat- their main feed was still laying pellets. About weekly I give them nonfat or lowfat plain yogurt with non iron liquid baby vitamins, and I try to give them greens, or leftover veggies when i haven't let them out to free range in a few days (we have a very attentive red shouldered hawk that lives in the neighbor's tree)

I leave free choice oyster shell out and their run is over dirt....

My gals are the prettiest hens I have ever seen- bright eyed and shiny- I cannot figure what I missed here that my gal just up and died...

I am gonna watch really closely for a few days and see if anything pops up. How soon can I pick up a couple day old babies to rebuild my flock? How long should I wait to be sure I don't have some disease here?