Suddenly Dead Chicken

[Garden Wench]

This morning I found one of my ladies flat on her back, deceased. She seemed fine the evening before. This is my first flock of birds. I have seven Easter Eggers that are a little over 2 1/2 years. The rest of the chickens seem to be okay. Any thoughts on why she died?

 

[FrostRanger]

Sometimes chickens just die. Could be a few thingsthings that happened. Could be fatty liver, could be cancer or it could just be a heart attack. You can contact your state's poultry extension to arrange for an autopsy if you're curious but I don't think it was anything contagious. If you lose anyone else though I would absolutely get a necropsy

Sorry for your loss but these things just happen from time to time unfortunately

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Without a necropsy it’s impossible to say. I’ve lost a couple this way—nothing obviously wrong; right as rain one day and dead the next. In a lot of ways chickens are very resilient. But they also hide illness very well and some things aren’t obvious from the outside.

 

[Garden Wench]

Sometimes chickens just die. Could be a few thingsthings that happened. Could be fatty liver, could be cancer or it could just be a heart attack. You can contact your state's poultry extension to arrange for an autopsy if you're curious but I don't think it was anything contagious. If you lose anyone else though I would absolutely get a necropsy

Sorry for your loss but these things just happen from time to time unfortunately

Thank you. I have been racking my brain to see if I have done something wrong. I think I may have been given the girls too much scratch mix when I try to get them in the coop so I can clean the run. So, I am changing that. My feed store people think it may have been dehydration as I stopped my chicken popsicles with electrolytes now that we have been cooling down somewhat (I am in Arizona). My vet's opinion is "you either have a live chicken or a dead chicken".

 

[Garden Wench]

Without a necropsy it’s impossible to say. I’ve lost a couple this way—nothing obviously wrong; right as rain one day and dead the next. In a lot of ways chickens are very resilient. But they also hide illness very well and some things aren’t obvious from the outside.

Thank you. I have already buried her. From what I have researched I have come to the conclusion that I may be giving too many treats or that I stopped my electrolyte regimen too early. I am not giving up though. I have six more ladies to take care of.

 

[Beau plus penny]

This morning I found one of my ladies flat on her back, deceased. She seemed fine the evening before. This is my first flock of birds. I have seven Easter Eggers that are a little over 2 1/2 years. The rest of the chickens seem to be okay. Any thoughts on why she died?

before we jump to conclusions were her feathers ruffled at all

 

[Garden Wench]

before we jump to conclusions were her feathers ruffled at all

I honestly don't remember. She was starting to molt though.

 

[FrostRanger]

Thank you. I have already buried her. From what I have researched I have come to the conclusion that I may be giving too many treats or that I stopped my electrolyte regimen too early. I am not giving up though. I have six more ladies to take care of.

Could be fatty liver so cutting back on treats is a good idea but I don't think it was dehydration. I will say that giving electrolytes for too long with no source of plain water can be problematic though. It also could have been nothing you did or could have done anything to prevent

 

[Garden Wench]

Could be fatty liver so cutting back on treats is a good idea but I don't think it was dehydration. I will say that giving electrolytes for too long with no source of plain water can be problematic though. It also could have been nothing you did or could have done anything to prevent

Thank you. I am in Arizona and while we are starting to cool down it is still hot. I wish it was easier to diagnose and fix. Figuring out chickens is almost like houseplants. So many factors to consider.