Three dead hens!

[Missespenaloza]

So, two days ago, we found a dead hen in a hole they had dug for a dirt bath. We had not noticed any prior indication of illness, and my daughter was thinking that maybe she got squished and suffocated because she had seen them all in a group there. This morning we found another bird dead in the coop, and tonight another. No obvious injuries, nobody was acting out of the ordinary. The vent on the first one had a little poop on it, but the second one was clean. We are really upset because these are my kids pets and we love these chickens. =( The one I found tonight I will do a necropsy on in the morning, but, I did see her kind of standing there looking kind of fluffy and her tail wasn't down, but it wasn't looking perky, either. I'm wondering if anyone can just give me ideas of what it could be? I'm not necessarily looking for solid answers, but possibilities to investigate because I'm new to chickens. Could it be moldy food? Some kind of disease? All my chickens are 5-6 months and only 4 of them are even laying yet. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your time!

 

[Tre3hugger]

Sorry about your birds. Is their poop normal? What do you feed? What is your setup like/sized? How many birds? Some of these details may help someone with diagnosing your birds. Sorry for your losses, hope we can help figure it out.

 

[Missespenaloza]

Their poop has been normal. We had a few with coccidia a few weeks ago, but it was treated and they've been pooping normally. I feed an organic layer feed from tractor supply. We have 21 hens? They're in two coops, and a 10x20 run. We're planning on expanding that, but my husband REALLY likes chickens and now that they're maturing, he realizes they need more space. They have access to plenty of food and water (it gets gross, but they get fresh water once a day, at least) all the time. They don't seem to bully each other.

I just did my first necropsy, probably pretty badly, but I didn't see anything weird looking, except the heart looked odd to me? Does anyone have a picture of what a chicken heart should look like? This did not look like what I've eaten at brazilian BBQ restaurants.

 

[Missespenaloza]

Did the necropsy last night. The heart and lungs looked weird to me. Any ideas?

 

[coach723]

How did the liver look?
I'm not an expert by any means, but the heart looks a bit enlarged to me. At first I thought it was covered in fat, but closer look it doesn't seem like fat. There are some area's that look like possible lesions/masses. Hearts of birds with lymphoid leukosis can have soft, white masses. Usually you would see lesions in the liver as well. Death from lymphoid leukosis can often happen around point of lay. If it is fat, then diet needs to be considered, liver would usually show some signs also, looking paler and kind of brittle (if that makes sense), with possible blood clots or dark area's indicating hemorrhage if it's advanced.
This has some pictures of organs with lymphoid leukosis (I will also attach it below):
https://www.thepharmajournal.com/archives/2019/vol8issue1/PartC/7-12-87-759.pdf
Article on lymphoid leukosis:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/lymphoid-leukosis-in-poultry
Since you've lost three I would recommend having a professional necropsy if you lose another in a similar way, that way you will have labs to hopefully confirm for sure what's going on, particularly if it's viral. I may be completely wrong.
I will tag some others to see what they think.
@Wyorp Rock , @Eggcessive

 

[Missespenaloza]

This was the best shot I got with the liver. It looked ok to me? Am I super wrong?

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

So, two days ago, we found a dead hen in a hole they had dug for a dirt bath. We had not noticed any prior indication of illness, and my daughter was thinking that maybe she got squished and suffocated because she had seen them all in a group there. This morning we found another bird dead in the coop, and tonight another. No obvious injuries, nobody was acting out of the ordinary. The vent on the first one had a little poop on it, but the second one was clean. We are really upset because these are my kids pets and we love these chickens. =( The one I found tonight I will do a necropsy on in the morning, but, I did see her kind of standing there looking kind of fluffy and her tail wasn't down, but it wasn't looking perky, either. I'm wondering if anyone can just give me ideas of what it could be? I'm not necessarily looking for solid answers, but possibilities to investigate because I'm new to chickens. Could it be moldy food? Some kind of disease? All my chickens are 5-6 months and only 4 of them are even laying yet. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your time!

Sometimes hens die randomly

 

[coach723]

It doesn't look totally normal to me. Colors can be hard to tell for sure in pictures, but the color seems a little off, pale with yellowish tinge, to me. That could be diet, the more fat in the liver the paler it can look. I don't see any obvious lesions. I'm used to healthy livers being much darker (again, camera, lighting and monitors may make it not an accurate representation). I've lost a few to fatty liver disease, and early on the livers look like yours.
This is a really good necropsy manual, with lots of pictures (graphic, obviously) may help in the future. Page 25 you can see the heart and liver in situ. Page 27 more on the heart, Page 28 is liver. Page 29-30 are some more shots that include the liver. Page 32 is a more involved look at the heart. You can make it full screen with the two arrows in the lower right corner of the window at the top. Most of the pictures in this document show what I would generally expect a healthy liver to look like.
https://www.slideshare.net/heshamkotb/illustrated-guide-to-poultry-necropsy-and-diagnosis
Attached below is another necropsy manual, with pictures. Also gives a general description of normal vs abnormal for many of the organs.

 

[Missespenaloza]

Sorry, I didn’t reply to this with the last message. Just wanted to say thank you. I attached a picture with a picture of all the organs I could identify.

How did the liver look?
I'm not an expert by any means, but the heart looks a bit enlarged to me. At first I thought it was covered in fat, but closer look it doesn't seem like fat. There are some area's that look like possible lesions/masses. Hearts of birds with lymphoid leukosis can have soft, white masses. Usually you would see lesions in the liver as well. Death from lymphoid leukosis can often happen around point of lay. If it is fat, then diet needs to be considered, liver would usually show some signs also, looking paler and kind of brittle (if that makes sense), with possible blood clots or dark area's indicating hemorrhage if it's advanced.
This has some pictures of organs with lymphoid leukosis (I will also attach it below):
https://www.thepharmajournal.com/archives/2019/vol8issue1/PartC/7-12-87-759.pdf
Article on lymphoid leukosis:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/lymphoid-leukosis-in-poultry
Since you've lost three I would recommend having a professional necropsy if you lose another in a similar way, that way you will have labs to hopefully confirm for sure what's going on, particularly if it's viral. I may be completely wrong.
I will tag some others to see what they think.
@Wyorp Rock , @Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. I don’t know how much help I can be, since I have limited experience with necropsies, but you did a great job separating the organs to see each one. I agree that the liver and other organs looks a bit yellowish or tan. I only see one area of a possible tumor in the first picture at the top. The heart looks to have a clot of blood. The tan liver is sometimes a sign of fatty liver disease, and this could have been a finding not related to her sudden death.

I would say something infectious or poisonous, such as mold poisoning could be possible because of having 3 deaths in 2-3 days. Look at and smell your feed, for an odd odor or blue green color, or clumps. If feed is outside in a bin, sometimes rain droplets can get into it. Also some feed may be outdated or has gotten wet along the way. Look at any plants that might be poisonous. If possible, I would try to get a necropsy by the state vet if you lose another. They do histology and cultures to look for problems.