unexpected death- was not sick

[Nani87]

I went out to the coop this am and let the girls out. Poullet our Rhode island red 27 month old hen did not come out. I found her under the perch. This is the first hen we have ever lost. She was fine yesterday. About 2 weeks ago she had some green poop and was acting kind of lethargic but chalked it up to the greens I was feeding them, because the next day she was back to herself. She was eating drinking and pooping yesterday. There is no way it was a predator because they were in secure all night in their coop. Is it possible she could have fallen off her perch and broken her neck? I can't tell because she looks physically fine. I am terrified for the other 7 girls. Do I need to do anything special to the coop? Please any input would be greatly appreciated. I am crushed as these girls are our pets. Didn't realize how much it would hurt to lose one, , especially not knowing if it was something I did. She was a gorgeous sweet girl. I checked her mouth and there was no fluid, not sure what other clues to look for. Sorry for the huge picture. Thanks Erin

 

[azygous]

It's impossible to tell you why the hen died. But you could send her to an animal testing lab for a necropsy and find out. If you would fill out your profile with your location (city and state and country), we might be able to help you find a lab.

Or you can cut open her abdomen and have a peek inside. An enlarged liver with lesions would point to an avian virus and that could indicate your flock is infected.

If you find some "hard boiled" eggs accumulated in her abdomen, that would indicate internal laying. A smelly brown "soup" with yellow chunks would indicate she died of a reproductive infection.

Cut open the crop and if you find it full of impacted grass, she would have died of a crop disorder causing her to starve. This one is a very likely cause since you said she had green poop a few weeks ago. She was likely beginning to starve back then.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

What's her body condition score, and what are you feeding her? also, was it unusually hot last evening? When was your feed milled?

If you are here in the US, you can send her off for necropsy to your state lab. In the absence of symptoms, all we can do is educated guess work to start eliminating possibilities. Obviously, with my questions, I'm looking to exclude "fatty liver" which can result in sudden, symptom free death, particularly in heat challenged birds. Its a disease which has a diet component, but can also be triggered by undesired in/on the feed.

 

[Nani87]

Thanks for your reply. We live in Dubuque Iowa. I buried her this am would it be too late for her to have a necropsy? Not sure I could do it myself

 

[Nani87]

It's impossible to tell you why the hen died. But you could send her to an animal testing lab for a necropsy and find out. If you would fill out your profile with your location (city and state and country), we might be able to help you find a lab.

Or you can cut open her abdomen and have a peek inside. An enlarged liver with lesions would point to an avian virus and that could indicate your flock is infected.

If you find some "hard boiled" eggs accumulated in her abdomen, that would indicate internal laying. A smelly brown "soup" with yellow chunks would indicate she died of a reproductive infection.

Cut open the crop and if you find it full of impacted grass, she would have died of a crop disorder causing her to starve. This one is a very likely cause since you said she had green poop a few weeks ago. She was likely beginning to starve back then.

Thanks again - she always was a good eater and never lost her appetite. She was a good size could she still have starved?

 

[azygous]

You may dig her up and cut her open as I explained above. But burying her has made it not possible for a lab to do a necropsy.

 

[Nani87]

thank you. Will keep an eye on the other girls.