Question Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Forum rules
Any advice in this section should not be taken to overrule advice by a certified licensed veterinarian. You should always consult a veterinarian for treatment or diagnoses of animal disease or injury. The information in this thread is simply the experience of board members and is not to be taken as a substitution for veterinary advice or treatment.
User avatar
Poultryprincess
Chatty Hen
Posts: 728
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 12:04 pm
Location: Kirkfield Ontario K0M 2B0
x 1075

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by Poultryprincess » Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:36 pm

SO SO Sorry about the loss of your hen.
Such a pretty girl.
I agree with windwalkingwolf, thank goodness you were able to be there for her in those last minutes.
0
:PTO: My NEW Life Motto for 2020 "DREAM BIG ~ SET GOALS ~ TAKE ACTION" :PTO:

User avatar
SadieGH
Newly Hatched Chick
Posts: 19
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:22 pm
Location: Bethany
x 12

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by SadieGH » Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:40 pm

Sadly I just had another hen die today.
I noticed a hen acting lethargic last night, and still not doing to well this morning. So I brought her inside, and after about an hour she drank a little bit of water when I put her beak in the bowl. She wouldn't eat anything, and her crop was empty. She didn't move around at all, and she always wanted to lie down. When I stood her on her feet she swayed as if it was hard to stand up. It also looked like she had been having white-ish/yellow diarrhea. She was a little less sluggish after being in the warmth for a while. She seemed a little thinner then usually, except her abdomen was much bigger then what seemed right. I called the vet and they didn't think she was egg bound, but after a few hours I decided to give her a warm bath just incase. She didn't want to stand in the water, so she lay down and floated as I massaged her stomach. After 10 minutes she stopped holding her head up, and started twitching. I took her out of the water and lay her on a towel. It then seemed like she seizures, and died.

Does this sound like she was egg bound?
I really hope it isn't something thats spreading through the flock. I bought some antibiotics, electrolytes, and tic/mite dusting powder (they all have some sort of lice) so I'm going to start using all of that tomorrow.
Attachments
25975339_950351621787509_2113445225_n.jpg
25675316_950352598454078_426031947_n.jpg
0

User avatar
Ontario Chick
Poultry Guru
Posts: 5397
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 10:12 am
Answers: 2
Location: Carp - West Ottawa
x 9618

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by Ontario Chick » Sat Dec 23, 2017 7:30 pm

It's somewhat unlikely to have 2 pullets drop dead from a heart attack few days apart, so you may want to try to get a post mortem done on her to find out what is going on.
Although not very pleasant, in the end it may help you understand what happened and gain some knowledge that may help you protect the rest of your flock.
What a bummer.
0

User avatar
ross
Teenaged Cockerel
Posts: 4958
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:54 am
Answers: 2
Location: Parkhill /Thedford SW Ont
x 8488

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by ross » Sat Dec 23, 2017 7:43 pm

Agree with OC sounds like something to be concerned about now . You say they got lice . Get at them quickly . Sounds like more than just lice don't hesitate to have a neorcropsy .
1
ENJOY YOUR HUNTING / FISHING HERITAGE & the GREATNESS of CANADA

User avatar
kenya
Henny Penny
Posts: 4446
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 5:14 pm
Answers: 1
Location: Stratford,ontario
x 4319

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by kenya » Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:10 am

Sometimes the reason the lice get a hold of them is because an underlying illness is making them more susceptible and sometimes its the other way around the lice are pulling them down enough another desease has a chance to take over.
You have a disease in your flock from the sounds of it and you will lose more. I can't even guess what it is , your vet may be able to help you.
3

User avatar
SusanH
Starting to Crow
Posts: 264
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:46 pm
Location: Sydenham, ON
x 330

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by SusanH » Sun Apr 08, 2018 10:03 pm

Sadie, so what happened after this? I am worried about one of mine.symptoms similar.

She is sitting all puffed up with her head pulled down, and the other chickens are are going on doing their thing without her. They come running when I go out to them, and she comes slowly walking. I brought her inside for a bit and got the creepy feeling she was creeping with something, mites or fleas or lice or something. The other chickens are trying to take a dust bath in the cold mud (even though I have a pan of wood ash under cover for them). She pooped a splat of pale yellow.

What I've done so far. I set up a quarantine coop for her and put ACV in her water and gave her some yogurt and honey, as well as regular food, and she did eat and drink voluntarily. She also joined the others in exploring the coop while under reconstruction, which seemed a good sign. I put a cloth bag of warmed grain in her nest box to warm her up a bit. I am not sure what to do about whatever is crawling her. Can I dust her with wood ash? Or is there something generic I can give her? I am not sure how to tell what kind of pest she has. I haven't tried the warm bath or tried to see if she might be egg bound.

Thanks for any advice!
Susan
0

User avatar
WLLady
Stringy Old Soup Pot Hen of a Moderator
Posts: 5613
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:55 pm
Answers: 5
Location: Rural near West Lorne and Glencoe
x 8527

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by WLLady » Sun Apr 08, 2018 10:17 pm

Yellowish diahhrea can be coccidiosis....
First for crawlies if you look around the vent and see sand walking around (literally little specks that look like sand) she has mites. If you see red 1/4 inch tubular looking things running around she has lice. Dusting powder or livestock dusting powder or 5% carbaryl powder will kill lice and mites. Just sprinkle some on them and work through the feathers and get the whole bird (not the eyes or beak!!). Pour on ivermectin will also work for mites but most lice are resistant. Treat again in 10 days.
If your hen has a hard swelled abdomen and is losing muscle mass it is likely heart. Sometimes the combs will be pale pink or dark purple or white. If comb is off colour its heart. If comb is normal red but still swelled abdomen then likely liver. If the hen is standing like a penguin-very straight up and down she is egg bound. If the bird cannot stand without touching wing tips to the ground for balance its likely stroke or mareks. If you find a bird dead upside down under the roost in the morning it has likely had a heart attack...
These are the more common ones....
Diahhrea could be coccidiosis if stinky (usually it smells bad). If its green its bile and can be impacted crop (crop is full and hard and breath smells bad). If its huge stinky and brown and white and the size of a tennis ball shes broody.....coccidiosis needs amprolium for 10 days. Impacted crop needs the crop cleaned outand flushed. Yellow diahhrea can also be bacterial or protozoal infetio -like salmonella or giardia or yeast or staph....in which case the treatment depends on what it is...yeast is monistat. Salmonella needs antibiotics. Giardia can respond to antibiotics or amprolium or antiprotozoals and is very rare so best is a vet consult for figuring out what is wrong....
Hope this helps a little bit....
3
:giraffe: Pet quality wheaten/blue wheaten ameraucanas, welsummers, barred rocks, light brown leghorns; Projects on the go: rhodebars, welbars

User avatar
windwalkingwolf
Poultry Guru - pullet level
Posts: 3567
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:31 pm
Answers: 3
Location: Frankville, Ontario
x 4899

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by windwalkingwolf » Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:44 am

:good post:
If she's pulling her head down all the time, there's neurological (brain, spinal cord or nerve) involvement. If she's only doing it at rest, it's belly pain, and is hiding the pain as best she can when coming for treats. It's what they do. Knowing what, exactly, is going on, is vital. Every tiny detail is important.
I'll run down a list of reasonably common causes of belly pain in a hen.
1. Egg bound: A stuck egg, palpable in the vent. It's an easy fix, but usually kills FAST if not resolved, and the reason for becoming egg bound in the first place is rarely fixable at all (oviduct deformity, scarring from infection, eggs too large, or all of the above).
2. Egg yolk peritonitis: mature yolks end up in abdominal cavity instead of oviduct, and foster infection or simply crowd out organs, or stresses her body as it tries to resorb them or wall them off (cyst) until hen dies. Causes are the same as number one. Viral infection causing oviduct scarring is number one cause.
3. Digestive system malfunction: something is either gumming up the works, like an ingested staple for example, or strands of hay, or a heavy worm load, or digestion is sluggish or paralyzed for any reason including bad genes, yeast/fungal overload, botulin toxin (bird ate something rotting that was contaminated with clostridium botulinum ) or aforementioned viruses can cause internal scarring and/or nerve "tumours" that affect the function of gizzard and colon.
4. Vital organ failure: Causes too numerous to list, but most commonly caused by above mentioned: viruses, bacteria, fungus, as well as toxins, immune deficiencies, poor nutrition or other dietary issues, and genetic issues.
Yellow diarrhea (if not egg yolk) is often a result of excreted bilirubin from liver stress. Loads of white in poops can be indicative of kidney stress.
A heavy swollen abdomen, coupled with a sharp or prominent breastbone, is a dead bird walking.
4

User avatar
SusanH
Starting to Crow
Posts: 264
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:46 pm
Location: Sydenham, ON
x 330

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by SusanH » Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:46 pm

Thank you WWW for all this info!
Lola is livelier now, eats and drinks well, but still sits all puffed up with her head pulled down. Yesterday she pooped a blackish green blob with a pale yellow top, but also one normal stool. Nothing today.
Today I gave her a warm bath, and she didn't seem to mind it. I didn't feel anything like an egg. Now she is in the guest bathroom, since I don't want to put her back outside in the cold in her wet state, and I haven't thought about trying a hair dryer yet. Any nifty ideas for drying a wet chicken?
I inspected for critters and did not find any. I went to tsc to inquire about dusting powder, but was told they no longer carry it because it is dangerous to other animals. Their suggestion was to use diatomaceous earth. I already put DE in their dustbath mixed with wood ash. I will try the feed store for dusting powder as I believe someone on this forum recommended treating the flock twice a year.
1

User avatar
Jaye
Poultry Guru - chick level
Posts: 2954
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:14 am
Answers: 3
Location: E Ontario
x 2995

Re: Why did she die so suddenly?!?

Post by Jaye » Tue Apr 10, 2018 7:32 pm

Most chickens really don't mind a blow dry. Just make sure the heat is low or off. I alternate between low heat and cool - don't want them to overheat. It also helps to gently fluff and keep the blow dryer moving to speed up drying.
I swear by an Epsom salts bath. Almost every hen I have given the spa treatment to has not minded it at all. Most even enjoy it.
I also keep lots of treats on hand to feed at regular intervals during and after. Mealworms, scrambled egg, grapes, whatever is on their list of favourites.

BTW, some of the symptoms you described made me think that maybe it was something poisonous ingested. Do you have any activated charcoal on hand?
0
RIP Scooby, AKA Awesome Dog. Too well loved to ever be forgotten. "Sometime in June", 2005 - January 24, 2017.
"Until one has loved an animal, part of one's soul remains unawakened" - Anatole France

Post Reply

Return to “Health”