Sad day - lost a hen. Should I be concerned about my remaining girls? - Micro Livestock

One of my Ameraucana's was breathing heavily yesterday with a soft audible sound. She was still eating, drinking and being social so I kept an eye on her but didn't worry to much about it. Sadly, I found her dead in the coop this morning. She was approximately 6 months old and appeared healthy until yesterday.

I have 2 Ameraucana's but NEVER got 2 green eggs on the same day so I suspected one of them wasn't laying. If she hadn't been laying, could this be a sign of illness? Any idea what could have caused such a sudden death?

My husband cleans out the coop monthly and cleans/changes the water 2-3x per week - all without chemicals. In addition to their chix feed, we give them kitchen scraps (no meat or dairy) and yard/grass clippings. We let them roam the yard for a couple hours everyday but are careful to have clean water sources available.

My other 4 hens are also 6 months and appear symptom free. Should I be concerned the others could be infected with something? What actions should I take?

I'm sorry about your hen! A young Ameraucana/easter egger should lay at least 4 a week, so you a probably right that she never laid. I'm beginning to wonder about them in general as I have seen several other people with problems like this. Maybe there is something attached to the blue egg gene that makes for a weaker bird or some irregularity in the reproductive system? Just thinking out loud here. I had one once many years ago that laid one very odd question mark shaped egg, that was the only egg she ever laid. She died at about 6 months old, I'm sure from something related to that, possibly laying internally or some sort of reproductive cancer that caused the weird egg in the first place.

When you say she was breathing audibly, did it sound congested at all? Any rattling or anything? I second what Chris has said about respiratory infections. Though sometimes if they are breathing hard and deeply you can hear them exhale (with no irregular noises) and that's not necessarily a sign of respiratory infection.

Just a note that it's not the best idea to give them grass that's already cut. They swallow it whole and if they eat too much it can cause an impacted crop.

Replies

Rob Lowe September 23, 2010 at 10:06pm

Chris- Thanks for the information.
Rob Lowe September 22, 2010 at 10:08pm

Wow, sorry to hear about your hen.
It is sadly bizarre- we also lost our 6 month old Ameraucana this week. I noticed that she seemed a little distressed on Monday evening (thought it was maybe from the heat). On Tuesday when I got home from work, one of our kids said that she was "still sleeping" in the coop. Uh-oh.
I was gong to post for advice- thanks all for the info.
Up until her death she was a decent layer- about 4 per week.
Will keep an eye on the other hens.
Would medicated feed help laying hens fight off disease?
Rachel September 21, 2010 at 9:18am

I'm sorry about your hen! A young Ameraucana/easter egger should lay at least 4 a week, so you a probably right that she never laid. I'm beginning to wonder about them in general as I have seen several other people with problems like this. Maybe there is something attached to the blue egg gene that makes for a weaker bird or some irregularity in the reproductive system? Just thinking out loud here. I had one once many years ago that laid one very odd question mark shaped egg, that was the only egg she ever laid. She died at about 6 months old, I'm sure from something related to that, possibly laying internally or some sort of reproductive cancer that caused the weird egg in the first place.

When you say she was breathing audibly, did it sound congested at all? Any rattling or anything? I second what Chris has said about respiratory infections. Though sometimes if they are breathing hard and deeply you can hear them exhale (with no irregular noises) and that's not necessarily a sign of respiratory infection.

Just a note that it's not the best idea to give them grass that's already cut. They swallow it whole and if they eat too much it can cause an impacted crop.
- Brooke Viviano > Rachel September 21, 2010 at 1:29pm
  
  It sounded like she was sighing with every exhale. It didn't sound raspy, rattling or congested. She was inhaling & exhaling with an open beak similar to her hot weather breathing minus the "sigh". She didn't seem stressed or lethargic-was still walking around the yard and coming to us to pet her.
  
  The other 4 still seem healthy and symptom free.
  
  Good to know about the cut grass and challenges with this breed. I've noticed of all 3 breeds I have, the Ameraucana's seem to be the most stressed by the heat.
  
  Everyone, thank you for your knowledge & condolences!
- Becky > Brooke Viviano September 21, 2010 at 3:49pm
  
  Brooke,
  We lost an EE over the summer also. She was always a little weird about where she laid her egg. She would sometimes just plop it down anywhere including right in the middle of the coop. She was about 7 months old when she died. She died while we were out of town one weekend so I don't know why.
  She also was almost always dust bathing. Even as a little chick as soon as we put her down on carpet (yes, she was in the house) she dropped down and started trying to take a dust bath.
  
  Also the EE that we raised with her and gave to my sister has had to be brought inside a couple of times on hot days suffering from apparent heat stress.
  
  We just got 10 new chicks and, as much as I like the green eggs, we decided not to get another EE.
Jeanette September 20, 2010 at 4:22pm

Very sorry about your hen.

This reply was deleted.