Sudden Death!!!

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hannah

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Sudden Death!!!
« on: July 02, 2008, 10:28 »
Hi Everyone,  :D
Im new to the forum but have been reading what everyone has been writing for a while,

Ive had my chickens since august 2007, and have four:
2 sussex whites, speckled grey, and a brown,

The other day i let them run free in my garden which i do most days, and noticed one of my whites laying on her side! didnt think much of it coz she was ok after about an hour,

Well yesterday i let them out again and she was laying on her side again so i walked up to her and thinking she was gonna start flapping and leg it off....she didnt and i sat there stroking her, her legs seemed very white and pail, she seemed very lethargic and so i put it down to the very hot day we had,

So i picked her up and put her back in the pen and laid her on the bail of straw, after about half an hour she started flapping uncontrolably and died suddenly :?  :cry:

Is there anything i should be aware of, as im still relativley new to keeping chickens ??

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compostqueen

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Sudden Death!!!
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2008, 10:44 »
that's very sad Hannah, and I'm sorry that happened to you.  I think I read on here somewhere the other day that happened to someone else and I think it was put down to heart attack

Aunt Sal and Grannie Annie are experts at hen matters and hopefully they'll be along soon to give you some idea of what the likely cause was

I'm sorry I'm not much help as I'm a new hen keeper myself and I apologise for only being able to offer my sympathy  :(

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Foxy

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Sudden Death!!!
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2008, 11:03 »
Hi Hannah,

It is really difficult to know what has happened if she has died suddenly.
It is a fact that hens cover illness very well-however, there could be various reasons why she died but without a postmortem you wont know.
What you can do is ensure the remaining hens are healthy and whatever she died of isn't contagious.
You mentioned her legs were pale? what colour was her comb? was that pale too? Also did she feel light compared to the other white sussex?
If she was thin with a pale comb there could have been something affecting her for a while. If her comb was blue would indicate lack of oxygen and heart failure.
Best thing is to keep a close eye on the other three hens to check they are OK. Check for parasites (red mite in particular)would be a good idea as in this warm weather they can run rife in a very short time and easily kill a hen.
Hope this helps!

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hannah

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Sudden Death!!!
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2008, 13:26 »
Hi there, thanks for your reply,

I didnt really notice about her weight, her comb was very dark in colour tho,
 I have  had a problem with mites, so we used the powder form and covered everywhere, aswell as the hens, and touch wood i think we've got it under control, but i did read that mites can get under the skin and attack the organs!
Ok, thank you to those who replyed to me, and i will keep an eye on the three i have left.

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Porffor

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Sudden Death!!!
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2008, 13:58 »
I'm so sorry for the loss of your girl. :( I am new to chickens too so no adive to offer i'm afraid.

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Aunt Sally

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Sudden Death!!!
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2008, 16:40 »
I think as she flapped a lot just before she died it would point to a stroke.

This is not uncommon in birds as the run on a very high blood pressure.  

Do all the checks foxy suggests and keep an eye on the rest for a while but I don't think it was anything infectious - just very sad  :cry:

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kimT

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Sudden Death!!!
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2008, 17:12 »
I'm really sorry you lost your hen these things happen I'm afraid when keeping chooks. Keep smiling and remember the nice times she had in the garden.



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