My Serama Died over the weekend, can anyone look at the images and tell me possibly how?

[plumtheserma]

Hello, My dear Serama died over the weekend. He was about 3 years old. He lived in the garage in a very large cage along with my dog. I am baffled on what could have killed him so at his age. Here is a bit of background on him.

We got him and 3 of his siblings when they were super young, maybe a month old. One day a few weeks later we found all of his siblings dead and he was the only one who was alive. Not sure why all three of the others died and he made it.

He always had this issue that his legs were tremble alot when he was held (not sure if this was normal or a sign of something else. He was always held by humans and was the best. He was very gentle and kind, he did not fight and was just very very chill bird. He would sit on your lap and nap. He was never really a energic bird just very chill.

We noticed his comb was turning black on the tips, we ruled out frost bite as he was kept in doors and had covers over his cage at night. The garage maybe hit low 60's t at the coldest as it was insulated and my dog slept there at night as well.

His crown was a so very droopy the past few weeks. This was a family bird as our regular chickens are out in a coup. Here is a picture of him the day he died. (we had a funeral for him hence the flowers all around him). My daughter was devastated as it was mainly her bird and pet.

Can anyone look at his crown and tell me if this is an indication of some type of heart or liver issue as well as based on his previous symptoms ( his family history - all his siblings died, his shaking he always had, his chill factor, his age and his droopy comb).

Some type of answers of why he died would be great for closure. Thank you all.

 

[cavemanrich]

I keep Seramas, as pets also, They are together with the rest of flock. (all pets BTW).
I have had some die early as well. Those that lived longer,,, do not live very long lives. (compared to other breeds like Heritage)
The trembling symptoms seem to indicate poor health from the start. That may be a genetic factor, so no answer to exact reason.
Try to get a few replacement Seramas, but from a different source.
I also think, being caged all the time, minus the lap, and handling time, is not ideal. I think they need outdoor run time regularly.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[plumtheserma]

Just wondering, how you came up with that diagnosis?

@Eggcessive I also wondered that. I looked it up and plum has no symptoms that are related. But I appricate the info. Eggcessive I know you are a big player on here. I have researched alot and I am coming to the conclusion that our Plum died from heart failer. it looks like he was losing oxygen and circulation, for the past 3 weeks, his skin went from bright red to pale, he was shaky, he was weak, his comb started turning darker, he was going on 3 years old and all of his siblings all died suddenly in their first month or so of life. I think he had bad genes. I feel bad as I did not notice the color of this skin until today when I compared 2 photos of him one from 2/16/2024 to 3/6/2024.. My area is warm, he was inside a cage during the night and out in the coop for the day. He had a healthy diet of fruits, veggies scratch and grains.

May I ask your thoughts?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would recommend if you ever have a loss, to keep the body cold, but not frozen and to get a necropsy through your state vet as soon as possible. That is the only and best way to know what happened. I have no experience with Seramas, but know they can be delicate birds that may not tolerate low temperatures.

 

[Eggcessive]

@plumtheserma You have an excellent state vet lab in 4 locations in CA. They do a very thorough necropsy for $25, up to 2 a year, and they will send a prepaid overnight shipping label if you are too far from the lab.

 

[plumtheserma]

Thank you for the reply. We would put him out in the other coop that was out side during the day with our regular hens but we had to bring him in at night because we are not allowed roos and in the morning he would crow. He also stopped crowing the past few weeks.

 

[plumtheserma]

looking at the weather on the day he died, it was somewhere around 52-55 degrees with 5 mph winds but he was in a outside coop that was surrounded by 3 walls. I dont think the weather would have killed him. It was just cloudy. We got home at 10pm and he was already gone cold to the touch and was stiff. I had 2 other hens in there as well and one of those is just 6 months old and they were just fine. The other 2 hens were regular ones not seramas. He was fine in the garage at night when it was much colder as he would just poof up.

He had food and water in the coop as well. I am still pondering what happened to him. At this point the only I can go off of is his comb and his history.

 

[plumtheserma]

On the last day he was alive we put him from his normal cage in the garage to the outside coop to spend some time with his lady friends we did that at about 12 pm. The weather was about 60 degrees partly cloudy skies. He seemed ok. when we got home at 10pm we found him dead. My other 2 chickens stayed away from him as well when we found him.

Thoughts?

 

[plumtheserma]

Hi hun,
I think Roos need space to run around. Naturally they protect so being caged even a big cage for short periods is not really a good thing. Unless, of course, it is due to recuperation which is a different thing altogether.
Moving on … shaking to me says some type of neurological problem or stress even. If the others died the same way perhaps it is a hereditary issue ?
Did he get on ok with your dog ? Thinking on the stress issue?
As far as his comb is concerned they tend to droop when poorly even have cell changes of colour, black or white patches.
I wish you well,

He loved the dog and they were separated 100% My post sounds otherwise sorry. . He only stayed in his cage at night, during the day he was out with the other hens in the coop.

 

[plumtheserma]

I finally found a great image of him healthy. This picture was taken on Feb 16th so you can clearly see a big difference in his comb with this pic and with the other ones a few weeks later (see under this one) . Any ideas based on this new info of what happend? Before on 2/16/2024

AFTER a few weeks died on 3/9/2024. This image was taken on 3/6/2024 Even his eyes look droopy and tired. He looks exhausted or am I wrong? His face is even pale. I never really noticed it until now.