Sudden death and concern

CHlCKEN

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Jun 21, 2020
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I’ve never lost a bird prematurely in 7 years of raising them. But today I finally had my turn and lost that streak of luck. Based on the fact that this chick (5 days old) was perfectly happy this afternoon, climbing on things, running around, etc, I have to assume it was something sudden. I examined her body for any injuries or reason for concern after finding her dead, but found nothing wrong. The only thing I noticed was a very small amount of a clear liquid running out of one nostril as I examined her head. This might just be a post mortem effect but I thought it would be worth mentioning because I also just saw one of my other chicks sneeze… not a big deal usually but anything could be worth mentioning in this case. I understand that some genetic defects can cause sudden death to occur pretty early on which is why I’m not too concerned for my other birds right now. However I would still like to get a second opinion on that assumption. She died sometime between 2:00 and 4:00 and entered rigor mortis by the time I found her but was still warm. She was dead next to but not directly under my radiant heater so most likely it was just the warmth from that.

In short; I had a seemingly healthy 5 day old chick drop dead today. Visibly she is fine with no injuries or reason for concern on the outside of her body. A very small amount of a clear liquid excreting from her nostril was the only odd sign I could find. One other chick has sneezed since then. I use dust free bedding (shredded paper) and all items in the brooder, both new and used, were thoroughly washed before the birds arrived. They’re eating Non-medicated Purina crumbles. If it could possibly be relevant, she was a BCM from Meyer hatchery.
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I’ve never lost a bird prematurely in 7 years of raising them. But today I finally had my turn and lost that streak of luck. Based on the fact that this chick (5 days old) was perfectly happy this afternoon, climbing on things, running around, etc, I have to assume it was something sudden. I examined her body for any injuries or reason for concern after finding her dead, but found nothing wrong. The only thing I noticed was a very small amount of a clear liquid running out of one nostril as I examined her head. This might just be a post mortem effect but I thought it would be worth mentioning because I also just saw one of my other chicks sneeze… not a big deal usually but anything could be worth mentioning in this case. I understand that some genetic defects can cause sudden death to occur pretty early on which is why I’m not too concerned for my other birds right now. However I would still like to get a second opinion on that assumption. She died sometime between 2:00 and 4:00 and entered rigor mortis by the time I found her but was still warm. She was dead next to but not directly under my radiant heater so most likely it was just the warmth from that.

In short; I had a seemingly healthy 5 day old chick drop dead today. Visibly she is fine with no injuries or reason for concern on the outside of her body. A very small amount of a clear liquid excreting from her nostril was the only odd sign I could find. One other chick has sneezed since then. I use dust free bedding (shredded paper) and all items in the brooder, both new and used, were thoroughly washed before the birds arrived. They’re eating Non-medicated Purina crumbles. If it could possibly be relevant, she was a BCM from Meyer hatchery. View attachment 3779231
I'm so sorry for your loss. You mentioned that she's a hatchery chick- when did she arrive? Depending on how long you’ve had her it could be related to shipping conditions :(
 
So sorry for your loss. I hope the others are all doing well.
Its been a few days now and all is well with everyone. Two are dealing with the most insane pasty butt I've ever seen, though. I've never seen anything like it in my time raising chicks. Usually I never have any get it more than once if at all, but these two are needing to be cleaned up every few hours.

Nevermind I just found one dead.
 
Its been a few days now and all is well with everyone. Two are dealing with the most insane pasty butt I've ever seen, though. I've never seen anything like it in my time raising chicks. Usually I never have any get it more than once if at all, but these two are needing to be cleaned up every few hours.

Nevermind I just found one dead.
God this is awful. I've never lost chicks before. I don't know what to do knowing that this was one of the ones with the horid pasty butt. I did everything to help her truly, I even trimmed her down around the vent, calmed her for every cleaning session, and uses warm water. I always checked to be sure that her vent was cleaned well and safely. Cleaning it last night though was pretty shocking, it just got so bad. But I did clear her vent. I can't be sure what caused this. Could some kind of stress have caused the pasty butt or vice versa? And is there something else that might have killed her whilst making her poop so runny and prone to causing pasty butt?

I'm worried for the other struggler now. The first one who died never had this problem which is why I can't be sure if it was even related to the pasty butt or if she also died of something unexpected.

I don't know enough about this because I've never had to worry about it, but I am now concerned for all of my chicks. Examining the one who just died, her vent does not look damaged or abnormal in any way aside from more poop blocking the vent. Last I cleaned it was around 12:00 AM. The new blockage is very minor but directly on the vent.

I'd like to make it known that this chick had been frantically chirping quite often since the first death. I can't be sure if this was in pain of something internal or from stress.

I'm worried that her intestines might have been blocked internally. I had not seen her poop in a while but obviously its not exactly easy to track that.

I'm very upset to have lost both of my Marans which I was excited to raise. I'm left with only three chicks now and may just have to order some more.
 
How long were the chicks in transit? Cold weather overnight, too many days in shipping, and rough handing can lead to shipping stress and pasty butt. Keep an eye for mire pasty butt since it can recur for more than a week. Offer fluids often, and guide them to food and water. Sorry for your loss.
 
How long were the chicks in transit?
Only a day.
Cold weather overnight, too many days in shipping, and rough handing can lead to shipping stress and pasty butt. Keep an eye for mire pasty butt since it can recur for more than a week. Offer fluids often, and guide them to food and water. Sorry for your loss.
I'm still battling this pasty butt on my week old BJG. I'm so tired of it!
 

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