The Poultry Health & Hatching Forum

Sudden Death?

One, young and healthy, bird emerged today. Throat / chest area puffed up ridiculously. Depressed.

Stone dead inside thirty minutes. I barely had time to hit the search engines.

What in blazes could That have been? (Six perfectly happy looking birds out there, now. But, yesterday there were seven of them!)

Ratcatcher
Friday, November 25th, 2022

Could she have been crop bound or have sour crop? Is the swelling hard or soft? Is there any smell from her beak? How well fleshed is she? Any unusual droppings around?

Glyn
Friday, November 25th, 2022

Cheers, Glyn. Yeah, seems it 'had to have been'one or the other crop things. I wrote elsewhere, at the time, that I felt it was the firmer. So, impaction / bind.

But, she was fine twenty four hours before. Is that not mean't to more starve them to death?

" Unusual droppings "? Trick answer; There's Always been 'wrong' droppings, from the day I got them. The phantom struck again too. After she was dead And I'd washed the pen down.

Caramel coloured slop? Treated them all with Harkers, fast as it could be got here. Been giving them Red Spot since for ever. The phantom laughed at all of it. *But, no one looked -100%. Certainly no one dropped dead.*

What's your take on the curry sauce, please?

Ratcatcher
Friday, November 25th, 2022

Occasional caramel coloured sloppy droppings are normal they are called caecal droppings, extra stinky but nothing to worry about.

Impacted crop can take a bird out quite quickly especially if it isn't able to take any water down or during cold weather.

Not nice to do but it may be worth opening her crop to see what caused the impaction so you can avoid it happening in future.

Glyn
Friday, November 25th, 2022

Thanks, Glyn. That's a real weight off my mind, about the 'phantom'.

And, yeah. Should have checked the cause.

Ratcatcher
Friday, November 25th, 2022