What caused my Orpington to die?

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by Angela Ayers
(Warner Robins, Ga. USA)

Question

What caused my Orpington to die?: We went out this morning to feed our chickens and one white Orpington hen was dead. She was about seven months old and has laid a few eggs.

We noticed that her comb was not red like the others , but a reddish purple color. Could that have had anything to do with her death.

We have other chickens and are concerned ? What could have been the problem ? What are signs of the bird flu?

Answer
You would have to have this chicken checked to know if she had the flu. You could also get a test done on a few of the others. It requires a vet swabbing inside the throat.

You could check with your local Department of Agriculture or Extension Office to find out if there are any cases of bird flu in your area.

If her comb was purplish after she died, that is just from lack of oxygen after she stopped breathing. With so little information, it would be impossible to know what caused this.

If her comb was this color before she died she may have had a respiratory infection causing less oxygen in her system.

Saliva, nasal secretions, droppings of infected birds are what spread the disease to each other and to humans.

It’s a virus that can be carried silently (no symptoms) in wild birds, especially game birds, and can be passed to domesticated birds (and humans) that have little immunity.

I frequented a live stock auction for several years and all poultry was swabbed upon entry, by one of the state vets, checking for Avian Flu.

There was never a single case, in thousands of poultry that changed hands there for all the years this has been a concern in the US.

Your hen may have had intestinal parasites that depleted her reserves and robbed her body of nutrients.

It would be wise to get stool samples from a few of your flock checked at your local vet for disease or parasites. I hope this helps.

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