Young bird died overnight

[chickenfan]

I was very shocked to find one of my POL Faverolles pullets dead in her house this morning. She had some pale brown faeces attached to her, but otherwise looked quite normal, and I hadn't noticed anything unusual about her behaviour. What could have made her die so suddenly?

 

[rick]

That's a crying shame chickenfan. No idea - a hemorrhage maybe?

 

[Marigold]

Oh dear, what a pity, I'm sorry. When they just drop dead it's often a heart problem - was her comb purplish at all?

 

[chickenfan]

Thank you Rick and Marigold. She is related to the cockerel that recently died of heart trouble, but I don't think her comb was purple. Perhaps I haven't watched her enough lately as I didn't pick up on anything. She had pale coloured eyes. I don't know if this is significant. But she was a good weight and looked well otherwise and her group has just begun laying.

 

[dinosaw]

It could be the stress of a first lay Chickenfan, it is rare but occasionally this can cause sudden death, or perhaps there is something genetic there with regards to the heart?

 

[chickenfan]

Thank you Dinosaw. You are a mine of information. She had been in the nestbox and left a pale dropping there so perhaps it was this, unless she had some sort of liver problem. I think I'd have noticed if she had a purple comb. What is the best thing to do with a dead bird? They are quite big things to bury, and if she had a disease I'd missed, this might remain in the soil.

 

[Marigold]

I've buried one or two that died naturally, though mostly mine end up at the vets and he deals with them. I did read DEFRA advice somewhere that a dead bird could be double wrapped in plastic and put in the grey bin for general non-recyclable rubbish, but I didn't somehow like the idea of this.
If you can bury her I don't think there's significant risk of disease remaining in the soil. After all, hundreds of thousands of wild birds and animals die all over the countryside all the time and just decay naturally, it's part of their life cycle. If I find a dead bird or small animal in our garden I put it in the compost heap and it disappears quite fast - though a chicken is too big for this.

 

[chickenfan]

Thank you Marigold for your logic and sense as always.

 

[Icemaiden]

Hi Chickenfan.
Technically the rules say that you aren't allowed to bury your dead chickens; you have to double bag them & dispose of them. I think you're also allowed to cremate them, which is the polite term for what a vet would do...

 

[Icemaiden]

Having said this, I did debate what to do with a succession of dead pigeons that appeared in the garden several years back. The "recycling & waste disposal guide" from the council said that garden waste should go in one bin (I did find them in the garden...) but that food had to go in the food waste bin. I decided that, as people eat pigeon, I'd put them in the latter...