Found one of my late hatches dead on the floor this morning. Seemed fine yesterday, eating and active.
No obvious injuries or signs of illness. What could cause sudden death like this?
Sudden death without warning signs could be:
- Heart defect (not uncommon in young birds)
- Acute infection that progressed fast
- Toxin exposure
- Internal injury we can’t see externally
- Sometimes just “failure to thrive” genetics
If it was just one bird and others are fine, probably individual issue rather than contagious disease.
Watch the rest closely for a few days. If more get sick, then worry about infection.