Hen dead in roosting room

chickenman111

Chirping
7 Years
Aug 16, 2012
277
2
93
Here, there, and everywhere
I found one of my hens dead in the roosting room this morning. Her neck feathers were sticking up, showing her skin, she had a piece of barley fodder half eaten, sticking partway out of her mouth. And her skin looked scaly, any ideas what happened to her. Was it scaly mites? or something else. Please any help will be appreciated.
 
I'm sorry you had to find your hen that way. That's really sad, and rather odd in my opinion. It's almost as if she choked on the barley or something. Do you know for certain if she had mites or not? Was she emaciated or showing any other signs or symptoms? Without any more information, I really don't know what to tell you except that I'm sorry for your loss.
 
as far as i can tell she didn't have any, but I think she was dead for several hours, so I guess they could have left her by then, she was lying on her side, halfway inside the roosting room, I thought that was rather weird. I've never had anything quite like this happen, when I've lost a chicken. She was on the bottom of the pecking order, and she was a little thinner than the others, and a few days ago she kind of stumbled when she walked.
 
if i can intrude, i have heard of lower hens actually being pecked to death or starved by the higher ranks by chasing her from food and just constant pecking. never happened to me though. sorry for your loss :(
 
i dont see why it couldnt be. i mean if she was that skinny and * wobbling * when she died she prob was a bit emaciated from lack of food exhaustion maybe dehydration im not expert im just giving what i think. ive never had a bully hen though...
 
I don't recall if you said how many chickens you had or not, but if bullying is even a remote possibility, I would not only put out more waterers, but several more feeders also. The big bad bully can't be at more than one station at a time and then maybe you'll get your answer. Good luck and I hope you don't have any more losses!:)
 
If it were me (and I was in your shoes a couple months ago) I would get rid of the bully. Pecking another hen to death is so unacceptable to me. I get the "pecking order" but when the lead hen pecks to the point of fatal injury or starvation, that's not being lead hen, that's being a bully. I got rid of my bully and my flock is ever so much more peaceful now.
 

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