If anyone else has experienced this. We have had three hens die while either on the nest, or shortly after laying an egg. This has happened over the past couple of years, not all at once. Yesterday I found one of our hens lying beside the nest, so far gone I didn't feel there was much I could do for her, except make her as comfortable as possible, which I did. She died a very short time later. In her nest was a clutch of six eggs; not all from her, but one was very warm...I[m guessing she'd just laid it. This also happened with one of our hens last summer; she died on the nest on a very hot day, so we thought maybe heat was a contributor in her case. The third hen we also found very sick beside the nest last year; she died shortly after. All three hens were predominently Golden Comet. Probably only a chicken can tell you how difficult it is to lay an egg, but is there something that could rupture during the egg laying process that could kill them that quickly? Just trying to figure this out (and no, I'm not getting a necropsy this time! Our State charges $40.00 and up for each one) We've had some health problems in our flock this past winter, but have been monitoring them closely since, and this one seemed very healthy; no symptoms at all that we saw.
