Lost my Favorite Buff this morning...

[aamowry]

I found Patsy lying head down gasping for air this morning when I went to open the coop. I was able to hold her for only a minute getting her out of the coop when she passed. I am completely at a lost to understand how she became sick. No signs of injury and she was securely locked in when I found her. She had been broody a few weeks ago and it took me a few days to get her out of it. She has been laying consistently for over a week. Was that too much stress? Although I have had my 3 buffs for a little over a year, I can't see how I could have changed the outcome. Looking for a little insight from those that have raised chickens for a long time. Also I understand 3 is the minimum for a flock and now have 2 will there be additional stress on the 2 left? Difficult morning... Patsy was my girl.

 

[goldstandard300]

So sorry about patsy.

 

[jannakaye]

So sorry about your baby ..not sure what could have happened, maybe collapsed lung? Your other ducks should be okay without another friend, but they may be a little out of sorts for a few days. Good luck.

 

[roostersandhens]

SO sorry..

 

[iwiw60]

So very very sorry for your loss...

 

[aamowry]

Thank you for all the kind words...

 

[cafarmgirl]

I found Patsy lying head down gasping for air this morning when I went to open the coop. I was able to hold her for only a minute getting her out of the coop when she passed. I am completely at a lost to understand how she became sick. No signs of injury and she was securely locked in when I found her. She had been broody a few weeks ago and it took me a few days to get her out of it. She has been laying consistently for over a week. Was that too much stress? Although I have had my 3 buffs for a little over a year, I can't see how I could have changed the outcome. Looking for a little insight from those that have raised chickens for a long time. Also I understand 3 is the minimum for a flock and now have 2 will there be additional stress on the 2 left? Difficult morning... Patsy was my girl.

Sorry for your loss. No way to tell what the cause was without a necropsy. Chickens can die suddenly but they are also extremely good at hiding earlier symptoms of illness, until they just can't do it anymore or until they just die. So I doubt there is anything you could have done differently. Chickens are very hard to diagnose at the best of times, even for vets, and this ability to hide illness is one of the more confounding aspects of keeping any kind of bird.

As far as three being a minimum number of birds to keep? Not really. If you have two that get along I don't know that I'd upset the cart at this point. They will miss her and if they were good friends they will grieve for her for a while. When you get down to two birds though then you are in the situation of what to do if one dies and the other is then left alone. So you might consider getting a couple more after a while. I say a couple because it will likely be much easier to integrate two new birds to your two then a single new bird. But give your existing birds time to adjust before bringing in new ones.

 

[aamowry]

Thank you so much for the kind support and great insight. This has given us the info to help ease the loss a bit. Again, big Thanks.

 

[ChickendeVille]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I too lost a chicken today. She had similar symptoms, gasping for air. It took less than 10min. I am still in shock. Not too sure what happened either.

 

[aamowry]

I am so sorry. I know how awful your day was. My chickens have been with me a little over a year and I didn't realize just what a presence they are and how attached I was. They are such sweet creatures. I do believe there is nothing we (you or I) could do to change the outcome. Thank you for sharing.... Today will be a better day.