1 Year old hen just died? :(

[madabouthens]

Right well last summer i hatched out a white leghorn! This year she had been perfect laying loads of eggs and was in very good health but the other night i went down to lock up! And she was sitting on the nest box on top of no eggs..so i picked her up and set her down and fed her! She was running about fine after that for an hour so i locked up and the next morning i went own and she was in the nest box dead! Deffinatly hadnt been attacked and was given the right food and clean water. Does anybody know what could of happened to her?

 

[RedIII]

When was the last egg she laid prior to this? I'm wondering if there was a chance she was eggbound.

 

[madabouthens]

It was a day before. This is a stupid qeustion but what does egg bound mean?:/

 

[RedIII]

Not a stupid question at all. Eggbound is when an egg gets stuck inside the hen, causing her to stress while trying to get it out. Usually the hen will need help, or she will die. A hen that's eggbound will suddenly become lethargic, not want to move around much, try to sit near heat, stop eating and drinking or else eat and drink much less than usual. Eggbound hens will seem to strain, like they're trying to lay, and may hang out in a nest box for a while. When you pick them up, you can usually feel the lump in their abdomen that is the stuck egg. Sometimes, the egg will break internally and cause infection, which usually results in the hen's death, from what I understand.

Some of the ways I've read about to assist an eggbound hen include feeding her a little olive oil to help lube things up, giving her a steamy bath or sauna treatment, gently massaging her abdomen, stuff like that. There are a lot of threads on here about eggbound hens that are way more informative than I am, if you wanted to look some up

 

[madabouthens]

Thanks a lot! That acc may have been what has happend to her well thanks a million! Really helped me out!

 

[hannahsrock1]

I lost three chickens between last night and today. They were about a year old and were laying pretty good. They layed eggs so they weren't eggbound. It has been hot here in Oklahoma the last few days. Any ideas?

 

[RedIII]

I lost three chickens between last night and today. They were about a year old and were laying pretty good. They layed eggs so they weren't eggbound. It has been hot here in Oklahoma the last few days. Any ideas?

Hmm, did they have any symptoms in the last few days? Sneezing, looking sickly, that kind of thing? I guess it's possible that they could have died from heat exhaustion, but I would think that that would be from extreme heat. What kind(s) of chickens were they? What kind of temps have you had where you are? Did they have enough water and shade?

To try and help compare, it has been in the 90's here most days, which is mighty uncomfortable. I make sure that my chickens have plenty of fresh water morning and night, and I also make sure that they are out of direct sunlight. So far, there's been some panting and a little wing drooping, but everyone's okay. I've been turning the sprinklers on them now and again to help cool them off.

 

[HiddenBrookAcres]

I lost one hen in April and then one just yesterday. They were both a year old and died of unknown reasons. They free range in my yard in the afternoon when I am home. I know it wasn't predator related. I give fresh water throughout the day. Yesterday was 90 degrees but in April the temps were normal for the season. I feed layer pellets and scratch feed as well as fruits and veggies plus, like I mentioned, they free range. They have access to shade as well. I can't figure out what is going wrong. I have 13 other laying hens from the same hatchery and they did come vaccinated. Could that be the issue? I'm worried that I am going to lose the rest of my girls

 

[RedIII]

HiddenBrooksAcres, do you have anything in your yard that's toxic they might be getting into? Some plants are poisonous for chickens, such a Foxglove. Although, if they were poisoned, you'd probably be able to tell. They usually act strange, like they're drunk or lethargic, or like someone with the flu. Just not right.

Vaccinations could have something to do with it, but I'm not an expert at this, either

I'm hoping someone with more experience reads this thread and can comment.

In the meantime, this thread has some helpful information on toxic plants:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/215372/toxic-plants-for-chickens

Good luck

 

[HiddenBrookAcres]

HiddenBrooksAcres, do you have anything in your yard that's toxic they might be getting into? Some plants are poisonous for chickens, such a Foxglove. Although, if they were poisoned, you'd probably be able to tell. They usually act strange, like they're drunk or lethargic, or like someone with the flu. Just not right.

Vaccinations could have something to do with it, but I'm not an expert at this, either

I'm hoping someone with more experience reads this thread and can comment.

In the meantime, this thread has some helpful information on toxic plants:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/215372/toxic-plants-for-chickens

Good luck

thank you for the link. I have other animals on the property and they all graze together (horses and goats). I will double check but I didn't think we had any poisonous plants. I will be in the yard making sure of it tomorrow!