2 1/2 year hen died today not previously ill

[Cxwhit3]

I'd suspect her geneology then unless there are specific symptoms you've noticed with her and your other birds. Sex link layer birds are very 'live fast, die young.' They're engineered to be culled at 2 years old and while there are stories out there of their girls living 5-8 years, that was not something I could pull off with good care, access to avian vets and personal experience with ill and injured birds.

Had she lost weight recently? How meaty was her keel? It's usually not very meaty on a hybrid, but the bone shouldn't be prominent and there should be developed breast muscle there.

When my second started to go down hill, the girls turned on her and started attacking on sight. Looked brutal, but maybe it was their attempt at a mercy killing. She had acites, which means it's only a matter of time cause that's either tumors or organ failure.

I hadn’t noticed any weight loss but my older hens, all 2.5 years are smaller than the new Wyandotte’s I got this spring. I’m hoping this is just a one off and everyone else is fine. She died out in the run so I’m not sure if there are sanitation protocols I should follow. About the time of year for me to clean out the coop anyway.

 

[Lizzy733]

I hadn’t noticed any weight loss but my older hens, all 2.5 years are smaller than the new Wyandotte’s I got this spring. I’m hoping this is just a one off and everyone else is fine. She died out in the run so I’m not sure if there are sanitation protocols I should follow. About the time of year for me to clean out the coop anyway.

Wyandottes are much bigger and meatier. They are a dual purpose breed and will weigh considerably more than a sexlink and have a lot more meat on the breast. I have one as well and she's definitely much larger than my shavers were. I'd compare with her sisters, if you have any, or another non-bantam light breed.