8 month old white orpington died

[lilys chickens]

In September we recently became proud owners of 6 lovely 10 week old chickens. One happened to be a White Orpington. We heard they were a very friendly and easy going chicken. We named her Snowball. She really lived up to her reputation. Such a lovely bird. On Sat we noticed her no eating, drinking and moving very slowly. To note -- We just started getting eggs about 3 weeks ago. We live in Mass and so far have been having a mild winter with a few really cold days recently. By Sunday she was dead. The only change in their daily care was mixing layer crumbles and pellets with starter food and oyster shells in a separate container to help build stronger shells. They are given fresh veggie scraps and apples along with scattered cracked corn. Can any one share their thoughts as to why Snowball died? We would really appreciate any information.

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

It's a little hard to tell what she might have died from, but, from what you said, my guess would be either eggbinding or some kind of infection. If it was eggbinding, she might have been wadling a bit and looking constipated. If it was an infection, then your other birds are at risk of catching it, too. Was she sticking to herself a lot and acting listless? Was she wheezing at all or straining periodically? It sounds like you did everything right as far as feeding. In fact, that's ideal for hens coming into lay plus the time of year.

I'm really sorry for you that you lost one so early. I hope the rest of your flock stays healthy.

 

[tmfineg]

Sorry for your loss. It is hard to say... I doubt it was anything you did wrong.