A hen died overnight in the coop and we are beside ourselves!

[marcid]

We found one of our one-year old chickens dead this morning in the coop. She had not been acting sick in any way. Seriously. Not. One. Clue. She is a black australorp and the largest and sweetest of our four chickens.

I'm just beside myself. I feel like I failed her in some way but I literally have no idea what happened. She didn't come out when we opened the coop door to let them out at dawn. When we found her she was not very stiff so I feel like she must have died early morning.

Other than a few feathers missing on her chest, we can't see a physical clue. No blood. Her poop has been normal as far as I know.

I'm lost. Just lost.

What in the world could cause a normal acting chicken to die? We speculated if a physical injury happened---get stepped on? Bend her neck? She was not acting strangely. I tucked her in myself last night with the others. I found her this morning laying on the coop floor, her head was a bit tucked in and neck curved. The coop floor is right below their roosts. Not a falling distance.

We live in north texas where it has been flash flooding. I've been vigilant about removing wet food and removing waste and trying to keep the coop dry. Could it have anything to do with the rain?

We love our chickens like pets. They are precious. If I need to do anything to make sure the others aren't sick, I would love some advice.

Anyone have any thoughts about what might have happened?

Rest in peace, my sweet Mrs. Toadflax. Each family member named a chicken, and she was mine---named after a beloved children's book character. I loved her so much.

Thanks.
Marci

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I am sorry for your loss.
If you truly want to know what the cause of the bird's passing was, you will want to have a necropsy performed. This still may not provide answers, but will be more likely to yield factual findings for your situation than speculation of the many things that *may* have happened that we can offer.

 

[marcid]

Can a bird vet perform those? We have a vet we took an injured chicken to once. Do I need to initiate that immediately? Is it expensive? It's killing me not knowing.