I'm not sure where to post this, but "managing your flock" seemed like a good fit. I returned late this evening from a short trip and found my beloved easter egger dead in the run, no apparent trauma, no sign of injury or breach to the coop/run, the rest of the girls were already on the roost and asleep. They had plenty of food/water, there was no extreme weather, I had someone check on them yesterday, she laid a little blue egg today, and I have a camera in the coop (eye roll!) and know that she was safe and sound last night. I've only had chickens a little over two years, so I have very little experience. But I do LOTS of research. I love my ladies and try to give them a good life, but I have had several completely unexplained deaths or disappearances like this. One girl suddenly vanished from a fenced but not predator-proof area while I was in the yard (coyote?), one fell from her roost in the night (heart-attack?), and now this random death. I've also nursed hens back to health when I thought they were headed for the big coop in the sky, had sickly chicks die in the first few days, had chickens killed in front of me by a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, and fought off a Red-shouldered Hawk to save my head hen.
I get that there's uncertainty in everything, but I'm just overwhelmed by it tonight. Thanks for letting me vent.
I get that there's uncertainty in everything, but I'm just overwhelmed by it tonight. Thanks for letting me vent.
