Bad, Good, Bad

[Chickens run]

Woke up this morning to find that one of my broody's eggs had been broken and the embryo was dead under her. It looks like it only had about a day or two before hatching, so I was bummed. Then happy when I discovered that another had hatched successfully! Cute little puff of chick. Then bummed again as I let the flocks out of the coops, only to discover one of my 4 month old Rhode Island Reds dead on the coop floor. Stretched out and stiff as a board. No bites that I could find, no blood, no missing parts. Neck didn't even feel broken. Just dead. Any ideas of what I'm dealing with?
New baby, YAY!
Dead teenager, bummer!

 

[lcertuche]

If there isn't any noticeable marks then I wouldn't have any ideas. You could probably tell if it had a broken neck even being stiff. If any began acting sick you might want to separate it from the rest of the flock.

 

[eggolio]

Could it be possible it was frightened so much it had a heart attack? Just a guess. Check for small cuts, some predators bite the bird and drink the blood.

 

[Chickens run]

I looked under all the feathers as much as I could and found nothing. Seems pretty young to have a heart attack but I suppose it's possible. Just weird. I can't think of anything they may have gotten into that would make her sick. She (he?) was totally fine yesterday. Running around with the flock, free ranging and happy. Went to roost last night as usual with nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[CluckerCottage]

did you check to see if she has anything lodged in the throat?

 

[Chickens run]

I did not, but I'm beginning to think she must have gotten into something, although I don't know what. I have made a thorough search of the coop, barn, and barnyard but found nothing. She had some small white powder on her feet (just a tiny bit) and a bit on her beak. The only thing I have is ash in the wood pit and diatomaceous earth. So I'm at a loss. The other chickens were reluctant to go into the coop tonight, thought. I did not find any snakes or other predators in there. I'll go check on them again before bed.