Anniebee
Crowing
To chickenman : I had a beautiful Barnevelder hen - she laid lovely eggs, and stopped in April ( the Australian Autumn ). She shed a few feathers, and I presumed she was going into another moult like the others are ( after a late horrid heat summer moult they all had ). She ate well, drank her water but was aloof from the other chickens. I again ( presumed ) that she was having a bit of a hard time with the moulting. I watched her carefully. Was out with the chickens many times a day and especially to see if she ate treats offered. She always did with great enthusiasm, and that was about the only thing that got her to move from her aloof position. She didn't move far in the last two weeks, except to eat - and drink water. So I figured she was ok ... except for her seeming lack of energy. How wrong I was. She lost condition rapidly ... and we will never know what it was that killed her. They had been wormed and powdered for mites.So sorry for your loss!
I know it is upsetting....I've had it happen to me and it really is upsetting! You may never know why.....I had a roo drop dead like that too! He was out with his hens and we were working in the yard....One minute I saw him scratching for bugs and the next I saw him dead on the ground! We just assumed it was his heart and the heat.
One morning she was listless, and by 2 pm she had died. Just like that. I have to think she had some inherited weakness. She was purchased from a hatchery ( along with my other birds who are all very well at this point ) ... the hatchery has an excellent reputation in Victoria, Australia. But then, one never knows what a chicken might inherit, or have wrong with them at any given time, unless investigated by a chicken Vet expert. Unfortunately for my Milly - it was all too late for any chicken expert intervention..
I was shocked and saddened by her sudden death, but have been assured by many ( here and on other sites ) that this can happen to chickens for who knows what reason. I feel sad for your loss, I know how that feels now.
Cheers ............ AB
Last edited: