Chicken Dead

[tamiep]

I found one of my hens in the kiddie pool (6-8" deep, very shallow) I use for the ducks. I had it butted up against the sidewalk because the female duck has a hard time getting in. The drake has been after her so I assumed he did it. I had been keeping them separate, but didn't do that today for some stupid reason. By the time I discovered her in the pool, he was in the back part of the yard, which did not seem odd because he goes wherever the female goes.

But I have been sitting here thinking about the situation all afternoon and something seems weird. I tried to revive her. I held her upside down, smacked (not super hard) her back, sides of her chest, and when I opened her mouth was full of crushed corn. I dug that out and tried to blow air into her mouth, but only her neck ballooned up. The air was clearly not reaching her chest. I smacked her some more, and tried to blow again, and the same thing, the air only ballooned the neck.

Is it possible that she choked on something?

A little bit before this I put some june bugs out back that I found in a bowl (for whatever reason they cannot get out of things), and all of the chickens ran over and ate them. Could she have swollen one and it got caught in her throat or maybe it tried to crawl back up? Maybe she tried to drink, passed out, and fell in the water?

Either the duck raped and murdered her or she choked on something. Either way, it's my fault, but I'm wondering what you all think about what happened.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss.
It would be hard to know the cause of her death without a necropsy. If you still have her body, sending refrigerate it and send it to your state lab
From your description, she probably drowned. The food in the beak was likely coincidental from death convulsions or struggle.

The avian respiratory system is unique, so I doubt that you would have been able to resuscitate her. If you are interested, it is explained in the video below.

 

[tamiep]

I'm sorry for your loss.
It would be hard to know the cause of her death without a necropsy. If you still have her body, sending refrigerate it and send it to your state lab
From your description, she probably drowned. The food in the beak was likely coincidental from death convulsions or struggle.

The avian respiratory system is unique, so I doubt that you would have been able to resuscitate her. If you are interested, it is explained in the video below.

Thank you. We have already buried her. I'm sure I looked like a fool out there trying to smack, shake, and breath her back to life. I just feel so awful for not protecting her. Sometimes I just feel that I am so incompetent. She used to wait for me to walk her to the coop at night.

 

[micstrachan]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

 

[PennyM]

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you. We have already buried her. I'm sure I looked like a fool out there trying to smack, shake, and breath her back to life. I just feel so awful for not protecting her. Sometimes I just feel that I am so incompetent. She used to wait for me to walk her to the coop at night.

Don't beat yourself up. Accidents happen, she may have gotten in the pool herself and panicked, you never know.

It's never foolish to try to see if you can rouse a chicken. Last year I found one of my pullets under the ramp unresponsive, I shook her, patted her, called her name, etc. but she was long gone - we do these things almost instinctively I suppose. It's heartbreaking to find one dead.