Chicken died of fright?

[Sherlyn R. Jones]

Tonight I waited until the chickens went to roost one of my girls has bumble foot. My husband went to the coop to bring her in so I could treat her bumble foot. He came in with her. He had a hold of her feet and she was wrapped in a towel for security. He lifted her foot to show me her foot and suddenly she stretched her neck out closed her eyes, flapped a wing and made the death sound. We both just stood there looking at the hen and each other when her stretched out neck became limp and fell over. Her eyes were closed and that was it. We have chickens and roosters 34 of them and this is the first time something like this has happened. She must of had a heart attack. Anyone else experience anything like this? This would of been her first time for any medical treatment or handling for any length of time.

 

[Kiki]

So sorry for your loss.
This has been known to happen.

 

[Kiki]

Btw....welcome to BYC.
This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

 

[christwodog]

I had a salmon faverolle who went in a similar way - she had ingested a toxin of some sort so we had to treat her and another hen. I wrapped her in a towel, not tight, just enough to keep from getting flapped by wings. My husband was holding her while I got her injection ready, and she freaked out a little then went totally limp. We tried to revive her with our version of chicken CPR, but sadly it didn't work. It is heartbreaking. But the other hen did recover thankfully. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Chickenlover2017]

poor thing i am sorry for your loss

 

[Natanya]

A bird's sternum needs to move outwards to allow them to breath, and towels retain heat well, so towel restraint can smother and cause heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke if the restrain is on too tight or on for too long. Considering how quickly your hen went out it doesn't sound to me like that's what happened here with her, but it's a good thing to know about.

Sounds to me like your bird suffered a major cardiovascular event of some sort, heart attack comes to mind quickly, but it could have also been an aneurysm. Considering how quickly it happened I would bet arterial, if it was indeed an aneurysm.

Sorry about your girl, loosing an animal you've cared for is always an emotional hit.

 

[drumstick diva]

so sorry

 

[rjohns39]

Welcome to BYC from middle Tennessee So sorry for your loss

 

[Beckaberry]

I'm seconding the idea of a major heart attack or something quick like that. I had a hen who was happy as a clam and healthy to boot, when one day she rolled over let out a squawk and died right there. Sorry this happened to you, but it does occur unfortunately.