Chicken dies suddenly

[JosieMaeChickens]

I just found my approximately 22 week old Swedish flower died. Around 12pm I let them out the coop, she was laying on the coop floor like she was trying to lay an egg. She was alert and looking at me. This chickens are still young and it isn’t usually to find eggs on the floor instead of the nesting box so I didn’t think anything of it. I picked her up, put her on the left side of the nesting box, there was already about 5 eggs on the right side. I’ve never seen her lay an egg so I did that hoping to be able to see what color her egg was when she was done. About an hour later I go check on her to find she has died. I removed her and there was an egg underneath her. I’m assuming she laid the egg then died. While I’m sad about the lost, she was one of our favorites, I’m hoping it’s nothing contagious. The egg looked normal and she had no signs of being sick yesterday. All the other chickens are fine so far. She looked fine this morning, to physical sign. Not sure if this was her first egg or not. I may never know the answer but would like to hear opinions. Thank you!

 

[nuthatched]

Sorry for your loss.
What's her diet? Her heart just might have gave out.

 

[JosieMaeChickens]

Sorry for your loss.
What's her diet? Her heart just might have gave out.

My husband grinds our own animal feed (we have hogs and chickens.) It’s a mixture of corn and poultry supplement from Southern States, our local feed store. All the chickens have been on that for at least 6 months probably closer to a year. We have chickens that range from about 2 years old to 2 day old chicks. We have lost a few to predators and 1 old golden comet due to age. Her dying suddenly is strange because she had no signs of being sick.

 

[JosieMaeChickens]

My husband grinds our own animal feed (we have hogs and chickens.) It’s a mixture of corn and poultry supplement from Southern States, our local feed store. All the chickens have been on that for at least 6 months probably closer to a year. We have chickens that range from about 2 years old to 2 day old chicks. We have lost a few to predators and 1 old golden comet due to age. Her dying suddenly is strange because she had no signs of being sick.

Also they get the usual kitchen scraps and sunflower seeds.

 

[nuthatched]

My husband grinds our own animal feed (we have hogs and chickens.) It’s a mixture of corn and poultry supplement from Southern States, our local feed store. All the chickens have been on that for at least 6 months probably closer to a year. We have chickens that range from about 2 years old to 2 day old chicks. We have lost a few to predators and 1 old golden comet due to age. Her dying suddenly is strange because she had no signs of being sick.

Also they get the usual kitchen scraps and sunflower seeds.

Cut out the scraps and seeds.
What exactly is in the feed? If it's just corn with a vitamin powder, it's a very unhealthy diet.
Diy feeds are tricky, they're very involved and expensive.

 

[JosieMaeChickens]

Cut out the scraps and seeds.
What exactly is in the feed? If it's just corn with a vitamin powder, it's a very unhealthy diet.
Diy feeds are tricky, they're very involved and expensive.

I’ll have to ask him the specifics on the feed. I thought some scraps were ok to feed? And I thought sunflower seeds were beneficial? Maybe I’m misinformed. You don’t feed any scraps?

 

[nuthatched]

I’ll have to ask him the specifics on the feed. I thought some scraps were ok to feed? And I thought sunflower seeds were beneficial? Maybe I’m misinformed. You don’t feed any scraps?

Sunflower seeds are mostly fat and carbs, think of them as cheetos, treats for once or twice a week in small quantities.
I rarely feed scraps since those are also high in carbs and fat.
Chickens store fat inside their bodies, around the heart and kidneys, not outside like us, too much and it causes
1. difficulty in laying eggs (like an obese woman has difficulty giving birth), 2. respiratory distress since their respiratory system takes up most of their bodies.
3. Ultimately organ failure
Even nutrious treats like fruits and veggies dilute the nutrients they should get.

 

[JosieMaeChickens]

Sunflower seeds are mostly fat and carbs, think of them as cheetos, treats for once or twice a week in small quantities.
I rarely feed scraps since those are also high in carbs and fat.
Chickens store fat inside their bodies, around the heart and kidneys, not outside like us, too much and it causes
1. difficulty in laying eggs (like an obese woman has difficulty giving birth), 2. respiratory distress since their respiratory system takes up most of their bodies.
3. Ultimately organ failure
Even nutrious treats like fruits and veggies dilute the nutrients they should get.

I appreciate all this information.

 

[Sussex19]

There is a condition (I can't remember what its called) where hens experience a sudden drop in calcium levels after laying an egg, which can cause death.
Do you provide shell grit on the side, so they can take in as much calcium they need?