Chicken fell off roost and died :(

[Dove1B]

My poor Stripe fell off the roost and broke her neck last night I feel so bad, they've been roosting on the small ledge super high up next to the wall of the coop instead of the roost we built. I was going to build a real roost up high to make it safer but I was too late. I didn't think I'd be this sad about a chicken! I really hope it was instant and she never knew what happened, and she was content from a long day of free ranging and pecking at corn cobs..

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Don't beat yourself up. I have many roosts for my 70 birds, and my younger chickens will always try to roost on the shelves of the walls. She may have just died in her sleep of other problems and fell off the roost. Many chickens will die of no apparent cause in the first year.

 

[bridge1]

I had one do the same last night. No apparent issues with her yesterday, all seemed normal. It’s sad.

 

[CCsGarden]

I had one do the same last night. No apparent issues with her yesterday, all seemed normal. It’s sad.

Sorry for your loss! How high is your roost?

Sometimes if they are too fat there liver bleeds and they die suddenly. I have had it happen to me twice and did a necropsy to found out why and turns out the liver bled.

How much do they weigh? What breed was she?

Maybe start your own thread, this one is from 2013

 

[Eggcessive]

I had one do the same last night. No apparent issues with her yesterday, all seemed normal. It’s sad.

Sorry for your loss. Most state vets can do a necropsy on the body to look for a possible cause of death if you keep the body cold and refrigerated in 2 plastic bags. Do not freeze. Here is a list of state vet labs to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...L5h4Xt137GBu32pWJZSRUY5DYhQyVrd4ODmF-Ab8otocc

 

[chickenbreederinchina]

Oh no, I’m really sorry to hear that. That’s so hard.
It’s wild how attached we get to them, isn’t it? They’re just chickens, but not just chickens, you know?
It sounds like Stripe had a pretty good last day—out pecking, roaming, just being a chicken. I really hope it was quick too, and she didn’t feel a thing.
Don’t be too hard on yourself about the roost. You cared, you were planning to make it safer, and sometimes things just happen before we get the chance. It sucks.
Thinking of you.

 

[Altairsky]

I'm quite sure it's not yours or the roost's fault. It is very likely that she died in her sleep for unknown reasons and then fell off the roost.
I have never seen, nor heard of, chickens dying because they fell while sleeping. Birds feet are literally designed to not let go of a roost while they sleep. They literally lock onto the roost bar/tree branch.