Chicken Suddenly Died

[Kris10fromKS]

Sorry to hear this. Like you and Kiki, I just lost a hen this morning that hadn't ever laid but should have. I could tell that she wasn't healthy but other than her pea comb being tiny and white and her being thin, I couldn't find any cause. Perhaps it was Coccidiosus. I have her body in box and am going to go over it later in the day. So frustrating for us. With mine, I'm worried that it could spread. I have the Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow to refer to but that offers numerous possibilities. That said, Pigeony if you want me to look up something for you, I can. Lastly, did rigor mortis set in right away? I have a friend who is a chicken owner and a mortician and he says that it can set in immediately when there has been a struggle. So that can be a clue.

That's interesting about the rigor mortis! I'm not sure how quickly it set in. She was fine when we left at 7:45am but deceased when we got home at 5pm. No idea how much time had passed.