Chickens died trying to escape

[Newtochickens0624]

So we adopted two adult chickens three days ago because we only had one chicken left and we figured she needed some company. Both chickens had severely messy bottoms and irritated back sides and were very skittish of people. We tried our best to clean them up and introduce them and our chicken slowly. We left the house with our chicken in her coop and the two new chickens in the run so that they could see each other but they remained separated by a door. Well, I came home and both new chickens were dead. One chicken had her neck between a small gap between the run and the coop like she was trying to escape. It looks like she may have broken her own neck. The other was facing the opposite direction with her head near the gap on the other side of the door but does not look like she had a broken neck. Can chickens die trying to escape? Could the other have died of stress? I know they were skittish but they seemed to be relaxed around each other and my chicken. I am just at a loss and feel so awful.

 

[dennisma1]

So we adopted two adult chickens three days ago because we only had one chicken left and we figured she needed some company. Both chickens had severely messy bottoms and irritated back sides and were very skittish of people. We tried our best to clean them up and introduce them and our chicken slowly. We left the house with our chicken in her coop and the two new chickens in the run so that they could see each other but they remained separated by a door. Well, I came home and both new chickens were dead. One chicken had her neck between a small gap between the run and the coop like she was trying to escape. It looks like she may have broken her own neck. The other was facing the opposite direction with her head near the gap on the other side of the door but does not look like she had a broken neck. Can chickens die trying to escape? Could the other have died of stress? I know they were skittish but they seemed to be relaxed around each other and my chicken. I am just at a loss and feel so awful.

Oh my gosh that is sad...I hope they didn't arrive ill. That seems a little extreme.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If almost wonder if there was a predator while you were gone.

 

[Swbertrand1]

That two of your birds (new or not) did the same thing seems more like trying to escape a predator than to escape the run. Maybe they just happened to get themselves caught in a part of the coop that worked like a trap. It happened to usi.

We had a Silkie die of what we think was stress a few years back after getting caught between a small ICU coop and the fencing beside it. There was a gap of about 3" between the two. From the time we last saw her "ok" to the time we found her wedged between the two couldn't have been more than about 3 hours, but we think she kinda freaked out, went into shock, and gave up. When we found her, she was lethargic and just seemed to be giving up. We couldn't do anything for her and she died in my hands less than 15 minutes after I found her :-(

As near as we can tell, when she tried to back up, her wings would interlock into the fence and prevent her movement, so she was really stuck!

 

[Newtochickens0624]

If almost wonder if there was a predator while you were gone.

They were very scared of our dog when we first brought them in. Sometimes the neighbor's dog or cat will come into our yard to spy on the chickens. I'm wondering if they just panicked? No predator got into the coop, the chickens were completely intact.

 

[Newtochickens0624]

That two of your birds (new or not) did the same thing seems more like trying to escape a predator than to escape the run. Maybe they just happened to get themselves caught in a part of the coop that worked like a trap. It happened to usi.

We had a Silkie die of what we think was stress a few years back after getting caught between a small ICU coop and the fencing beside it. There was a gap of about 3" between the two. From the time we last saw her "ok" to the time we found her wedged between the two couldn't have been more than about 3 hours, but we think she kinda freaked out, went into shock, and gave up. When we found her, she was lethargic and just seemed to be giving up. We couldn't do anything for her and she died in my hands less than 15 minutes after I found her :-(

As near as we can tell, when she tried to back up, her wings would interlock into the fence and prevent her movement, so she was really stuck!

Oh that's awful! I am thinking the neighbor's dog or cat came into our yard to spy on the chickens and freaked them out. My chicken is used to being around dogs so she is completely unrattled. The weird thing is that the two that died didnt look caught on anything, more like they were ramming themselves into the gap and maybe went into shock. It's just so bizarre to come home to a freak accident like this.

 

[nuthatched]

I'm sorry for your loss.
I'd watch your remaining chicken carefully, those chickens didn't sound healthy.
It's always best to quarantine new chickens far away from existing chickens for about a month to make sure they're healthy. there's a chance that they could have just panicked with nothing there or something harmless they weren't used to showed up like a dove or low plane.

 

[Swbertrand1]

Oh that's awful! I am thinking the neighbor's dog or cat came into our yard to spy on the chickens and freaked them out. My chicken is used to being around dogs so she is completely unrattled. The weird thing is that the two that died didnt look caught on anything, more like they were ramming themselves into the gap and maybe went into shock. It's just so bizarre to come home to a freak accident like this.

Indeed! We do our best to make sure there is nothing they can get caught in any more - lesson learned the hard way :-(