Dead Broody question, Drowning? Update

[UNCLEG]

Ok odviously not an emergency, I had a black Sexlink approx 2 years old, she went broody from time to time. This time she was sitting on some dummy eggs until some fertiles I had ordered arrive. Any back to storey, she's been broody 2 weeks, gets off next to eat and drink. Yesterday I find her dead in the feed pan in about 2 to 3 inches of water, we had some major thunderstorms yesterday about 4 inches of rain by the neighbors rain gauge.

No marks on the hen, all other hens were fine, so no preditor as far as I can tell and she was well fed... Does it sound like she drowned?

Now I need to find some broodys for the eggs I've ordered, need to rent a broody HAHA.

Thanx for listening,

G

Found a large chicken snake in hen house this afternoon, he was quickly dispatched, but not before he ate all the frizzle eggs one of my Bantys was trying to hatch. Anyway snake may have been a contributing factore.

 

[jjthink]

Do you know if she definitely ate and drank well during that 2 weeks? If not, she may have been too weakened to go on. She shouldn't have drowned in that much water but if she was weakened and laid down/fell down, it would look that way. If she was eating well, then probably only a necropsy could tell...
So sad.....sorry to hear this happened....
JJ

 

[spook]

That is sad, sorry to hear of your loss. Only assuming, she could asphyxiated on water (?). I was at a pals house when her broody tipped her head down and liquid ran out of her beak, could this possibly of happen and she inhaled. Probably a long shot, just a thought.
Again, sorry to hear of your loss. Was you able to salvage the eggs?

 

[ruth]

I had something similar happen to one of my broodies. She was broody off and on for most of a month. Would sit on nest of nonfertile eggs for days then get off for a day and then back on. I thought she was eating when she got off nest, especially when she would get off for a whole day and go back to free ranging. I finally ordered fertile eggs to put under her when she got back on nest and stayed there three days. I started watching her closely then and saw that when she got off the nest to "eat and drink" she would drink but would not eat. I watched her get weaker and weaker till she would just go lay under a nearby bush to take her little break and then back on nest. I started trying to get her to eat - cooked her favoite, eggs - tried everything. Couldn't get her to eat. I could see how weak she was. One night she left nest and went to top of coop to roost on rafters with others - the next morning and all that day she was still there just laying there - then she tried to come down but fell all the way down the ladder and was dead. If I had not seen it happen I would not have known what happened to her but I do know she just got too weak and run down during that month of on again, off again broodiness and got too weak and died.

If I ever get another broody I will isolate her and nest in kennel and keep a close eye on her to be sure she is eating. Mine was a Buff Orp and she was only 8 months old and very young to go broody her first time.

I'm thinking yours was probably not eating much either and also just got too weak and died.

I'm so sorry. I too had to put the eggs I had ordered in the bator, she was only on them for two days. I got one little Blue Orp (from Speckledhen) to hatch so in a way, she lives on.

 

[s6bee]

Sorry to hear about your loss, but I can say that a week ago we lost our SLW hen. Just a year old, perfectly healthy in all ways. Then a horrible storm came through and we lost her during it! I have to assume she had a heart attack, was just scared to death. It sounds as if your hen just fell into her water if she suffered a similar fate.

 

[UNCLEG]

Thanx for the replies, I guess it will be a mystery. I know she ate every morning when I fedup, I only had two Black sexlinks so it was easy to spot them, and she drank in the afternoons when I ran her off the nest to get the eggs other hens would lay in there. Could have been heat stress I guess.

Fortunately/unfortunately I have not recieved the eggs I ordered, need to find out whats up with that. So no eegs to salvage, but I have friend with about 150 birds, so somebody is usually broody over there I she said I could use them I f I needed to finish a hatch.

Thanx again,

G