Dead chicken

[Montellopnds]

Hello everyone,

This morning when I was checking for eggs I found one of our Easter Eggers dead in the nest. We had 8 in total, two of four different breeds. The chickens were out yesterday and seemed good. The one that passed was not with the rest of the group, kind of a loaner yesterday. There was no trauma that I could see. The group is about 8 months old. We had been feeding them treats of pumpkin pieces with tomatoes, lettuce, in addition to the normal layer crumbles. I was very surprised to see this. I keep the coop and run very clean and give them fresh water every other day.

Any thoughts from the expert group here? Should I expect to loose one every once in a while...

Thanks in advance
Steve

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, unfortunately this happens occasionally. It can be puzzling to figure out the cause. If you can open up the abdomen, there are a few things to look for, such as a discolored or spotted liver, worms inside the intestines, or internal laying with masses of egg material. Most states have a vet who will do necropsies to look for a cause of death. Sorry for your loss. Here is a link for that: http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[Montellopnds]

Thank you for your response. I was just surprised to see this. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything that could have caused this. They all seem to be very happy chickens and I thought healthy as well. Do I need to relally watch the rest of them after this?

 

[Eggcessive]

She could have been egg bound or just sick with something else, which may have been why she was hanging out by herself or in the nest box. When I let out the chickens in the morning, many times a sick chicken will either not get off the roost, or they will isolate themselves in a corner or a nest box. I would just pay a little extra attention when letting them out, and putting them up for a few days.