Dead chicken

[mygirlsandi]

Hi everyone. I am new to raising chickens, and I feel like I just brought my 1st born home from the hospital for the first time. I clean my run and coop just about every day. Today I found one of my girls dead, and she had no sign of illness, and her butt looked like it was going to pop out. Is that normal? I got her from a friend, and I think she was about two years old. I am now so concerned for the other adult girls that I got, as well as my 16-week old girls. Is that a normal thing? There are no vets near me, and the only one that is about an hr away will not see me until the end of July!

 

[nuthatched]

She might have herniated or been egg bound, I'm sorry.

 

[coach723]

It looks like a vent prolapse, could have been from trying to lay a large egg, a malformed egg, or from straining to lay a soft shelled egg. Without knowing more about her, or her history with laying, it's hard to say why now. It's very unlikely that it is anything that could affect your other birds. Just make sure they are on a good balanced diet, keep any treats to less than 10% of the total diet (treats are anything but feed), make sure they have calcium (oyster shell) available all the time in a separate feeder, and clean fresh water.

 

[FunClucks]

What kind of chicken was she? Looks like she might be a red sex-link. These are typically production hens that are only expected to live 2-4 years. They often die from reproductive issues. Sounds like that's what happened to your hen.

So sorry. It's not communicable.

 

[mygirlsandi]

Thank you! She was actually laying eggs every day. I was concerned for my other chicks because I saw them twitching or shaking their heads. I was wondering if it's Gapeworm. no vets near me and the only one there is does not have room until the end of July.

 

[mygirlsandi]

It looks like a vent prolapse, could have been from trying to lay a large egg, a malformed egg, or from straining to lay a soft shelled egg. Without knowing more about her, or her history with laying, it's hard to say why now. It's very unlikely that it is anything that could affect your other birds. Just make sure they are on a good balanced diet, keep any treats to less than 10% of the total diet (treats are anything but feed), make sure they have calcium (oyster shell) available all the time in a separate feeder, and clean fresh water.

Thank you kindly for your response. they are laying very big eggs, and some are weird looking. Thanks for the feeding tip also. I really appreciate it.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

 

[StinkyAcres]

Thank you! She was actually laying eggs every day. I was concerned for my other chicks because I saw them twitching or shaking their heads. I was wondering if it's Gapeworm. no vets near me and the only one there is does not have room until the end of July.

Where in general are you located? Very likely not gapeworm. It is possible your chicks are being bothered by bugs - if you can't see mites or lice it may just be something like flies bothering them.

 

[mygirlsandi]

Oh, my goodness. I first have to say I love the chicken song. Can't stop laughing. I am in a very rural area, and there is no vet that treats birds around me. Thank you for a laugh.

 

[FunClucks]

Oh, my goodness. I first have to say I love the chicken song. Can't stop laughing. I am in a very rural area, and there is no vet that treats birds around me. Thank you for a laugh.

I love that song too!!!

Your state if in USA or country if not USA is usually enough for us to help you troubleshoot what lice or mites or other things might be bothering your chickens. For instance, I'm in North Alabama, so my weather is similar to parts of texas, tennessee, georgia, mississippi, louisiana, and sometimes florida to name a few states. Location plays a lot into the advice you get. For instance, an open-air covered run / coop combo works great for me, but most of the USA has to build for snow load and long winters - I don't.

If you're up for it, you can perform a home autopsy on your chicken, and take lots of pics and post them on here, and folks may be able to help you ID what you see. Or you can send her body to a state lab for a necropsy - you would need to keep her body in the fridge until shipment, and ship over ice (don't freeze her).

But really, if she's a red sex link (production brown egger), reproductive problems / prolapse is the most likely culprit. Since she was laying an egg a day, sounds like a production brown egger to me. I'm sorry, it's hard to lose a hen.