dead hen - blood in nest box

[Coach P]

Hi Everyone.

I just found my best layer (Cheddar) dead in the yard. My first thought was that my dog killed her (which would be a first. She'll occasionally chase one, but has never attacked them). There were a few downy feathers lying around Cheddar as though she was attacked.

I examined her, looking for puncture wounds and the like but found nothing.

Then, I saw that her vent had, what appear to be, her insides coming out of her. It's a pink/red fleshy blob coming out.

I was convinced the dog must have done it, then went I went to collect the eggs, I found blood in one of the nests and I was one egg short from what I typically get.

Cheddar layed like clockwork, but I have noticed in the past few weeks that she is now the thinnest girl I have. I assumed she was thinner because she lays so well, and the lays enormous eggs.

Does this sound like she could have had some type of rupture and it killed her?
Or is it most likely the dog that did it?

thanks,
Coach P.

 

[Owlgirl7]

I'm so sorry about your hen!
May Cheddar rest in peace.

To me it seems unlikely to be the dog, and especially if you say your dog has never been a problem before. I'm thinking it could have been vent prolapse. When a hen lays an egg in a normal case the reproductive tract will evert itself to expel the egg. In prolapse... the reproductive tract can't contract back into the hen's body and may protrude out the vent. It is fatal left uncured as far as I know.

You say that she was skinny and laid enormous eggs... could she have gotten too skinny to pass such large eggs? Could this have led to prolapse. Just a thought. Prolapse is an option to consider though.

Here's a link if you would like to know more...http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard-chickens/chicken-help/Vent-prolapse-overview-H263.aspx

Once again, I'm sorry about your hen.
Owlgirl

 

[Coach P]

Thanks. I called her my Cheddar Cheese! I loved that bird.

From pics I just looked at, it definitely looks like prolapse.
She had certainly gotten thinner than the other girls and she laid the biggest eggs.
We got double yolkers from her on numerous occasions, and the single yolkers would almost never fit in an egg carton slot!

I had not seen anything wrong with her, but it looks like prolapse was the killer.