Dead hen in nesting box

[nan1968]

I came home from work today and one of my hens had died. She was a year old and I found her in the nesting box. I looked at her hiney and it was red and looked bloody. I have seen a few softshelled eggs busted at the bottom of the coop. She was fine and healthy day before. What can this be. My chickens are freerange and I don't treat them with anything. They go out in the morning and in at night. They have always been very healthy. I checked everyones hineys tonight when they went in. I don't know who the soft shelled egg came from if I should give them an antibiotic. They wont eat the laying pellets and have not been eating the oyster shells. Could she have died from having a soft shelled egg?

 

[Southernbelle]

She may have been an internal layer and that's usually a fatal condition. I'm sorry you lost one!

 

[chickenray]

No ideas but VERY sorry to hear about this.

We did have one of our girls lay a soft egg but that was only once and no other problems. We feed layers mash if that helps...

Again very sorry for your loss!

 

[Peppermint]