Dead hen, no symptoms

[sharol]

Last night when I put the chickens in for the evening, I found my almost 2 year old GLW dead in the corner of the straw shelter in the run. There were no injuries, no signs of parasites, and she seemed to be a good weight with no sign that she was eggbound. She looked quite healthy except she was dead.

I have a hen laying soft shelled eggs (green eggs, not hers), so I have been adding shell to their driy feed and the mash I give them in the mornings. Is it possible that she got too much calcium? Can that cause sudden death?

I know this is reaching, but I tend to look for causes for everything.

Sharol

 

[Judy]

Same thing happened to me, and has happened to many. You can make guesses but you'll never know, unless you have a necropsy done -- and it's probably too late for that. I think these things are often something to do with the heart or great vessels, maybe an aneurysm blowing out.