Dead hen; opinions needed

[GemmaA]

Hi folks. Woke up this morning to what we all dread: one of my girls was dead in the nest box.

I've only had these ladies since Friday. One is 7-8 years old, the others 2-3. The one who died is one of the younger girls. No sign of lice or ticks. No discharge from nostrils, beak, or cloaca. Crop is not full or swollen. Could not feel a bound egg.

There was a large amount of solid poop under her. Maybe she was constipated? Can stress kill? She had just had a big move into my home from where she used to live.

Yesterday evening, she seemed a little morose, which I assumed was due to being shifted to the bottom of the pecking order. She still ate and drank normally.

The other two girls are bright eyed, eating well, drinking, and active today.

Any thoughts? I've kept the body somewhere cold (but not frozen) in case I want to do a necropsy.

 

[chickencheeper]

So sorry for your loss! This may help https://pin.it/ke6j4t5gng24uo

 

[GemmaA]

So sorry for your loss! This may help https://pin.it/ke6j4t5gng24uo

Thank you.

No signs of any of those diseases. She went from totally normal, to very slightly morose/out of sorts, to dead.

 

[chickencheeper]

Thank you.

No signs of any of those diseases. She went from totally normal, to very slightly morose/out of sorts, to dead.

If you can stomach it then I’d say go for the necropsy, you may find something out of place or unusual that may clue us in to what happened

 

[GemmaA]

If you can stomach it then I’d say go for the necropsy, you may find something out of place or unusual that may clue us in to what happened

My husband is a biologist so we're thinking about bringing her in to lab to do the necropsy ourselves.

 

[GemmaA]

I opened her up and found a huge lash egg that had ruptured the oviduct. It might have been responsible for her constipation since it was taking up so much space. Poor girl.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. The necropsy information is helpful. In older hens reproductive problems such as lash eggs, egg yolk peritonitis, and cancer are very common causes of death.

 

[chickencheeper]

I opened her up and found a huge lash egg that had ruptured the oviduct. It might have been responsible for her constipation since it was taking up so much space. Poor girl.

That makes sense why she was in the nesting box

 

[Luffpuff]

I thought that might be what it is. Sorry you lost your little lady :/