Did I kill my sweet hen?

[Cedar hill farmer]

I have 8 herbs that are coming up on six years old. Two days ago while servicing my coop-run one of my hens was laying on the floor as if on eggs. I checked under her but no eggs. I gave her a nudge and tried to get her to stand but she wouldn't. I picked her up and checked her vent visually and it looked a little puffy but not covered or clogged. As I turned her back over she got agitated and flew from my arms to the coop floor and did a hard belly flop, then to see walked over to the rest of the birds and appeared normal. That was Friday , today on Sunday noon I found her in the same spot passed. I was worried that some insulation I put up may have been ingested and caused her death so I did a necropsy. I found no insulation but there was an egg, not sure if I broke it squeezing around after death or during necropsy. There was a lot of yellow looking bile like substance and she appeared to be somewhat bloated or puffy. I am sick thinking I let her fall from my arms and that broke her egg she was trying to lay, and that led to her death. Any comments or help would be appreciated.
Steve

 

[CCUK]

Hello. Sorry to hear about your hen. It is always heartbreaking when one passes away unexpectedly. I had hen that was poorly and lethargic. She wasn't eating or drinking so I started trying to feed her water with a syringe. When she died her head went over and all this fluid came out and I thought I must have put all the fluid into her lungs. It was awful. But it turned out she had a poor heart and a lung infection which caused the fluid build up. It still hurt. But I think that your hen may have had peritonitis which would explain the egg and yellow bile. Did she smell eggy? Also the puffiness on her rear end could be ascites which is a build up of fluid that is also a symptom of peritonitis. I also had a hen with peritonitis spent a fortune at the vets and I ended up having her put to sleep. I don't think that it would be your fault, hens can still pass a broken egg. Sometimes they need help sometimes not.

 

[JedJackson]

No, you did not kill her and you shouldn't blame yourself. It sounds like something was wrong before you picked her up and I doubt her falling had anything to do with her death. It sounds like she was absorbing eggs instead of laying them. I forget what condition that is known as medically, but it will kill them after a while and there's not much to be done about it even by veterinarians.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have 8 herbs that are coming up on six years old. Two days ago while servicing my coop-run one of my hens was laying on the floor as if on eggs. I checked under her but no eggs. I gave her a nudge and tried to get her to stand but she wouldn't. I picked her up and checked her vent visually and it looked a little puffy but not covered or clogged. As I turned her back over she got agitated and flew from my arms to the coop floor and did a hard belly flop, then to see walked over to the rest of the birds and appeared normal. That was Friday , today on Sunday noon I found her in the same spot passed. I was worried that some insulation I put up may have been ingested and caused her death so I did a necropsy. I found no insulation but there was an egg, not sure if I broke it squeezing around after death or during necropsy. There was a lot of yellow looking bile like substance and she appeared to be somewhat bloated or puffy. I am sick thinking I let her fall from my arms and that broke her egg she was trying to lay, and that led to her death. Any comments or help would be appreciated.
Steve

I'm sorry for your loss.

Did you happen to take photos of what you saw?

You mention that there was an egg and yellow looking bile substance, she was puffy and bloated - I agree with @Chickencountryuk that she may have been suffering from an internal laying disorder, but it's really hard to know.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome again. Sorry for your loss. I don't think you had anything to do with it. She was obviously struggling which led you to pick her up in the first place. Don't blame yourself. She was actually quite old at 6 years. Most large breeds average 4-6 years of life. Some much shorter. And of course there are the few that live 25 years Good luck moving forward and glad to have you here with us!