Died of a broken heart?

[ellent]

I introduced 3 new pullets to my existing flock of three a couple of days ago. Last night was the first night I let them all roost together, and all seemed to be okay. Rosita, the "top of the order" hen, and the only one remaining of the original small flock I started 2 years ago, was giving the new girls a few pecks to keep them in order when I went to close the coop, but everything seemed fine. This morning, she was lying on the ground under the roost, dead. My guess is she fell off, maybe in a squabble, but I didn't know that could happen. Any thoughts?

 

[NovaAman]

Oh, so sorry... It happens sometimes like that. No discernible reason...

 

[sumi]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss

 

[donrae]

I'm sorry you lost your hen, but I think it's coincidence it happened when you introduced new girls. A healthy bird won't die from getting dislodged off a roost, they'll just flap to the ground and get back up there. But a bird sitting on a roost that dies for some other reason will fall off the roost to the ground. It's hard, but sometimes birds just die for no apparent reason. Just keep an eye on the rest of your flock for any issues. Again, condolences.