- Jul 6, 2011
- 698
- 16
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Hello everyone!
I am wondering if anyone knows what an old age death looks like as far as symptoms. I recently purchased a flock of mixed age laying hens from a guy who had some of them for three years. He told me thatbsome of that flock they inherited from a deceased aunt. When they got them three years ago they had no idea how old they were, but old enough to be laying. So it is possible that some of my girls could be at least 4-5 years old. I have had two of the older looking (judging by toenail length, and the fact that they don't even go in they laying boxes and their vents seem dry) hens just die in their sleep. The one last night seemed fine all day, at 7:30pm when I gave them their treat to get them rounded back up in their yard she didn't get up. She was laying under the coop just sitting there. I tried to coax her with the frozen peas...she didn't even acknowledge them. No labored breathing, bright eyed, just still. Then an hour later when I went to close the coop up for the night she was not there...she had moved to one of the shade shelters and was laying under it. I picked her up, looked her over..again, no sign of trauma, no heavy breathing, crop felt normal. I put her on a roost in the coop nd thought to myself that she would be dead this morning. Well she was...it actually looked like she just fell forward off the roost as she diednin her sleep. Sad, but I don't think she suffered and she didn't struggle.
So does anyone else have experience with deaths like this...just appears to be old age...
I am wondering if anyone knows what an old age death looks like as far as symptoms. I recently purchased a flock of mixed age laying hens from a guy who had some of them for three years. He told me thatbsome of that flock they inherited from a deceased aunt. When they got them three years ago they had no idea how old they were, but old enough to be laying. So it is possible that some of my girls could be at least 4-5 years old. I have had two of the older looking (judging by toenail length, and the fact that they don't even go in they laying boxes and their vents seem dry) hens just die in their sleep. The one last night seemed fine all day, at 7:30pm when I gave them their treat to get them rounded back up in their yard she didn't get up. She was laying under the coop just sitting there. I tried to coax her with the frozen peas...she didn't even acknowledge them. No labored breathing, bright eyed, just still. Then an hour later when I went to close the coop up for the night she was not there...she had moved to one of the shade shelters and was laying under it. I picked her up, looked her over..again, no sign of trauma, no heavy breathing, crop felt normal. I put her on a roost in the coop nd thought to myself that she would be dead this morning. Well she was...it actually looked like she just fell forward off the roost as she diednin her sleep. Sad, but I don't think she suffered and she didn't struggle.
So does anyone else have experience with deaths like this...just appears to be old age...