Favorite chicken died this morn

[Moosehead55]

Our favorite hen died this morning and we do not have a clue as to why. All the others are fine. She had not layed for nearly a mt and had lost weight. Being new to this we read all we could but there are som many things that could have happened. She was very thin. I had taken her and isolated her with a light for warmth but she died a few mins later. We have only 5 hens and a rooster. We are fairly new to owning and raising chickens. Have no idea what happened.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens can hide problems from being ill, and lose a lot of weight before we notice it because of the feathers. I don't know how old she was, but coccidiosis, worms, crop problems, or heart or other organ failure can cause death. In hens over a year or two, internal laying and egg yolk peritonitis can be common. Your state vet can perform a necropsy on a refrigerated body to look for a cause of death if you kept her body. Here is a link for that:
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[Moosehead55]

It seems there are a lot o things it could have been. The others are fine. I saw no evidence of lice or mites. She was very thin tho. A necropsy is out of the question. We live on a tight budget. We are going to miss her tho as she was very tame and would b waiting at the gate for my husband and followed him and let him pet her. We just don't have any idea what caused her to stop laying and then pass away. Thanks for your reply!

 

[WhiteAfrican923]

She lost weight, dropped in egg production, and eventually died? This sounds like worms. Treat your whole flock with this and your birds should be good. Prevention is the big key.
https://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=584 I know you are on a budget but what costs more buying new chickens or buying something that will save you the cost of buying new birds as well as the emotional distress you have from watching your pets die?

 

[Moosehead55]

They have been treated for that. The others are still fine. I saw nothing wrong. She seemed fine other than loosing weight. And we did not notice that until she was listless and picked her up to move her to a different area with lighting and hay.
Then she passed within a few min. Seemed she had no control of her neck. It did not seem to be broken and im guessing that was because she was dying. Strange.

 

[7littlegirls]

So sorry to hear about your girl I lost one this week also. When I opened the door of the coop in the morning, there she was laying on the floor. Don't know why. My other girls all seem fine also.

 

[Moosehead55]

im sorry for you too. This chicken was a sweetheart. The others are still fine. Just don;t know what happened. Thank you so much

 

[Moosehead55]

We still are not sure but think maybe the rooster had something to do with her death. We are now trying to find the rooster a home. He has just recently started to attack my husband when he goes in the coop for the eggs. We had a very mean one once and couldnt' even go in the yard unless you carried something with you to protect yourself. I think the rooster is causing stress in the hens. They only free range in the late afternoon for about 3 to 5 hrs. He sure is pretty and all but we have decided to find him a home. He already cut my husband with an attack and he easily bleeds so we do not need that. Any ideas or comments? Thank you