Found my Barred Rock Dead

[alamagnolia]

I had been out of town for 3 nights and my husband was the caregiver for my flock of 5. He said he filled the feeders up Tues night and filled the water....he didn't check last night (Wed) because he had to work late and we usually don't have them checked on daily when we are out of town. I and my granddaughter got home this afternoon and went to check on the hens and gather eggs....to my shock and surprise, my (I thought) healthy Barred Rock was dead on the nest! She was sitting on the eggs and was already stiff. There were no eggs in the other nesting box, so I am still wondering how long she had been dead (seems she died today or the others would have layed in the other box??) as well as what happened to her. Do hens overeat enough to kill? The water was also low....husband said he filled it up night before last, but I have doubts since it isn't usually that low after a day and a half! The rest of the flock appears fine. Any thoughts on this and what happened to my sweet May. Thanks

 

[BantamLover21]

If she was in the nest, its possible that she died because she was egg bound. Or she could have had a heart attack due to fright, obesity, or something else. But that is all speculation--you'll probably never know for sure. Sometimes chickens just die for no known reason. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Wyandottes7]

My guess is that she had some sort of egg laying problem, like a stuck egg or laying an overly large egg. She might also have had a heart attack, which can kill chickens quickly and without warning. I doubt that the low water supply contributed to her death. It takes a while without feed/water to kill a chicken.

 

[alamagnolia]

Thx. It just breaks my heart since my 5 are my pets and it also concerns me as to what happened to her. I thought about an egg/laying problem since she was on nest. Thx for replies....

 

[Nutmeg101]

I am so sorry for your loss!

 

[realsis]

Oh im so very sorry about your girl. I would guess it was a reproduction issue that killed her because she was on the nest. A possible egg binding. ? That can kill if the egg can't be expelled. Again I'm very very sorry for the loss of your bird.