Found my chicken dead

[Katedw69]

So I went out to check on my chickens and I found 1 dead in the pen. She is almost a year old and 1 of my best layers but she had what was like pasty butt. It's been better...no problems the last month or so but when I found her her foot had intestine wrapped around it???? What could've caused that??? No blood today and she layed an egg this morning. She's a top hen. Never been bothered by the others and nothing got in and attacked her? Any ideas???

 

[Sheepheart]

Anything else about her body that might show an animal attack? Like wet feathers or bare spots? And did you find any prints, fur, holes or anything else that shows an animal being around or getting in?

 

[Isellsilkies]

Oh no I’m so sorry poor old girl

 

[Katedw69]

Anything else about her body that might show an animal attack? Like wet feathers or bare spots? And did you find any prints, fur, holes or anything else that shows an animal being around or getting in?

Nope nothing at all. Their pen is pretty secure.

 

[Sheepheart]

Nope nothing at all. Their pen is pretty secure.

Strange, you don’t live were weasels or like animals are do you? One might have been able to sneak in and done that, though I suspect that it would have left a mess of feathers aswell. You might want to (this might sound heartless) remove the dead chicken but have it close by the coop, and set a camera up to view it. If an animal came in to try and get her they will probably come back for the body. I have a friends who has a decent sized poultry operation and that’s what she does when something kills a bird. Makes it easier to decide on what to do to protect the others

 

[Katedw69]

Strange, you don’t live were weasels or like animals are do you? One might have been able to sneak in and done that, though I suspect that it would have left a mess of feathers aswell. You might want to (this might sound heartless) remove the dead chicken but have it close by the coop, and set a camera up to view it. If an animal came in to try and get her they will probably come back for the body. I have a friends who has a decent sized poultry operation and that’s what she does when something kills a bird. Makes it easier to decide on what to do to protect the others

It was in the middle of the day. She layed an egg this morning.

 

[Katedw69]

It was in the middle of the day. She layed an egg this morning. And the intestine was coming neatly in tact out of her vent. (Sorry to be so descriptive)

 

[catballou]

Strange, you don’t live were weasels or like animals are do you? One might have been able to sneak in and done that, though I suspect that it would have left a mess of feathers aswell. You might want to (this might sound heartless) remove the dead chicken but have it close by the coop, and set a camera up to view it. If an animal came in to try and get her they will probably come back for the body. I have a friends who has a decent sized poultry operation and that’s what she does when something kills a bird. Makes it easier to decide on what to do to protect the others

Or set a trap with that chicken in it. I caught a possum that way inside my coop. I brought all my chickens in the house for the night. (3 chickens) they were very curious in their rabbit and dog crates!

 

[3KillerBs]

If she'd had ongoing issues with pasty butt as an adult she might have had some kind of internal malfunction that resulted in a prolapse.

 

[Sheepheart]

Oh, I was thinking it had been pulled out by something. Sometimes nocturnal animals will come out during the middle of the day. Don’t be sorry for being so descriptive, it helps in situations like these. With that and that she had past problems, it might have all be due to what ever was causing her prior pasty butt. I don’t know much about chicken diseases. My guess is that the pasty butt might have been a symptom of whatever caused this to happen. Maybe autopsy her or see if a vet can? I’d hate it to end up being something that might spread to the others, though I’m doubtful since it sounds like she was the only one having problems.