Hen dead for no reason?

[Naisha]

Ok so today I found one of my chickens dead, and I have no idea what happened. Yesterday she was as active as always, eating and drinking normally. Today in the morning I found her on a nest instead of walking around, and I even petted her a bit (because she’s always been ok with that). Then after 6 hours, I go to check on them and find her dead at the same spot, so I guess there was something wrong and she didn’t get up and walk today. I examined her, there was no blood, anything. I tried to check if she was trying to lay an egg and had difficulties but I didn’t find anything. She had beautiful feathers, I mean, no signs of being too old or weak (I don’t know her age, though). (Edit: the weather was not extreme these days) What do you guys think? This is very frustrating

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

The same thing happened to me on the 9th last year. It happened over night and the hen just died on the ground, sitting like she had been laying. Sometimes something just goes wrong on the inside. It could have been something that she ate as well, but most the time there's just something inside that wasn't working. I'm so sorry this happened to you! I have a friend and this same thing happened to her horse. She was fine that night but died overnight .

 

[Naisha]

Daamn… it’s indeed very sad

 

[CoconutCoffee]

Ive had a few that seemed fine in the morning then were either dead by the time I got home or started acting weird at bedtime then died in the night. Never got a necropsy done though. All very sudden.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Maybe a reproductive disorder? That's so sad. I am sorry that all of you have experienced this...

 

[Lizzy733]

Necropsy will be the only way to know for sure, but I can understand reluctance to do so for a pet.

There are many silent killers of chickens, and as mentioned, most are internal issues like failure of the reproductive system or tumors.

I know you're not sure the age, but what breed was she and how long had she been with you? Some breeds - particularly commercial hybrids - are more prone to having these sorts of issues and earlier in life.

 

[Naisha]

Necropsy will be the only way to know for sure, but I can understand reluctance to do so for a pet.

There are many silent killers of chickens, and as mentioned, most are internal issues like failure of the reproductive system or tumors.

I know you're not sure the age, but what breed was she and how long had she been with you? Some breeds - particularly commercial hybrids - are more prone to having these sorts of issues and earlier in life.

Thanks for your answer (and all the previous answers). I can’t do a necropsy not only because she was a pet but also because I wouldn’t know what I’d be doing or what to look for, someone would have to teach me how to do it properly. I’ve had them for less than a month because I moved here and they were living here already
I believe she was a Delaware breed, white with small black spots around the neck.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

The same thing happened to me on the 9th last year. It happened over night and the hen just died on the ground, sitting like she had been laying. Sometimes something just goes wrong on the inside. It could have been something that she ate as well, but most the time there's just something inside that wasn't working. I'm so sorry this happened to you! I have a friend and this same thing happened to her horse. She was fine that night but died overnight .

Mine favorite hen just did this exact same thing last night.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Mine favorite hen just did this exact same thing last night.

I'm so sorry that's awful.

 

[Naisha]

Mine favorite hen just did this exact same thing last night.

Noooo! I’m sorry to hear that, it’s very frustrating not being able to help them T_T at least I see we’re not alone, so we’re not horrible owners.