Hen died after laying egg...

[Deleted member 94844]

I didn't get any replies in the egg laying subform, so I'm posting here:


So I went out to let the ducks in and check on the chooks and found one of my hens dead on the floor of the coop. It was a busy day and I wasn't in the garden all afternoon.

There was an egg (definitely hers) on the straw directly behind her. She seemed to be in good health. Comb was a little pale, but not sickly. I have no idea what happened. There was no blood or evidence of trauma, no visible prolapse.

Can they die from the stress of egg laying? She was barely a year old and still laying small pullet eggs, so I don't think it was strain. Her eggs had been fairly consistent.

My son wants to bury her and won't let me take her in for an autopsy. She was a Columbian Wyandotte.

She had been eating feathers and I suspected a protein deficiency. This batch of hens is being fed organic Scratch & Peck layer feed, with supplemental hard boiled eggs, egg shell, veggies, and occasionally some S&P scratch in the afternoon. For the first six months I mixed organic oats in with the feed. The girls all had bad moults and their feathers look very scruffy. They free range once or twice a week, but hadn't been out for a few days on account of rain. The coop was cleaned last weekend and had new, clean straw. I am totally at a loss.

 

[ChicKat]

I didn't get any replies in the egg laying subform, so I'm posting here:


So I went out to let the ducks in and check on the chooks and found one of my hens dead on the floor of the coop. It was a busy day and I wasn't in the garden all afternoon.

There was an egg (definitely hers) on the straw directly behind her. She seemed to be in good health. Comb was a little pale, but not sickly. I have no idea what happened. There was no blood or evidence of trauma, no visible prolapse.

Can they die from the stress of egg laying? She was barely a year old and still laying small pullet eggs, so I don't think it was strain. Her eggs had been fairly consistent.

My son wants to bury her and won't let me take her in for an autopsy. She was a Columbian Wyandotte.

She had been eating feathers and I suspected a protein deficiency. This batch of hens is being fed organic Scratch & Peck layer feed, with supplemental hard boiled eggs, egg shell, veggies, and occasionally some S&P scratch in the afternoon. For the first six months I mixed organic oats in with the feed. The girls all had bad mounts and their feathers look very scruffy. They free range once or twice a week, but hadn't been out for a few days on account of rain. The coop was cleaned last weekend and had new, clean straw. I am totally at a loss.

So sorry for your loss.

Perhaps you can explain to your son that a necropsey may be something if you do it to this chicken, that may help other chickens you have that are still alive to survive.

You sound like a very dedicated chicken owner and you have been doing everything right -- all the more the frustration. Chickens will sometimes mysteriously die. There are conditions that we don't know about -- that don't show up going on inside. There could be something from birth -- such as a weak heart... You just don't know. Maybe for your son you could put a little memorial up in the yard -- as if she were buried there -- even a few feathers actually buried -- but still get a necropsey done.

It sounds like it wasn't anything that you did or didn't do -- but only having that necropsey will give you the cause of death that the vet ascertains.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

So sorry for your loss.

Perhaps you can explain to your son that a necropsey may be something if you do it to this chicken, that may help other chickens you have that are still alive to survive.

You sound like a very dedicated chicken owner and you have been doing everything right -- all the more the frustration. Chickens will sometimes mysteriously die. There are conditions that we don't know about -- that don't show up going on inside. There could be something from birth -- such as a weak heart... You just don't know. Maybe for your son you could put a little memorial up in the yard -- as if she were buried there -- even a few feathers actually buried -- but still get a necropsey done.

It sounds like it wasn't anything that you did or didn't do -- but only having that necropsey will give you the cause of death that the vet ascertains.

Thanks, ChicKat... she's still in the fridge, so maybe I'll talk to him. I'm thinking it must have been a heart attack. The only other possibility was some sort of blockage from eating the feathers, her abdomen did seem hot and swollen even after she died.

Keeping a close eye on the other girls for now. Gave them some extra grit. Hopefully this was an isolated issue.

 

[ChicKat]

Hopefully it was isolated.....

 

[Deleted member 94844]

Everyone raves about the S&P feed, but so far I'm not thrilled and am thinking about switching... the last batch was raised on a different brand and I found the egg quality to be much higher. The yolks of these hens are very pale yellow and I've gotten a lot of thin shells and malformed eggs, even though it contains oyster shell and I supplement with crushed egg shell. I also found that their droppings smell considerably nastier that the prior generation.

More, they all had a terrible first moult and their feathers are still very scruffy. They look awful. This sudden death is making me think it's time for a change. I switched to go 100% organic... looking into other organic, non-gmo options. If anyone has any feed to recommend I'd appreciate it.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

RIP

 

[ChicKat]

RIP

Pretty chicken.

 

[DreamsInPink]

I'm very sorry for your loss. What is S&P brand feed? Thanks!

 

[jackyrivera]

My chicken is still the same right now I've been feeding it water since I saw it but she still looks the same she tries to stand up and she can't but her breathing is constant, still heavy breathing, is there anything I should give her? She layed and egg could that be stress for her therefore leading to her like this? I don't want to see her like this suffering and all

 

[Deleted member 94844]

My chicken is still the same right now I've been feeding it water since I saw it but she still looks the same she tries to stand up and she can't but her breathing is constant, still heavy breathing, is there anything I should give her? She layed and egg could that be stress for her therefore leading to her like this? I don't want to see her like this suffering and all

I have some Nutridrench on hand that's good to give when chickens look poorly. It could be a nutritional deficiency. Adding a little Apple Cider Vinegar to their water can also be beneficial. If she is too weak to eat you will need to hand feed her. Make a mush of feed and plain Greek yogurt with some added vitamins. Really hope she improves...