Hen passing on, need help

[Mirrium]

Not that I could tell no, we do have one really small one who the others tend to chase away on occasion but this was a big lady who's been a great egg layer and chick mother for a while before this. I also monitor their food so I know they're eating enough

 

[Mirrium]

Ah, they caused the damage after she died. The only thing you can do right now is get her autopsied. You can send her into your state’s lab to figure out what caused it.

That sounds expensive, would it do anything worthwhile for us? We were just gonna compost her honestly...

 

[Mirrium]

I've just made a discovery that the egg she was sitting on is no longer there. No residue or shell remnants that would suggest they ate it, just gone

 

[Eggcessive]

If there is even one inch of space over or under a door, or a dirt floor it could have been a predator. You might never get an answer but I would keep a look out for aggression in the flock. A game camera can sometimes be helpful.

 

[Mirrium]

If there is even one inch of space over or under a door, or a dirt floor it could have been a predator. You might never get an answer but I would keep a look out for aggression in the flock. A game camera can sometimes be helpful.

I'll look into it, thank you so much for your help!

 

[Cool_Catrules456]

That sounds expensive, would it do anything worthwhile for us? We were just gonna compost her honestly...

Sorry for the late response, and I know it’s probably too late now. But for next time, Autopsies are important as if it was something infectious that killed her you can treat the rest of the flock for it before they pass on too. It tends to be 50$ or free depending on the state.

Though in this case it was very likely an animal attack.

 

[Mirrium]

Sorry for the late response, and I know it’s probably too late now. But for next time, Autopsies are important as if it was something infectious that killed her you can treat the rest of the flock for it before they pass on too. It tends to be 50$ or free depending on the state.

Though in this case it was very likely an animal attack.

After researching the only place I can find is LSU, they apparently charge $125 a specimen so it's a little out of budget for me unfortunately

 

[LaFleche]

I think personally that it was over-breeding and rough roosters because we've had a hen shortage for a while (5 roosters and 7 hens, now 6).

To me that would be 4 roosters too many for only 7, now 6 hens.

Do any of your roosters have long spurs that do not curve up? Could you post some pictures of their legs to see if any of them have the spurs malpositioned?
It might well have been a severe cut caused by a rooster spur as they tend to be in a rush when other males are present or try to kick them off the hen they are mating.

How big is your run?

I am sorry you lost your broody.

 

[Mirrium]

To me that would be 4 roosters too many for only 7, now 6 hens.

Do any of your roosters have long spurs that do not curve up? Could you post some pictures of their legs to see if any of them have the spurs malpositioned?
It might well have been a severe cut caused by a rooster spur as they tend to be in a rush when other males are present or try to kick them off the hen they are mating.

How big is your run?

I am sorry you lost your broody.

I ended up culling a rooster, so it's 6-4 but I've also separated 2 roosters from the main flock so that there's 2 roosters who have 3 hens each because it was the best I could manage. A few of them do have pretty big leg spikes, I'll take pictures as soon as I have a minute. I'm raising pullets at the minute so there will be more hens eventually it's just that I've taken on responsibility for this flock as it was my FILs and he bought 15 as straight run hence ending up with 5 roosters

 

[LaFleche]

I ended up culling a rooster, so it's 6-4 but I've also separated 2 roosters from the main flock so that there's 2 roosters who have 3 hens each because it was the best I could manage. A few of them do have pretty big leg spikes, I'll take pictures as soon as I have a minute. I'm raising pullets at the minute so there will be more hens eventually it's just that I've taken on responsibility for this flock as it was my FILs and he bought 15 as straight run hence ending up with 5 roosters

It is good that you already separated two of them, but leaving two with the remaining six hens will still have them competing which leads to mating contests and injuries.

I would suggest to keep the rooster your hens like best and who is respectful with humans, to avoid possible future agression issues.