I found my 3 month old hen dead this morning.

[Baily]

I was wondering if anyone knows why my 3 month old hen would just die all of the sudden. I have 3 including her and she was always the skittish one but yesterday she was just laying around and even let me pick her up which was very odd. She seemed very healthy before yesterday (I have had her for almost 2 months). There have been some fireworks the past couple nights and she seemed to be the only one bothered by them and kept making weird noises. I found her stuck under the edge of the run like she was trying to burry herself or hide from something. I just want to make sure it isn't something contageous that will harm my last 2 hens. I am very upset about loosing her and anyone has any ideas they would be very appreciated.

 

[FireTigeris]

Could be many things

Maybe she was too scare to eat/drink

Maybe she had a heart attack

Maybe she got something and took herself away from the flock to deal with it...

Maybe she had parasites...


What color were her comb and wattles?
Was she smelly?
Was there a squishy or hard area right under her rib cage? (her abdomen)
Was her vent area clean?
Was she as close as possible to the others or far away?
Were her feather's in good condition?
What was the weather like?
What food are they on?

 

[Baily]

Her comb was pale and she barely has any wattles. I didn't really poke at her or anything because I was too upset, I tried to pull her out but she was pretty stuck and I couldn't handle it so I had my husband get her out. She didn't smell bad and her feathers were still beautiful. She wasn't too far away from the other hens but she wasn't in the coop with them like she always is. We live in Seattle and still have some rain, yesterday was 63 degrees and today is about 67. I am feeding them poultry feed, grass, they get cheerios sometimes, lettuce, cucumber and they are always finding bugs. Thank you for helping me figure this out

 

[leadwolf1]

I'm sorry for your loss

Without having a necropsy done, it is anyone's guess at this point. It sounds like she may have panicked, gotten stuck and had a heart attack. At her age, I wouldn't expect anything but a pink comb and no wattles. She was too young to have reproductive problems. Since she was skittish to begin with, I'm thinking that the fireworks may have sent her over the edge. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[FireTigeris]

Sounds like leadwolf1 is right... I was hoping for pink comb not blue or purple or otherwise unusual.

Sorry you had to find her like that.

 

[Baily]

Her comb was normally pink and only one of my hens is old enough to lay. I was worried about the fireworks but everyone was telling me they will be fine. Does anyone have suggestions on what to do with my other 2 on the 4th so they don't stress out too much? My husband wont let me bring them inside so I was thinking of just locking them in their coop so they feel more secure.

 

[leadwolf1]

Last 4th, I locked mine is their coop Everyone was safe and happy and I didn't have to worry.

 

[Baily]

Sounds good, thanks again!