I just found my Delaware dead.

[bawkbawkbawk]

I have no idea what happened to her. Went out to look in on my girls and she was on the floor of the coop kind of wedged into a corner, dead. No marks on her at all, no blood.

What could have happened to her?

She was fine this morning. I'm pretty sure she laid an egg early this morning, she was eating well, no signs of anything wrong. She's just 29 weeks old. Should I be worried for the other three? Is there anything I could have done?

 

[rancher hicks]

Well now there could be many things and it doesn't look like you could have prevented them. Don't blame your self. Got a friend had the same thing happen to her. Keep an eye on the others if they came from the same breeder and are the same breed. Make sure they are fed well and have clean water always even if it means changing it 3-4 times a day. Some vitamins won't hurt either. Watch what they eat other than the feed you give them, but make sure the feed is fresh. Grit on demand and that's about all you can do. Sorry for your loss.

 

[usschicago1]

This is what happened.
She/He flew directly into the wall and killed itself. Painless but it could have died from BRAIN DAMAGE or a BRoken neck. Since you described no injuries probably brain damage.
I witnessed this first hand once with my favorite girl. And this explains why she was tucked in the corner.

 

[Shared Acres]

I had the same thing happen to a roo that was seemingly healthy that morning. I called the state and they came and took him and did all kinds of tests. They said he had worms and Cocci. I NEVER saw evidence of either.

I now periodically worm (garlic in their food is supposed to be a natural way to do it, I POUR it on to their yogurt and they gobble it up, I also use Wazine) and I periodically give them DE and medicated chick feed. I also give mine lots of yogurt.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Did your roo have any symptoms?

I don't think she flew into anything because I found her on the floor of the coop - it looks more like she crawled into the corner to die.

Is it possible she choked on something? The other three look fine but I am so worried now about them. I just dread going into the coop tomorrow and only have three (or fewer) of them there...

 

[speckledhen]

She could have choked, yes. Could be something wrong inside that wasn't apparent. As a breed, Delawares are quite robust and strong, so I wouldn't associate what happened with her breed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are many things that could have happened. She could have flown into something and broken her neck, say coming down from the roost or maybe trying to get away from another hen. She may have some disease that is not apparent. She may have had fatty liver syndrome. She may have just had a weak heart. I had an Australorp pullet that did the same. Just died for no apparent reason. And she was laying regularly.

I'd certainly check for lice or mites, especially roost mites that only come out at night. You can worm them if you wish. I would not be overly concerned right now as sudden unexplained death does happen occasionally. However, if it happens again, I'd call the County Extension Agency office, in the phone book under county, and talk to them about what it would take to get the dead hen examined. They can do the CSI chicken coop on her body and maybe tell you what happened.

It can be difficult and telling you not to worry probably doesn't help much, but that is my advice. Just observe them and keep going. One just happens. More than one becomes a trend and requires a lot more action.

 

[Shared Acres]

Bawk, mine had no symptoms and in fact I had been babying him the day before and knew that he seemed healthy. Because of that, if you don't already do it, I would start worming them every 2-3 months, etc.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Thank you all for your input.

My other three are, thankfully, still fine this morning.

So worms manifest with no symptoms? I need to research this. I thought you weren't supposed to give them garlic because the taste comes through in the eggs.

I lay awake much of the night thinking about this. One thing about Lily the past week or so has been that she's been really, really loud, just making such a racket - I just assumed it had to do with the fact that she had begun laying - but she was squawking a lot all the time. Actually more like honking. Could she have been in distress and I just didn't realize it?

If it hadn't been Christmas I would have tried to take her somewhere to find cause of death but I didn't want to try to find someone at 3 pm on Christmas Day. My sweet son buried her for me. Both my boys and DH gave me hugs - they know how much I love my chickens. I just dread having to tell our friends, all of whom have gotten quite attached to the girls.

 

[GraceAK]

Quote:
My chicken also does this weird honking noise. She hasn't begun laying yet, even though she's 7 or 8 months old, and now I'm worried about her. Could there be something wrong? The sound she makes is kind of a honking, nasal shrieking noise... Do you think she's in pain?