Is my Chicken Dead?

[lynx04]

Hello-

About an hour ago, I let my hens out of their run to forage in my yard, like I do every day. The alpha in my flock came out, and I heard her fly. That is unusual for her, but once in a while, it happens. Then I heard a thud as if she had hit something. I found her on her back flapping around and seemed to be unable to turn over. I picked her up, and her neck went limp. She seemed to be trying to struggle and then just went completely limp. I couldn't tell if she was dead or alive because her pupils weren't dilated. I decided to see if she would come too, so I put her in one of their nesting boxes and have been checking on her. It's been over an hour, and she's still warm, and while her pupils are dilated a little, they aren't fully dilated. She's still warm, limp and hasn't gone into rigor, so I'm wondering if she's dead or alive. And what should I do?

 

[Tookie]

Can you tell if she's breathing? How's her comb color?
Could you get a picture of her?

 

[ShrekDawg]

How is she today?

 

[pepchickens]

Hello-

About an hour ago, I let my hens out of their run to forage in my yard, like I do every day. The alpha in my flock came out, and I heard her fly. That is unusual for her, but once in a while, it happens. Then I heard a thud as if she had hit something. I found her on her back flapping around and seemed to be unable to turn over. I picked her up, and her neck went limp. She seemed to be trying to struggle and then just went completely limp. I couldn't tell if she was dead or alive because her pupils weren't dilated. I decided to see if she would come too, so I put her in one of their nesting boxes and have been checking on her. It's been over an hour, and she's still warm, and while her pupils are dilated a little, they aren't fully dilated. She's still warm, limp and hasn't gone into rigor, so I'm wondering if she's dead or alive. And what should I do?

In a similar state currently, about an hour after finding her alive. She’s still quite warm but in rigor… What ended up happening to your hen?

 

[FunClucks]

In a similar state currently, about an hour after finding her alive. She’s still quite warm but in rigor… What ended up happening to your hen?

I raise meatbirds. It can take an hour or two for them to start stiffening up after they are deceased. They can stay warm for two hours or so at least. One way to tell they are deceased is if the hackle feathers are loose and puffed up / easy to move on the hen's neck. When they're alive, the feathers lay against their neck. Upon expiration, the hackle (neck) feathers raise off the neck 90 degrees / perpendicular to the neck surface when the head hangs down towards the ground. And their neck is very, very floppy. When hens or roos fight for dominance, their feathers puff out on their neck, this is what I'm saying you'll see after they pass.

If you lost your hen, I'm so very sorry! I have pet eggers also, and it's always your favorite chicken that manages to get killed in a way you can't prevent and didn't see coming.

 

[pepchickens]

I raise meatbirds. It can take an hour or two for them to start stiffening up after they are deceased. They can stay warm for two hours or so at least. One way to tell they are deceased is if the hackle feathers are loose and puffed up / easy to move on the hen's neck. When they're alive, the feathers lay against their neck. Upon expiration, the hackle (neck) feathers raise off the neck 90 degrees / perpendicular to the neck surface when the head hangs down towards the ground. And their neck is very, very floppy. When hens or roos fight for dominance, their feathers puff out on their neck, this is what I'm saying you'll see after they pass.

If you lost your hen, I'm so very sorry! I have pet eggers also, and it's always your favorite chicken that manages to get killed in a way you can't prevent and didn't see coming.

Thank you - the explanation helps with the closure quite a lot. A few hours later, it’s quite obvious that she had died moments after I picked her up, but denial is powerful Now my question is, did I worsen this? Did moving her cause a heart attack or severe stress reaction? She wasn’t my biggest fan… maybe my picking her up harmed more than helped

 

[FunClucks]

Thank you - the explanation helps with the closure quite a lot. A few hours later, it’s quite obvious that she had died moments after I picked her up, but denial is powerful Now my question is, did I worsen this? Did moving her cause a heart attack or severe stress reaction? She wasn’t my biggest fan… maybe my picking her up harmed more than helped

If she was in a state where she was so stressed she was about to have a heart attack, there was really nothing you could have done about it. I think there's often something in their heart that makes that possible, so she probably already had underlying issues. And what if you hadn't picked her up and she needed medical attention that you could have helped her with? Most of the time there are physical wounds that need immediate attention after a predator attack, your odds were good that she had some. You did the responsible owner thing by picking her up to check. It's heartbreaking, but sometimes they die on us, and there's just not much we can do about it. Sending you supportive thoughts.

 

[pepchickens]

If she was in a state where she was so stressed she was about to have a heart attack, there was really nothing you could have done about it. I think there's often something in their heart that makes that possible, so she probably already had underlying issues. And what if you hadn't picked her up and she needed medical attention that you could have helped her with? Most of the time there are physical wounds that need immediate attention after a predator attack, your odds were good that she had some. You did the responsible owner thing by picking her up to check. It's heartbreaking, but sometimes they die on us, and there's just not much we can do about it. Sending you supportive thoughts.

Thank you so so much for your supportive words and insight.