Labored breathing

[MissChick@dee]

So sorry for your loss.
When they free range anything could happen. I would take the time to at minimum look her body over right down to the skin. Puncture wounds can have very minimal bleeding. And a hit and miss by a hawk can cause crushing of internal organs or the talons can rupture one of the many air sacks. She was a very young hen. It’s very sad. Again so sorry for your loss.

 

[sonjadowns]

Well done @sonjadowns , it is a difficult thing to commit to doing but I really think the closure and explanation of why they died makes it a really beneficial experience.

We all love to treat our girls What I do to try 'get it right' is try to go by the 10% rule: 10% of what I give them can be nice healthy treats, other than that they only get their complete chicken feed. I thought they would be terribly upset when I adjusted to this rule, but it was only I that got upset about it, they really didn't seem to care

Well done again

I have committed to using the treats to get them in the pen as a last ditch effort. Now I just let them go in when they are ready. They haven't complained and frankly I am not either since it saves on money. Thanks for your help and advice.

 

[sonjadowns]

I agree, well done for having the courage to do the necropsy, especially when you haven't done anything like that before. I also agree that it sounds like fatty liver from your description of the liver and the fat. The images of the ones I have done with it stay with me mentally and help me to be more strict with the treats. I really found the amount of thick yellow fat quite shocking. If I were you I might be inclined to cut the cracked corn out altogether and just give them a few meal worms if you need to get them back in. A quarter of a cup of meal worms should still be enough to bring them back in when you want them but try to remember that free ranging is probably the biggest and best treat they can get, so don't feel mean about cutting back on the other stuff. I give my girls a warm mash on a night made from their regular feed soaked in warm water until it breaks down to a mush (or ferment it). They treat that like a favourite treat too and all jostle for space around the pan until it is gone, so it doesn't have to be something different for it to be a treat, just how you present it.

Love your ideas! Thanks!

 

[sonjadowns]

So sorry for your loss.
When they free range anything could happen. I would take the time to at minimum look her body over right down to the skin. Puncture wounds can have very minimal bleeding. And a hit and miss by a hawk can cause crushing of internal organs or the talons can rupture one of the many air sacks. She was a very young hen. It’s very sad. Again so sorry for your loss.

I did look at her skin before opening her up. Thanks.