Lost a chicken, no idea why, ok to eat?

[3GenFarmGirl]

Found one of my roosters dead in the coop this morning. No apparent injury markings, what should I look for otherwise? What possible reasons would a chicken just drop dead?

 

[Pharm Girl]

Necropsy over. So gross. My little lady had a perfectly formed egg in the normal looking chute, intestines looked perfect, no lice/mites, nothing in her throat, but the crop was totally empty. She'd been eating and drinking normally as far as I could tell up until she died. Strange.

 

[Eggopolis]

Sorry for your loss. We found one on the floor in the coop a few months ago. No signs of distress or anything.

 

[bobbi-j]

Sometimes they just die. One thing to look for is little bite marks on their necks, or under their wings. Weasels don't leave much for markings when they kill. They'll leave a little "fang" mark, and drink (lap up, or however you want to describe it) the blood. The chicken that wasn't developed right may have had some internal issues that were not visible. I wouldn't eat a chicken that died due to unknown causes. I also wouldn't eat a sick chicken that had to be put down, even though most diseaes aren't transferrable. Just my opinion.

 

[eenymeenyminey]

I had the same experience a couple weeks ago. My most friendly hen (~8 mo old) who had been fine and laying the day before was found dead in the run the next morning. So sad. I have a vet friend who opened her up, from what we could see she bled out from her liver. But only half her liver bled. No clear sign of disease or parasites. My guess is she somehow fell on a roost or something, and ruptured it? But who knows. Another friend with chickens told me they exist in 2 states: healthy or dead.

And no, I did not eat her for the same reasons listed here. So sorry for your loss.