Lost a Chicken Today :(

[disrhythmic]

Ethel's gone. -sigh- We found her all cold and crumpled underneath the nest boxes. She wasn't sick or... y'know, eaten... so it must have been a scorpion--which is still kind of surprising considering I've been stung by three to no ill effect, but a little chicken body must be too small to recover from it.

Unless she managed to hurt herself jumping down from three feet high, which I find even less likely.

Do you guys think there's anything I should watch for in case she really was sick? I go out with them every day and I didn't notice any difference in behavior, but I'm not expert.

 

[Judy]

I'm so sorry.

How old was she? Breed? Chickens are very good at hiding illnesses, and reproductive tract disorders like ovarian cancer are unfortunately fairly common. I'll give you a link, with a chart at the bottom, which notes some possible causes of sudden death.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[disrhythmic]

She was a seven-month-old RIR. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out and keep an eye on the rest of the flock.